IDC: PC market struggles

IDC confirms the Australia PC market was decreasing with ominous signs for the next 12 to 18 months.

According to the preliminary results for the combined PC and notebook market for this year, IDC said the market dipped by one percent in the first quarter of 2006, although it did experience a four percent year on year increase.

IDC said the preliminary figures were still well below conservative forecasts, but vendors and channel partners were feeling the pinch as prices continued to plummet.

To add to the situation, the post Y2K refresh wave was completely and utterly finished IDC said, leaving a much smaller base of piecemeal business outside large tenders.

Michael Sager, research manager, hardware, said, a combination of factors could be attributed to the current downturn.

“The rise in interest rates combined with rising global oil prices has had an impact on consumer spending," he said. "The recent tax scheme proposed by Peter Costello will dampen this impact to a degree, holding up consumer spending.”

“This is a very important factor for the PC market as consumer spending will be the main segment that sustains any positive growth in the next year or two."

While the forecast for the near future is one of slowing growth, there are product advancements squarely aimed at spurring the burgeoning consumer market.

Technologies such as Intel’s Viiv, Microsoft’s Vista and widescreen notebooks could play a role in increasing the prevalence of PCs in the home.

The overall preliminary PC market results showed, HP had the lead with 18.6 percent with Dell in second position with 15.3 percent. Acer picked up third with 12.3 percent, followed by Toshiba with 7.8 percent, Lenovo at 6.0 percent, Apple 3.2 percent and Optima 2.3 percent.