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Rise of new media devices lowers PC sale forecast for 2011
By siliconindia
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Thursday, 03 March 2011, 23:11 IST
New Delhi: Growing consumer interest toward new range of devices has led Gartner to lower its forecast on sale of PC units for 2011. The research firm's preliminary prediction shows worldwide PC shipment in 2011 will reach 387.8 million units. This is down from Gartner's previous projection of 15.9 percent growth this year.
Ranjit Atwal, Research Director, Gartner said, "These results reflect marked reductions in expected near-term unit growth based on expectations of weaker consumer mobile PC demand, in no small part because of the near-term weakness expected in China's mobile PC market, but also because of a general loss in consumer enthusiasm for mobile PCs."
In the past five years, consumer mobile PCs were the dynamic growth engines of the PC market. They contributed nearly 40 percent annually toward the growth of the market and were a preferred medium of consumers for bringing the Internet into their daily lives. However, due to the spread of low-cost embedded Wi-Fi modules, Internet access is now available through a multitude of mobile devices that allow consumers to engage in virtually all their favorite online activities without the need of a mobile PC.
George Shiffler, Research Director at Gartner said, "We expect growing consumer enthusiasm for mobile PC alternatives, such as the iPad and other media tablets, to dramatically slow home mobile PC sales, especially in mature markets."
The dramatic rise in the popularity of alternative devices and the limitations of the PC are two of many dynamics that played a significant role in Gartner's revised outlook for the PC industry.
