14 DAY TRIAL // Looks like all the tablets and e-readers really did a number on the computer market, to the point where analysts are mostly in agreement that sales will be weak.
Gartner is the latest to pipe up and express its opinion on the matter and, sure enough, 2012 is expected to be a slow year.
PC shipments will still grow a little bit (4.4 percent or so), but if the market picks up again, it won't be earlier than late 2013 or 2014.
Emerging markets are where companies should focus, Gartner says.
“Emerging markets are key to driving worldwide PC growth in both the short and long-term, and our expectation is that 2012 and then 2013 onwards will be supported by growth in emerging markets as their share increases from just over 50 percent in 2011 to nearly 70 percent in 2016,” said Ranjit Atwal, research director at Gartner.
“Emerging markets have very low PC penetration and even with the availability of other devices we still expect a steady uptake of PCs.”
Moving on, the analyst group is not totally certain that Windows 8 and ultrabooks will manage to spark consumer interest in personal computers again.
Even with the economic struggle, vendors have to be more worried about how the consumer dynamics have changed now that tablets, smartphones and, dare we say, Smart TVs have lowered the relevance of desktops and notebooks.
“PC shipments will remain weak in 2012, as the PC market plays catch up in bringing a new level of innovation that consumers want to see in devices they purchase,” said Ranjit Atwal.
“The real question is whether Windows 8 and ultrabooks will create the compelling offering that gets the earlier adopter of devices excited about PCs again. [...] The use of applications such as e-mail, social networking and Internet access, that were traditionally the domain of the PC, are now being used across media tablets and smartphones, making these devices in some cases more valued and attractive propositions.”