2010 to be better than 2008
IDC expects PC market revenue in 2010 to surpass that of the previous revenue peak set in 2008 as more purchases shift to higher-margin SKUs. Netbook PC volume growth is predicted to moderate, while share of the total PC market is expected to stay below 12 per cent.
The corporation also anticipates a growth in desktop PC volume of over eight per cent in 2010 thanks to favourable comparisons to a disappointing 2009 but also due to business replacements and the popularity of all-in-one PCs. However, the main growth driver will come from mainstream laptops.
IDC expects emerging regions to support much of the growth ahead, expanding almost 27 per cent in 2010 on the strength of laptop sales. Mature markets are anticipated to grow by approximately 14 per cent in 2010. Portable PCs will remain the driver of growth across consumer and commercial segments, accounting for almost a 70 per cent share of PCs by 2012.
"Beyond continuing with the market recovery, 2010 will be a year filled with new formulations on what constitutes the PC experience," said Jay Chou, research analyst with IDC. He believes new devices such as e-readers and media tablets will pose ‘disruptive challenges’ to conventional usage models but also open up interesting opportunities in consumer and mobile business spaces.
“Aside from brute computing power, the value proposition of the PC will be increasingly measured by the flexibility with which it can meet the demands of content creation and content consumption as well as achieving optimal portability," said Chou.
