IDC: notebook shipments surpass desktops in US market for first time
Posted by Dennis Sellers 
Oct 28, 2008 at 8:01pm
The third quarter of 2008 saw notebook shipments into the U.S. market surpass 50 percent share, topping quarterly desktop personal computer shipments for the first time in the history of the industry. The share of notebooks shipped in the U.S. in 3Q08 stood at a solid 55.2 percent, according to preliminary figures from IDC’s “U.S. Quarterly PC Tracker.”
The 55 percent ratio was made possible by a record volume of notebooks shipped in 3Q08—over 9.5 million units—representing more than 18 percent growth both year-over-year and on a sequential basis, according to IDC’s preliminary data. These figures were reached amid a relatively active back-to-school season and the burgeoning financial crisis, which captured headlines but did not immediately affect the computer market’s performance.
“The consumer market continued to be the top driving factor in the notebook offensive but the commercial sector played a critical role too” says David Daoud, research manager, U.S. Quarterly PC Tracker and Personal Systems at IDC. “The consumer market has long favored notebooks, with mobile ratios exceeding the 70 percent mark. So it is clear that the small and mid-markets, as well as the enterprise and public sector buyers, are seeing good value in mobility. Looking ahead, while mobility will remain a leading growth factor, the economy will be a major wild card in the short to mid term. Prolonged economic tension could have an adverse effect on the personal computer space leading to reduced growth, but the good news is that virtually every buyer considers personal computers as must-have products and not a secondary wish-list items.”
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Contributor
Dennis Sellers
Dennis has been a newspaper editor/reporter (seven years) and teacher (seven years). He has over 4,000 magazine, newspaper and online articles to his credit. He has also covered the Mac and tech industries for over a decade for such online publications as MacCentral, MacMinute and now MacsimumNews.
