14 DAY TRIAL // The decline of the desktop personal computing market is something that nothing will be able to stave off, or perhaps we should say that it is nothing that can be slowed down, since it has been going on for months.
Meanwhile, market analysts have been keeping track of everything as well as they could. The consequences, as expected, are far-reaching.
IDC recently took a look at the PC monitor segment, and what it found was none too encouraging, although there does seem to be a silver lining.
While sales have been dropping, the average size of sold monitors has risen a bit.
Not by much, but by 2017 the 21.4-inch size should be standard, instead of the 20.4-inch in 2012.
"The continued decline in PC desktops is bringing about changes in strategy and product focus in the PC monitor market," said Jennifer Song, Research Analyst at IDC.
"With Windows 8 operating system, we expect to see more touch-based monitors although price points are a little high. Average screen size of the market is also expected to increase to 21.4 inches in 2017 from 20.4 inches in 2012."
For 2013, IDC has a total shipment forecast of 134.4 million units, which is 9.9% below the 140.1 million that the analyst firm painted earlier this year.
By 2017, the figure is expected to slide all the way down to 113.6 million, as notebook panels, tablet screens, and smartphone displays steal the market share.
The 16:9 aspect ratio will continue to dominate though (currently at 75% share), followed by 16:10 (less than a fourth of that).
On a related note, LED-backlit monitors will grow from the current 69.2% market share as well, like they did by 15.7% over what the number was in 2012.
Samsung is the number 1 vendor at the moment, with a 14.4% share, followed by Dell, HP, LG, and AOC.