14 DAY TRIAL // The increased need for mobility pushes the users to turn their attention to the notebook market. Working on multiple computers involves data synchronization and many times important work gets lost by omission. This is the main reason notebook sales have dramatically increased, especially at a time when laptops have become as powerful as many mid-level desktop PCs.
Market analyst IDC estimates that worldwide PC sales are due to increase by about 16.7% in the fourth quarter 2007. This boost is mostly due to strong sales in laptops and ultra-mobile PCs. Sales in the second half of this year are beyond manufacturers' expectations, since the same period of 2006 was extremely slow and accounted for just a 7.9 percent growth.
According to IDC, the coming holidays have played an important role in PC sales, which are expected to reflect a growth rate of 14.6%, as compared to 10.1% in 2006.
"The peak portable growth seen in the third quarter will be difficult to sustain, but it reflects strong demand across regions and segments that will fuel growth going forward", said Loren Loverde, director of IDC's Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker, in a statement. "It will be increasingly important for PC vendors to have a strong portable offering to stay competitive as the market continues its rapid shift to mobile computing."
Laptops met a strong demand in the third quarter of the year and accounted for 37 percent in sales, which is a record as compared even to peak quarters in 2003 and 2005. Contrary to common belief, the increased attention in the notebook sector does not handicap desktop sales at all. Desktop PC shipments continue to grow especially in emerging countries. However, notebook PCs have sold 33 percent better than desktops.
"The significant influences driving the growth of portable PC volume include falling prices, the narrowing performance gap as compared with desktops, improving wireless connectivity, and the expanded access through retail channels", said Richard Shim, personal computing research manager at IDC. "The desktop market will aim to maintain share by emphasizing improvements in energy efficiency, shrinking case designs and emerging mainstream opportunities, such as gaming and all-in-one systems."