Stamford (ip-192.com): The outlook for the IT industry is more optimistic, as evidenced by the latest Gartner report. The Stamford, Connecticut based research and advisory company predicts that worldwide PC shipments will increase 22 percent in 2010 from 308.3 million to 376.6 million units. Worldwide spending on PC purchases is forecast to reach $245.4 billion in 2010, up 12 percent from 2009. The home PC market will outpace the professional market with 29.5 percent growth in 2010, while the professional PC market is projected to grow 13.1 percent this year.
"PC demand in the consumer segment continues to strengthen even though the global economy remains uncertain. Consumers are now viewing PCs as necessities rather than luxury items," said Ranjit Atwal, principal research analyst at Gartner. "In the downturn, PCs remained the electronic device of choice on which to spend household income in mature markets, and we do not expect this to change either in 2010 or beyond."
Gartner predicts robust growth in the professional PC market as the adaption of Windows 7 drives demand to replace or upgrade older hardware. "Larger businesses expect to start replacements in the second half of 2010, with the majority replaced in 2011. We now expect Windows 7 migration to last through 2012," says Atwal.
Mini-notebooks continue to grow, but their growth is showing signs of slowing down as the submarket for them matures. Worldwide mini-notebook shipments are preliminarily forecast to total 41.8 million units in 2010, a 30 percent increase from 2009 shipments of 32.1 million units. Mini-notebooks will account for 18.6 percent of mobile PC shipments in 2010, but their share will steadily decline after this year, falling to 13.9 percent of the mobile PC market in 2014.
Gartner predicts that 10 million media tablets with a touchscreen size of 5 inches or more and a fully fledged operating system (OS) will be shipped in 2010. "Media tablets will not impact the mini-notebook segment this year," research analyst Raphael Vasquez said. "However, media tablets, such as the iPad and similar devices, will significantly detract from mini-notebook shipments in 2013 and onward, when we expect their prices to be lower and, more importantly, their functionality to be more similar to mini-notebooks."
PC markets in Western Europe, China, and the U.S. are expected to generate more than half of 2010 PC shipment growth. In 2011, more than half of PC shipment growth in 2011 will come from the U.S. and China.
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