The number of PCs shipped is expected to be lower than the previous year, a rarity for the industry, in fact the last time this happened was in 2001, said iSuppli.

Bean counters at iSuppli think that only 287.3 million PCs will be shipped in 2009, a 4 percent decrease from the 299.2 million shipped around the world in 2008. OK, while it is “bleeding obvious” to everyone that PC sales will have fallen, the market was still expected to grow a little bit. In fact iSuppli itself predicted 0.7 percent growth for the year. Even in weak years, PC unit shipments typically rise by single-digit percentages.

However what no one had predicted, thanks probably to the Solar Eclipse, or some other fortune telling stuffing up phenomenon was that desktop computer market would tank to the extent it did. Shipments of desktops are expected to decline 18.1 percent this year, as notebook PCs become ever more popular. Notebooks are on track to grow almost 12 percent this year, for the first time outpacing desktop shipments for a whole year.

It's been clear for several years that PC buyers prefer mobility, and the increasing power of notebooks have helped push more customers in that direction. PC manufacturers have looked for ways in the last couple years to reinvigorate desktop sales. So far with no luck.

IT spending by large corporate customers has disappeared although this is expected to pick up soon.