Chinese-language Commercial Times paper cited their sources claiming that 2010 PC shipment growth will get a boost of more than 10% thanks to Windows 7. Since this year saw the growth decline by 5%, this might not be such a tough task, but at least it’s a relief from regularly bleak sales forecasts and poor results of recent months.
Apparently, desktop PCs will account for the majority of the growth, although netbooks are also expected to benefit from the new OS’ touchscreen features. Still, the newspaper also says that netbooks are unlikely to benefit much. Win 7’s predecessor, Vista, hasn’t been quite what you would call netbook-friendly, but Microsoft is apparently developing Windows 7 with netbooks in mind, and a specialized version could sweep the netbook market. Bear in mind that XP, which currently ships with the majority of Windows based netbooks, is slated for retirement within a few months.
This doesn't mean the overall economic situation is getting significantly better, but at least some hardworking industry people will finally catch a break from the economic downturn.
More here.