Global PC market in 2009 will continue to resonate in 2010, but their impact will change as new market forces come into play, according to market intelligence firm IDC.
The firm said that the lower prices brought on by last year’s challenging economy will create new opportunities for emerging sub form factors, such as ultrathin portables and all-in-one desktops.
IDC predicts that the focus on ultrathin PCs will continue to grow in 2010, while mininotebook shipment growth will drastically slow and plateau. Stronger market demand from commercial and consumer markets will translate into solid shipment growth, avoiding the market to lower Average selling price.
According to IDC, portable PCs will account for more than 60% of all PC shipments in 2010, while shipments of portable PCs with WiMAX embedded will surpass shipments of portable PCs with 3G cellular embedded. Touch-enabled portable and desktop PCs will gain little traction.
In addition, the research firm predicts that the share of all-in-one desktops will double to capture nearly 10% of the worldwide desktop market in 2010, due continued interest from consumers, combined with new momentum in the commercial sector. It also expects 10% of new enterprise desktop client deployments to be virtual.
Bob O’Donnell, program vice president of clients and displays at IDC, said: “We’re expecting consumer and commercial PC buyers alike to be more experimental with new types of PCs, especially because of their lower price points.
“Hardware vendors and software developers should seize the opportunity to promote differentiation by rewriting the computing experience to match the new variety of PC sub form factors arriving in the market.”
