Last year was a good year for the large PC vendors, while 2005, although not a replay of 2004, will be an "interesting" one for the industry, say analysts.
In 2004, worldwide sales of PCs, notebooks and low-end servers increased by 14.5 per cent, according to analyst group IDC. Dell and even troubled Gateway appreciated by 25 per cent and 41 per cent respectively, while Apple had advanced by an astounding 212 per cent on Wall Street by mid-December (largely as a result of its iPod music player and related services).
IDC analyst Roger Kay expects growth in PC sales to slow to 10.1 per cent in 2005. Despite this, the path looks rosy for Dell and Hewlett-Packard, as they are likely to pick up market share as a result of IBM’s recent departure from the space and uncertainty over Lenovo’s strategy.
Some analysts have also suggested that the ‘Apple mania’ induced by the success of the iPod could persuade many users to switch from Windows-based computers to Macs – a trend known as the ‘halo-effect’.
New York City (NY)
