By: Aseem Gaurav on June 8, 2011
Apple’s highly popular iPad 2 as well as other tablets in the markets are causing consumers to delay laptop purchase decisions, research firm Gartner said while downgrading PC shipment projections.
Gartner now expects PC shipments to grow 9.3 per cent in 2011, reaching 385 million units, as compared to the earlier figure of 10.5 per cent.
Image courtesy: iTunes
Recently, Apple’s senior VP of iPhone Software Scott Forstall, said at the Worldwide Developers Conference, that 25 million iPads have been sold over the past 14 months. In simpler terms, Apple sold 87,000 iPads for every day in those 14 months.
Gartner said consumers have lost interest in netbooks - or "mini-notebooks," but they see fewer reasons to replace their desktop and laptop PCs.
Image courtesy: iTunes
PCs are transitioning from a one-size-fits-all computing platform to a more-specialized device, prized for its ability to complement other devices, Gartner said.
"The PC market is experiencing dramatic structural changes. Moving forward, PCs will no longer be a market by themselves, but part of a larger device market that ranges from smart televisions to the most-basic-feature phones. Within this market, consumers and professionals will increasingly use the combination of devices that best suits their particular needs," it said.
However, Gartner’s study is in contrast with the one from chip giant Intel, which expects PC unit shipments to grow 11 per cent this year.
But what about you? Are you buying an iPad or rethinking about your next PC purchase?
