Worst it has been since 2001
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.