Tablet popularity sounds death knell for PC systems?

by Steven Mostyn - Apr 14 2011, 13:26

First came 2009’s sudden rush of cheap and economical Netbook computers, which helped tech consumers sidestep the credit crunch and caused the traditional PC market to stutter.

Now, with the Apple iPad heading a stampede of exciting and pocket-friendly tablet portables, the future is looking decidedly bleak for trusty desktop hardware.

That’s according to market figures offered up by research group IDC, which has revealed that global PC shipments for the first quarter of 2011 hit just 80.56 million units—a 3.2 percent drop when compared to the same period in 2010.

According to industry analysts, the dipping appeal of PC systems in Q1 can be attributed to prospective buyers preferring to delay their hardware purchases until the arrival of trend-leading tablets such as Apple’s iPad 2, the Motorola Xoom and LG’s TouchPad.

Looking beyond the obvious user appeal of tablet devices—and the ‘me too’ attitude of consumers—IDC’s report also suggested a number of other possible influences could be contributing to the flagging momentum of PC shipments.

“While it’s tempting to blame the decline completely on the growth of media tablets, we believe other factors, including extended PC lifetimes and the lack of compelling PC experiences, played equally significant roles,” commented Bob O’Donnell, program vice president at IDC.

In terms of how the quarterly performance slump filters out through individual hardware makers, market leader HP saw its shipments slip by 2.8 percent, while second-placed Acer suffered a stinging 15.8 percent slump, and third-placed Dell dropped by 1.8 percent.

However, one or two PC vendors emerged from the Q1 quagmire smelling of roses, with Lenovo seeing a shipment boost of 16.3 percent, while Toshiba managed a healthy push of 3.8 percent.

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