PC sales continue to slide

PC shipments in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) are still dropping, according to analysts.

Research firm IDC said that compared to last year, overall shipments were down nearly 10 per cent over the last quarter.

The biggest drops were seen in Central and Eastern Europe, where researchers logged a drop in sales of 40 per cent. Western Europe fared better, with sales only down 2.5 per cent.

The report found that the hardest hit sector was enterprise sales. Analysts suggest that the credit crunch combined with tightening budgets kept many businesses from investing in new PCs.

Not all of the news was bad, however. The report noted the emergence of netbooks, which struck a chord with buyers and helped to prop up the overall PC market.

"Global economic conditions continued to affect overall spending in the region, with the commercial segment and the CEE region suffering the most, but continued buoyancy around mini notebooks helped maintain solid demand in the consumer space in Western Europe and prevent further market contraction," explained Eszter Morvay, IDC research manager for EMEA personal computing.