Reconciliation from Basic To Diluted Earnings Per Share for both Numerators and Denominators (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2012	Mar. 31, 2011
Numerator:
Net income attributable to EMC Corporation	$ 586,842,000	$ 477,148,000
Incremental dilution from VMware	(2,891,000)	(2,764,000)
Net income - dilution attributable to EMC Corporation	$ 583,951,000	$ 474,384,000
Denominator:
Weighted average shares, basic	2,067,828,000	2,066,136,000
Weighted common stock equivalents	45,606,000	59,841,000
Assumed conversion of the 2013 Notes and associated warrants	88,499,000	132,301,000
Weighted average shares, diluted	2,201,933,000	2,258,278,000