UPDATE: Dell Upbeat On PCs; IBM-Sun Tie Could Create Opening

(Adds CEO comments on potential IBM-Sun deal, and PC shipment growth last fiscal year.)

TOKYO -(Dow Jones)- Dell Inc. (DELL) Chief Executive Michael Dell said Tuesday that he expects shipments of the information technology company's personal computers in the consumer sector to outpace the industry average in its fiscal first quarter.

Speaking at a news conference in Tokyo, Dell also said that a potential acquisition by International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) of Sun Microsystems Inc. (JAVA) could provide a business "opportunity" for his company.

Last week, The Wall Street Journal reported IBM was in talks to buy Sun, a deal that would create a behemoth selling the servers behind corporate data centers. Declining to discuss detailed implications of any deal, Dell said opportunities could arise for his firm because concerns about the future of Sun's servers could accelerate customer migration to the X86-based Linux server, Dell Inc.'s core product.

Referring to prospects in its consumer PC business, Dell said "We can grow much faster." But he didn't specify the volume of PCs the company expects to ship in its February-April quarter.

In the previous fiscal year ended January, Dell Inc.'s PC unit sales in the consumer market grew 35% from a year earlier versus 18% for the industry. The company declined to say how many units it sold.

Dell Inc., which made a strong push into the consumer PC market in 2007, still generates 70% to 80% of its overall revenue from corporate clients.

At the Tokyo press conference, Dell also declined to comment on speculation that his company might be targeting the smartphone market for future growth options.

Asked whether he is interested in making an acquisition as way to push into the smartphone business, Dell said, "We are exploring smaller screen devices...We don't have any announcement to share today, but stay tuned."