Netbooks expected to drive PC-market growth
Published: 11 Sep 2008 11:27 BST
Analyst firm IDC has said PC shipments worldwide have increased more than expected, despite economic sluggishness in the US.
Worldwide PC shipments are expected to grow by 15.7 percent this year to reach 311 million units, according to a report released on Wednesday by IDC. Growth will slow slightly, but remain above nine percent until 2012. IDC said that amounts to annual PC shipments reaching more than 482 million in 2012.
This growth is to come despite rising energy costs, slowing IT spending in the US and Western Europe, and the increasing saturation of the PC market in Japan, the US and Europe.
According to IDC, Atom-based netbooks are behind this positive outlook.
Western Europe PC shipments have almost doubled to reach 23 percent, up from a 12 percent growth rate in 2007. The growth was led by "the wide appeal of low-cost portables", like the Asus Eee PC, the analyst firm said. Consumer portables grew 60 percent in Western Europe during the second quarter of 2008, and are expected to remain high throughout the rest of the year.
IDC has been fairly conservative when it comes to the potential growth it sees for the low-cost, portable market. Rival analyst firm Gartner is predicting 5.2 million netbooks will be sold this year, reaching 50 million in 2012. IDC has said recently that 3.5 million netbooks will be shipped this year, five million next year and 9.2 million by 2012.
With every major PC maker entering this space, shipments may increase. With more options available for portable PCs — different form factors, performance, capability and cost — consumers may buy more than just one PC.
"The right way to gauge the success of consumer PCs is no longer the adoption rate of households with PCs or even the number of PCs per household, but rather the number of machines per individual," according to Bob O'Donnell, vice president of clients and displays for IDC.
Credit: Study: Low-cost laptops to drive PC market growth from CNET News
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