PC demand has been lower than expected for a while now. Growth has struggled too. A weak global economy, increasing market penetration of tablets/smartphones and high hard drive prices have all worked together to suppress the global appetite for PCs.
For some unknown reason, PC OEMs like Acer, Dell, HP, Packard Bell and so on think that Microsoft’s newest operating system release – Windows 8 – will miraculously fix sluggish PC demand and boost growth. However, market analysts IDC seem to paint out a different picture. IDC believes Windows 8 will help demand, but it won’t be enough, and as a consequence IDC have lowered their PC outlook for 2012.
Windows 7 system sales are slowing, in the normally lucrative “back to school” buying season. Prices on Windows 7 systems are as low as they will probably ever get, so if you aren’t looking forward to Windows 8 then now’s the time to get a Windows 7 system before the switch occurs in late October.
IDC points out that the release of Windows 8 and all its variants will confuse consumers and it may take until the end of 2012 to eliminate that confusion.
The worldwide PC market is forecasted to grow by 0.9 percent in 2012, marking the second year in a row with growth below 2 percent. This should rebound to around 7.1 percent from 2013 to 2016 although it’s still lower than the previously forecast growth of 8.4 percent from 2012 through 2016.
