PC market poised to improve (by shrinking slower than expected)

A new report out from technology research firm Gartner says global PC shipments will improve in 2014 even as more people transition to tablets and mobile devices for their computing needs. 

|
(Kathy Willens/AP)
A member of the media tries out a new Samsung Galaxy Tab S after the tablet's debut at a press conference in New York, Thursday, June 12, 2014.

It's looking like 2014 will be a slightly better year for the PC market. 

Technology research firm Gartner said Monday in a new report that global PC shipments will decrease less than they did in 2013. 

"2014 will be marked by a relative revival of the global PC market," says Ranjit Atwal, research director at Gartner, in a release. 

The report says the global PC market is "on pace to contract only 2.9 percent in 2014." That's an improvement from a 9.5 percent decrease in 2013, the report states. In its assessment of the global PC market, Gartner includes desktops, notebooks, and "premium ultramobile" devices. 

"Business upgrades from Windows XP and the general business replacement cycle will lessen the downward trend, especially in Western Europe," adds Mr. Atwal in the release. "This year, we anticipate nearly 60 million professional PC replacements in mature markets."

The report says traditional PCs, such as desktop computers, will continue to decrease in shipments by 2015. 

Worldwide PC shipments are decreasing as more people transition to mobile phones and tablets. As such, shipments of mobile phones and tablets are projected to increase steadily through 2015. The report qualifies its prediction of tablets, however, by noting that growth in tablet sales will slow in 2014. This is due in part because the tablet market has passed the initial phase of adoption as well as because people are increasingly using "phablets" or smart phones with large screens. And as tablet sales continue, people will be increasingly swayed by cheaper devices as opposed to those with "superior functionality," the report states. 

The wide variety of devices available on the market is unlikely to sway the majority of consumers toward one device or another. Rather, people will likely own multiple devices and switch between them as needed, according to Gartner analyst Mikako Kitagawa. 

"[People] will use different type of devices depending on what they do and where they are," Mr. Kitagawa says in an e-mail. "In the last 2-3 years, lots of buyers bought tablets in addition to owning PCs. Although there are buyers who only use tablets and do not use PCs any longer, the majority of users use both PCs and tablets. We believe this will be the most likely trend in the next five years."

He says that while phablets are still relatively new on the market, there will also be a "combination of device ownership" when it comes to the large smart phones. Some people, for example, will use their phablet as a smart phone and as a tablet. While others may prefer to own both a smart phone and a tablet, he says, noting that device preference will vary depending on country, gender, age group, and income. 

But regardless of people's combination of devices, they will likely be using a smart phone. By 2018, smart phones are expected to comprise 88 percent of global mobile phone sales. 

Android and iOS are the top operating systems. Android saw a 30-percent increase between 2013 and 2014, while iOS saw a 15 percent increase. 

"We expect the announcement of the new Apple iPhone 6 will attract pent-up demand for users who want a larger screen," says Annette Zimmermann, research director at Gartner, in the release. "Windows phones will exhibit strong growth from a low base in 2014, and are projected to reach a 10 percent market share by 2018 — up from 4 percent in 2014."

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to PC market poised to improve (by shrinking slower than expected)
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Technology/Horizons/2014/0708/PC-market-poised-to-improve-by-shrinking-slower-than-expected
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe