Global PC shipments were up 27.1% year-on-year for the first quarter of 2010, and are projected to grow 19.8% in the year 2010, according to a new report from market research and analysis firm IDC.
IDC said that low to mid-range portable PCs continued their dominance in the global markets, with desktop PCs experiencing first yearly growth since the second quarter of 2008. The growth has been positive across both mature and emerging markets, with all-in-one PCs contributing majorly in driving global consumer desktop growth.
According to IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker, emerging regions were the highest contributors to the double digit global PC shipment growth with 37% year-over-year increase in the first quarter. Higher priced SKUs as mininotebook PCs experienced a marginal growth, while commercial desktops saw first positive growth since the downturn.
The research firm expects PC market revenue in 2010 to surpass that of the previous revenue peak set in 2008 as more purchases shift to higher margin SKUs. Mininotebook PC volume growth is expected to moderate, and its share as a percent of the total PC market is expected to stay under 12%.
IDC projects desktop PC volume to grow over 8% in 2010, with mainstream notebooks named as the main driver of growth. Emerging regions are expected to grow 26.6% in 2010, while mature markets expected to see 2010 come in at 13.6%. Portable PCs are expected to remain the driver of growth across consumer and commercial segments, grabbing around a 70% share of PCs by 2012.
Total PC shipments are projected to reach 121.3 million by 2014, with portable PCs contributing 95.8 million and desktop PCs contributing 25.5 million. International PC shipments are expected to reach 448.3million by 2014, with portable and desktop PCs contributing 331 million and 117.2 million, respectively.
The firm estimates the US total PC shipments to grow 13.9%, 13.1%, 11.7%, 10.2% and 9.1% year-on-year from year 2010 to 2014 and worldwide total PC shipments to grow 19.8%, 14.4%, 12.8%, 12.0% and 11.1% for the same comparison period.
Jay Chou, research analyst with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker, said: "Aside from brute computing power, the value proposition of the PC will be increasingly measured by the flexibility with which it can meet the demands of content creation and content consumption as well as achieving optimal portability."