By Saabira Chaudhuri
Worldwide PC shipments dropped 4.9% in the fourth quarter
pointing to a structural shift rather than just a weak economy,
according to new data from technology research firm Gartner Inc.
(IT)
"Tablets have dramatically changed the device landscape for PCs,
not so much by 'cannibalizing' PC sales, but by causing PC users to
shift consumption to tablets rather than replacing older PCs," said
Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner. "Whereas as once we
imagined a world in which individual users would have both a PC and
a tablet as personal devices, we increasingly suspect that most
individuals will shift consumption activity to a personal tablet,
and perform creative and administrative tasks on a shared PC."
Gartner said that during the recent holiday season, consumers no
longer viewed PCs as the number one gift item and that the launch
of Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) Windows 8 didn't have a significant
impact on PC shipments in the fourth quarter.
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) regained the top position in worldwide
PC shipments in the fourth quarter with over 16% of the world's
market share, however, Gartner noted that the company's shipments
did not grow compared to a year ago. It was followed by Lenovo
Group Ltd. (LNVGY) and Dell Inc. (DELL) with market shares of 15.5%
and 10.2%, respectively. Lenovo also experienced the best growth
rate among the top five PC vendors worldwide, at 8.2%.
Worldwide PC shipments totaled 90.3 million units in the fourth
quarter. Mobile PC shipments decreased 11% while desktop PC
shipments declined 6%.
In the U.S., PC shipments totaled 17.5 million units in the
quarter, a 2.1% decline from the year-ago period.
Meanwhile, PC shipments in Europe, the Middle East and Africa,
totaled 28.1 million units, a 9.6% decrease from the fourth quarter
of 2011. Gartner noted that Western Europe remained the weak point
across EMEA, as Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East and
Africa saw growth quarter-on-quarter.
PC shipments in the Asia-Pacific region totaled 29.9 million
units, a 1.8% decline from the year ago.
Write to Saabira Chaudhuri at saabira.chaudhuri@dowjones.com
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