Global PC shipments rose to 52 million units during the fourth quarter of 2013. Despite a slightly better-than-expected holiday shopping season and some renewed interest from business buyers, sales fell short of industry expectations, according to a recent research report , citing the continued popularity of smartphones and tablets.

Overall, PC shipments increased about 9.4% from the third quarter of 2013 to the fourth -- one of the stronger growth periods during the last several years. However, industry analysts expected shipments of 55.3 million units and instead the market saw shipments total out at about 52.6 million. The hope for the PC industry rested with Intel's Bay Trail processor, which is a hybrid tablet and notebook chip, but it seems not to be achieving the kind of adoption rates needed to give the market the boost it needs.

The report also placed a bet on Microsoft's Windows 8. As the popular Windows XP system begins to head toward end-of-life, the industry is still holding out hope for a refresh with consumers and businesses moving toward Windows 8. Still, others think that tablets, such as the iPad, have saturated the market, creating room for other devices such as PCs.

However, the public's thirst for mobility doesn't seem to want to slack just yet. IDC recently released new smartphones figures showing that shipments based the one billion mark in 2013. Of that, nearly 95% of smartphones shipped with either Google's Android or Apple's iOS operating system.

By: DocMemory
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