Despite last quarter's down sales figures and new fighting words from Apple chief Tim Cook, The NPD Group refused to sound the death knell for PCs. The research firm said this week that the PC market is alive and well.
"The [PC] industry is not in as dire shape as some would believe," said Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis at NPD. "Reseller market (primarily DMRs) and through major broad line distributors - and surprise - the PC market performed pretty well."
The notebook and desktop sectors in particular both saw a 20 percent unit volume increase last year, Baker said, with continued competition between market leaders HP and Lenovo to help stimulate future sales.
Strong numbers out of Cupertino, combined with sliding PC sales, have led some to proclaim the PC's days are numbered.
Earlier this month, Gartner analysts revealed that global PC shipments for the final quarter of 2011 shrunk 1.4 percent over the same quarter in 2010. Apple CEO Tim Cook said during a quarterly earnings report this week that the company's iPad sold more during the holiday season than individual desktop PC models. The iOS media tablet moved 15.4 million units last fall, though the overall PC market saw close to 93 million units during the same time frame.
One point of contention lost in the great debate is this: tablets are not PCs.
Research company IHS called the iPad and others "luxury items" compared to more utilitarian and useful notebooks and desktops. The firm said the notebook market will grow in the coming years even as media tablets do the same. (via NPD Group Blog)
