PC sales predicted to continue slide in 2013
BY PETER SVENSSON AP Technology Writer
Tuesday, March 05, 2013
3/05/13 at 7:03 AM
NEW YORK (AP) - Sales of personal computers will continue to shrink this year after a grim 2012, as consumers flock toward tablets, research firm IDC said Monday.
IDC expects global PC sales to contract 1.3 percent this year after falling 3.7 percent last year.
For the U.S., IDC expects the third year in a row of contraction, while sales will continue to grow slowly in the developing world.
PC makers had hoped Windows 8, which Microsoft launched in October, would help make the personal computer appealing again. But the new operating system hasn't helped, IDC said.
A shaky global economy is contributing to the weak sales, IDC analysts said.
IDC analyst Loren Loverde said though tablets still don't match PCs for storage space and other functions, "they are winning consumer dollars with mobility and consumer appeal nevertheless."
Another research firm, Canalys, put 2012 tablet sales at 115 million, up from essentially zero before 2010, when Apple launched the iPad. That compares with 353 million PCs sold last year, according to Gartner Inc., a tech research company.
Original Print Headline: Drop in PC sales seen continuing
