statistics from International Data Corporation, PC shipments were, once again, down in the second quarter of 2014. The only positive, IDC says, is that the decline is not as bad as everyone feared. Windows XP played a big part here, as users and enterprises migrated to newer versions of the operating system. The move to Windows 7 or Windows 8, usually prompts the user base to buy new and better PCs. This is true, at least, for businesses. How about some numbers, then? The Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker found PC shipments dipped by 1.7%, and worldwide unit shipments came in at some 74.4 million units. Not bad, in the grand scheme of things. Interestingly, Chromebooks were taken into account here — otherwise the decline probably would have been a tad steeper. But then again, every little bit helps, and Chromebooks are PCs, by and large. The vendor landscape did not change much. Lenovo still is in the lead with 14.5 million units (19.6% market share), then HP with 13.5 million (18.3%), followed by Dell and their shipments of 10.4 million (14%). Surprisingly Acer comes in next at 6.1 million units (8.2%), and ASUS rounds up the top five with 4.1 million pieces (6.2% share). Regions like Europe, Canada and the United States witnessed growth, but that was offset by fading sales in the rest of the world. But again, even with missed growth, it could have been a lot worse.]]>
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Nothing to worry about here. PC sales will continue to steadily drop overall as tablets become a viable alternative. However, we have a long way to go before the PC market really needs to worry.
It’s this kind of view that causes a lot of business to go down. e.g. Eastman Kodah and Nokia to name a few.
It’s a small problem at this point. However, I wouldn’t be shocked if PCs are extinct within the next 30 years. This is something Microsoft definitely needs to keep their eye on.