14 DAY TRIAL // Personal computers continue to sell less and less, due to dropping demand as a result of consumer preference for tablets and smartphones.
Not that tablets and phones are replacing PCs. It's just that there hasn't been much cause to upgrade desktops and replace notebooks lately.
Also, until the tablet industry reaches maturity, many who need to pick between notebooks and tablets because of financial constraints will choose the latter, due to novelty and ease of carrying them everywhere.
Because of all these factors, shipments of PCs fell in the second quarter of 2013, by 10.9%, to 76 million.
It was the fifth consecutive quarter of decline.
"We are seeing the PC market reduction directly tied to the shrinking installed base of PCs, as inexpensive tablets displace the low-end machines used primarily for consumption in mature and developed markets," said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner.