Tuesday, February 18, 2003
PC shipments will post a modest increase for 2003 despite the continuous slow economy, according to a new report by Gartner Dataquest.
Gartner estimates that worldwide PC unit shipments will reach 33.2 million units in the first quarter of the year, an increase of 4.8 percent from the same period last year.
For the full year, worldwide PC shipments will increase by 7.9 percent to 138.7 million units, the firm said. During 2002, unit shipments rose only about 1.5 percent.
Gartner's forecast matches an earlier report from IDC, which predicted that unit shipments will increase by about 8 percent. But IDC, whose research methods differ slightly from Gartner's, predicts that worldwide unit sales will equal 147.5 million during 2003.
Gartner blames slower-than-average sales of replacement PCs and sales to new customers on the lack of must-have applications. PC buyers, including both consumers and corporations, are keeping their machines longer, the firm has said, extending the life expectancy of their machines to four or five years.
With economic uncertainty continuing, pricing also plays a part. Many PC buyers are buying less-expensive machines but equipped with enough performance to handle most people's everyday needs.
But even if slowed by the economy, PC sales will recover as companies and consumers begin to replace an aging fleet of PCs, Gartner said.
By: DocMemory
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