Western European PC market sees a 20% decline in Q1, Windows 8 blamed

[nsane.forums]

If you thought a worldwide PC shipments drop of 13.9% for Q1 2013 is bad, wait until you see the statistics reporting a huge drop for the Western European market, which Gartner blames on Windows 8.

Last month research firm IDC released a report that said PC shipments were 13.9% lower in Q1 2013 than Q1 2012 worldwide, making it the largest drop seen by the PC industry since data started being collected. If you thought that was bad, Gartner has come out and released their own report that states for Q1 2013, PC shipments in Western Europe dropped by a whopping 20.5%, which is the largest drop since Gartner began collecting data for the region.

The huge drop comes from a culmination of other large drops in certain areas: mobile (laptop) shipments fell 24.6%, desktop shipments fell 13.8%, professional PC shipments fell 17.2%, and consumer PC shipments fell 17.2%. Many countries in Western Europe also recorded considerable PC shipment declines, including the UK (down 15.8%), Germany (down 20.0%) and France (down 25.3%).

As you would expect, a number of vendors suffered because of declining shipments, with Acer and HP taking the largest hit – Western European Acer and HP PC shipments were both down by more than 30%. The only two OEMs who managed to increase their shipments for the period were Apple, with a meager 0.8% increase, and Lenovo, who managed a considerable 7.2% increase despite the hugely declining market.

Who does Gartner blame for these declines? Unsurprisingly, it's Windows 8, which is usually partly the cause – according to these research firms – for PC shipment declines. Meike Escherich, principal research analyst at Gartner, said:

Wide availability of Windows 8-based PCs could not boost consumer PC purchases during the quarter. Although the new Metro-style user interface suits new form factors, users wonder about its suitability for traditional PCs — non-touchscreen desktops and notebooks.

Escherich also pointed to a shift in usage patterns for consumers, as people switch to using tablets and smartphones more than traditional PCs. As the market continues to undergo this fundamental shift, it's unlikely that the declining state of the PC market will change any time soon.

View: Original Article

[Airstream_Bill]

I hope that my little itty bitty netbook with Win7 on it holds up a while longer. I was going to buy a new computer at the beginning of this year until I saw Win8. I am not special enough for Windows 8. That is what I tell my Sister about her apple stuff also.

[jalaffa]

I did purchase a desktop PC in 4Q12, but guess my next purchase will be a tablet.

[MidnightDistortions]

Thankfully i built mine in 2012 with Windows 7. Mine is good for plenty of years plus i use my older PC for watching movies, tv shows and surfing the internet. Built the newer one for gaming.

[STEEL]

Just wait till 4nm cpu,s hits the market, with onboard gpu,s. P.c. will be Super Fast and just a 2mm screen with thin or virtual key board + mouse.

Will have to wait and see for that :showoff:

And then, Q/TUM Cumputing, the mother off all :fear: :tooth: :dance:

[MidnightDistortions]

Just wait till 4nm cpu,s hits the market, with onboard gpu,s. P.c. will be Super Fast and just a 2mm screen with thin or virtual key board + mouse.

Will have to wait and see for that :showoff:

And then, Q/TUM Cumputing, the mother off all :fear: :tooth: :dance:

With Quantum Computing, bring on the holodecks! :showoff: a gamer's dream come true.