IDC: New Devices Drive Down PC Shipments
Worldwide shipments of personal computers are expected to fall nearly 10 percent this year as technology buyers move more toward mobile device options such as tablets and smartphones, according to Framingham-based technology research firm IDC.
IDC, in a revised outlook of the personal computer market, projected that shipments of desktop computers will fall over the next four years even in emerging markets. Shipments of both desktop and portable computers such as laptops will be down in both mature and emerging markets, the company said.
"The days where one can assume tablet disruptions are purely a First World problem are over," said Jay Chou, a senior research analyst at IDC. Despite improvements in power efficiency of PC devices and the expected upcoming introduction of Microsoft’s Windows 8.1 operating system, “the current PC usage experience falls short of meeting changing usage patterns that are spreading through all regions, especially as tablet price and performance become ever more attractive," Chou added.
IDC said this year is the first in which shipments to emerging markets are expected to contract at a rate steeper than that of mature economies. That’s led by a double-digit percentage drop in China over 2012 as channel sources report high levels of stagnant inventory and continued enthusiasm for tablets and smartphones, IDC said. That, plus other factors, led IDC to predict declines in emerging markets at least through 2014.
Beyond 2014, IDC expects a slow rebound, driven in part by businesses taking a first serious look beyond Windows 7.
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments