Notebook shipments surpass desktops in the US

Notebook shipments into the US market surpassed a 50-percent share in the third quarter, topping quarterly desktop PC shipments for the first time in the history of the industry, IDC reported today in its US Quarterly PC Tracker survey.

The 55-percent US market share for notebooks was "made possible by a record volume of notebooks shipped in 3Q08 - over 9.5 million units - representing more than 18- percent growth both year over year and on a sequential basis," according to preliminary data, said IDC, a global market research firm headquartered in Framingham.

"The consumer market continued to be the top driving factor in the notebook offensive but the commercial sector played a critical role too" David Daoud, a research manager at IDC, said in a statement. "The consumer market has long favored notebooks, with mobile ratios exceeding the 70-percent mark. So it is clear that the small and mid-markets, as well as the enterprise and public sector buyers, are seeing good value in mobility. Looking ahead, while mobility will remain a leading growth factor, the economy will be a major wild card in the short to mid term. Prolonged economic tension could have an adverse effect on the PC space leading to reduced growth, but the good news is that virtually every buyer considers PCs as must-have products and not a secondary wish-list items."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)