PC market to shrink for first time in over 10 yrs: Report

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London, Oct 12: The PC market is set to shrink for the first time in over a decade, as tablets enjoy a surge in popularity, a research has claimed.

According to market research firm IHS iSuppli, in 2012, the market for personal computers is due to contract by 1.2 per cent, with 349 million PC shipments due this year, down from 353 million in 2011.

“There was great hope through the first half that 2012 would prove to be a rebound year for the PC market,” the Telegraph quoted Craig Stice, an analyst at IHS iSuppli, as saying.

“Now three quarters through the year, the usual boost from the back-to-school season appears to be a bust, and both AMD and Intel’s third-quarter outlooks appear to be flat to down,” he said.

“Optimism has vanished and turned to doubt, and the industry is now training its sights on 2013 to deliver the hoped-for rebound. All this is setting the PC market up for its first annual decline since the dot-com bust year of 2001,” he added.

Meanwhile, a study conducted by American research centre Pew showed that tablet use has risen steadily over the last year.

According to the report, in July 2011, only 11 per cent of American adults had a tablet.

By January 2012, that figure was 18 per cent, while in August 2012, the number had risen again to 25 per cent, the report added. (ANI)