The recent report from IDC declares the upward growth in PC shipments across the world during the third quarter of 2009. Reportedly, the increase is about 2.3 percent after a declining graph in three consecutive quarters.
Consumer portable products have seen an increase in shipment of about 33.5 percent compared to last year while the desktop segment was comparatively weaker. This could be due to the consumer segment shifting focus on portable machines.
“Vendors are competing aggressively to capture back-to-school and holiday demand,” said Jay Chou, research analyst with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker. “Beyond stabilizing their business, PC vendors are trying to position themselves for gains as the market recovers. We’re seeing aggressive promotions and expect innovations leveraging new technologies, including ultra-thin designs, touchscreens, and LED panels. The technology changes and efforts to stand out in an increasingly commoditized market will lead to further product and customer segmentation and add to the advantage of market leaders in covering the breadth of products, technologies, and market segments.”
The downward fall of commercial PCs has also slowed down during the third quarter of 2009. Seemingly, netbook (Mini Notebook), the younger sibling to notebooks witnessed a strong hold on market with 37 percent gain compared to the previous quarter. The share of netbooks in consumer portables has increased to 28 percent from 14 percent a year ago.
“Once again, the PC market shows its resiliency,” said Loren Loverde, program director IDC Worldwide Trackers. “The speed of market stabilization and growth in key segments reflect the essential role of personal computing today. Technology evolution and falling prices remain a compelling combination. As commercial spending recovers in 2010, we expect to see robust growth over the next several years.”
IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker reports that this strong growth in the third quarter of this year will eventually lead to a net growth of 1.3 percent for 2009. Apparently, the market growth will further accelerate in 2010. The upcoming regions that are almost half of the entire market will enable a double-digit growth for 2010.
“An aging installed base of PCs to replace, along with government aid and declining average selling prices are key ingredients in a recipe for resurgence of PC shipments into the commercial market segment,” said Richard Shim, research manager for PCs at IDC. “The combination of a recovering commercial market and a healthy consumer market will lead to double-digit shipment growth through 2013.”
The shipments of desktop will supposedly be flat for next year. On the other hand, the portable PC growth of 1.8 percent will continue to increase, says the report.
The commercial sector is said to rebound in the second half of 2010 while mini netbooks will continue to grow at a slower rate due to the ultra-portables that may appeal to the masses.
