PC Sales Will Stay Lukewarm for the Whole First Half of 2013

For whatever reason, Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system did not cause a new wave of PC sales in later 2012.

With tablets stealing notebook market share, this led to a drop in shipments, one that we have repeatedly remarked on.

Now, PC and component makers say that shipments will stay low throughout the first half of the year (2013).

Windows Blue (a sort of service pack 1 equivalent for Windows 8) will launch in August, so that may change things.

For now, though, consumers will still not have much of a reason to replace their notebooks, let alone their desktop PCs. Due to this, second quarter shipments might end up lower than first quarter ones.

The wait-and-see attitude might last until new AMD and Intel CPUs/APUs debut in early summer.