Friday, April 15, 2011

Gartner: tablet hype fueling worldwide dip in PC sales

Worldwide PC sales experienced an unexpected year-over-year decline for the first quarter, according to market research firm Gartner's preliminary sales figures for early 2011. Gartner attributes the 1.1 percent dip in unit shipments—the first decline in six consecutive quarters since the global recession began—to tablet (read iPad) frenzy, as tablets are replacing low cost PCs for many consumers.

"Weak demand for consumer PCs was the biggest inhibitor of growth," principle analyst Mikako Kitagawa said in a statement. Low prices haven't been enough to continue to attract consumer PC spending, Kitagawa noted, as tablets and other mobile electronics have increasingly captured consumer attention. "With the launch of the iPad 2 in February, more consumers either switched to buying an alternative device, or simply held back from buying PCs. We're investigating whether this trend is likely to have a long-term effect on the PC market," she said.

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