Global PC sales fell in Q4 2012 despite Windows 8, holiday deals

[Rick]

A quarterly report from industry analyst IDC indicates that PC shipments have been unusually soft. According to the group, PC sales dipped 6.4 percent in Q4 2012 when compared to the same period last year. Additionally, Q4 led to a 4.5 percent decline in sales from the previous quarter and marked a 7 percent drop for 2012, overall.

An independent report by research firm NPD corroborates IDC's findings of a decline during the same period, but raises that figure to a whopping 11 percent when looking at just U.S. sales. Many analysts expected Windows 8 and week-long holiday sales to invigorate Q4 PC sales; however, relatively poor retail performance may instead be a troubling sign for PC makers.

Although numbers in 2012 were smaller than 2011, manufacturers still managed to squeeze out 352.4 million PCs -- shrinking or not, PCs remains an enormous industry. According to IDC, HP remained the largest global PC vendor in Q4 with 16.7 percent market share. Lenovo and Dell rounded out the top three with 15.7 and 10.6 percent, respectively. When it comes to sales within the United States, HP, Dell and Apple held the top spots with 27.0, 19.6 and 11.4 percent of market share, respectively.

Notably, unlike Canalys and a small minority of research firms, IDC does not consider tablets as PCs or "personal computers". However, IDC does count Apple computers, laptops and netbooks as PCs. Also excluded from the results are servers and handhelds.

IDC supposes the drop in PC sales is driven primarily by strong demand for tablets and smartphones. There has long been a debate over whether tablets could cannibalize PCs, but as PC sales slow, tablets have only gained momentum.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/51309-global-pc-sales-fell-in-q4-2012-despite-windows-8-holiday-deals.html

 

[Guest]

I found a typo in your article. You said "despite windows 8" but you could only have meant "because of windows 8."

 

[Paul68]

I found a typo in your article. You said "despite windows 8" but you could only have meant "because of windows 8."

Ya beat me to it. Was going to say the same exact thing. Hopefully the hit in the wallet and marketing that Win8 represents will get MS to either scrap that abomination or at least return it to a usable UI.

 

[oldikes]

I found a typo in your article. You said "despite windows 8" but you could only have meant "because of windows 8."

This...

 

[Guest]

I would suggest triple whammy.

1) New computers do not offer anymore then they did starting about 5 years ago to 98% of the population. Because of this, why would someone buy new unless their old one just actually died.

2) Tablets. Why buy a big bulky stationary machine to check email, facebook, chat, video, watch netflix (built into most new tv's now) and surf the web?

3) Windows 8. Lastly windows 8.

 

[Vrmithrax]

I would also suggest that Windows RT (which should be in the "not counted as PCs category") further muddied the waters and probably cannibalized some of the Windows 8 sales...

 

[Guest]

Looks like most the other comments echo my thoughts on Windows 8.

 

[mailpup]

New computers do not offer anymore then they did starting about 5 years ago to 98% of the population. Because of this, why would someone buy new unless their old one just actually died.

I don't think you accounted for business, manufacturing and industrial uses of PCs. While businesses can be slow to adopt new operating systems without a good reason, they also can't afford to wait for their equipment to get so old it dies.

Just curious but what part of that 98% applies to business? Perhaps you just made that number up?

 

[Timonius]

Funny how PC still equates to a Windows desktop computer when in reality Personal Computers ought to be defined as any number of device and Operating System combo out there (Yeah I went there : ) ). If you want to title this article "Global Desktop sales fell in Q4 2012 despite Windows 8, holiday deals", then we have most likely an accurate story.

 

[avoidz]

Windows 8 is kryptonite to new PC sales.

 

[Guest]

@ mailpup, TechSpot Special Forces,

just a guess on my part with no stats to back it up. I don't own a PC store now but used to for 14 years, and now only deal part time in services. From my view and experience (which is just my opinion) computers started offering extremely diminishing returns for home users, when Intel Core2Dou was introduced. An e6320 (1.8) dual core Core2duo with 4 gigs of ram will do facebook, email, websurfing, booting up, burning cds, sending files to your ipod, posting pics, video chatting, text chatting, voip'ing, downloading music, playing music, etc etc just the same as a Intel's Extremete I7...

Same story for goes for most any office use for any accounting suite, booking program, productivity suite, photoshopping etc.

For the last 2%, yes you will notice an difference in work when doing engineering, chemical research, movie creation, animation design etc.

 

[Blue Falcon]

There are many factors at play. The economy is still not great worldwide. People view smartphones as a necessity but they do not view PCs as such. It's a lot cheaper to get a smartphone/tablet than a good laptop/desktop.

I feel that SSDs have helped to prolong upgrades. All of my friends who don't do anything CPU intensive complained to me that their computers still felt slow. I recommended they get SSD upgrades. After they upgraded to SSDs and moved from Windows XP to 7, they will probably keep the same Core 2 Duo systems for another 3-4 years.

A lot of people just do basic things on the PC (email, browsing the internet, watching youtube). For those consumers, smartphones and tablets have replaced their outdated laptops/desktops and there is no need to clutter up the house with such devices.

For PC gamers, consolification has meant that an overclocked 1st gen i7 is still plenty fast for modern games as long as you aren't gaming with GTX670 SLI or something:

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/far_cry_3_graphics_performance_review_benchmark,7.html

 

[Guest]

Windows 8 is the reason. I haven't stopped buying new computer components. I bought 2 seagate 1tb hard drives a couple of months ago, I bought 3 new keyboards, 16GB of DDR3 memory, 2 32GB PNY Flash drives, 2 16GB PNY flash drives, bought a 1.5tb hard disk drive a few months ago. And...I am getting ready to buy an Ivy-Bridge CPU and motherboard. What I will never buy is Windows 8. Waiting to see if Microsoft gets the message. Hopefully they will. If not, long live Windows 7. And I am having fun exploring different versions of Linux. I cannot believe how many different distros there are of the Linux operating system. And I never gave Linux a second thought until the fiasco that is Windows 8.

I am sure that Linux loves around the world would love to just reach out and give Microsoft a big fat hug for releasing Windows 8 to the world, middle finger included.
That's what they should have changed their Windows logo to instead of a square collection of tiles. It should have been a big middle finger to more honestly represent what the operating system is all about.

 

[Guest]

PC sales are slow because "things" last longer and "times are a changin'". I'm typing this on a 4-year old Dell and have no plans to buy a new desktop anytime soon - why should I? This one suits my needs just fine - does all the simple things (Internet, Email, etc...) and I have no problems running Adobe Creative Suite, Office 2010, etc.... I'm running Windows 8 by the way and like it - I'm so sick of hearing the whining about Windows 8 - the beloved Start button is gone - SO WHAT - there's a BIG FAT Desktop Tile and plenty of free, or $5 or less, programs that will bring the Start button back. It's stable, boots fast and is better integrated into our social, cloud-based world..which like it or not, is the future of computing.

 

[Guest]

"I'm so sick of hearing the whining about Windows 8"

"It's stable, boots fast and is better integrated into our social, cloud-based world..which like it or not, is the future of computing."

Hehehe. Talk about tired of hearing the same old mantra over and over. "We asked 1 million customers why they purchased Windows 8. Number one answer on the board? That's right. 'IT BOOTS FASTER'.

The stable comment about Windows 8 is hilarious too. Did you expect Windows 8 not to be stable? I guess Microsoft get's brownie points for releasing an operating system the way they are supposed to.

Anybody who is happy with Windows 8 on a desktop, should just bought a Surface tablet. No, couldn't do that. Gotta bring everybody else down with them. It sucks being in the minority doesnt it? Windows 8 sucks rosey red titty and I am gonna whine about it til you choke on your own vomit.

 

[Guest]

"Anybody who is happy with Windows 8 on a desktop, should just bought a Surface tablet."

$40 for an upgrade or $499 (mininum) for a new device...hmmmm...guess finance isn't your thing right?

What exactly can't you do in Windows 8 that you could do in Windows 7? oh, thought so.

As far as being in the minority, no problem, better than being part of the "sheeple" - baaaaaaaaa

 

[soldier1969]

"I'm so sick of hearing the whining about Windows 8"

"It's stable, boots fast and is better integrated into our social, cloud-based world..which like it or not, is the future of computing."

Hehehe. Talk about tired of hearing the same old mantra over and over. "We asked 1 million customers why they purchased Windows 8. Number one answer on the board? That's right. 'IT BOOTS FASTER'.

The stable comment about Windows 8 is hilarious too. Did you expect Windows 8 not to be stable? I guess Microsoft get's brownie points for releasing an operating system the way they are supposed to.

Anybody who is happy with Windows 8 on a desktop, should just bought a Surface tablet. No, couldn't do that. Gotta bring everybody else down with them. It sucks being in the minority doesnt it? Windows 8 sucks rosey red titty and I am gonna whine about it til you choke on your own vomit.

Bet you my Windows 7 with 512Gb SSD boots faster than your crap Win 8 PC. Windows 8 = Vista 2. I know alot of tech people and they see no benefit to 8. You sir are in the minority.

 

[Guest]

If Windows 7 were to be released during the Q4 2012, it would still do nothing to stop the decline in PC sales.

Blaming Windows 8 is a trendy thing to do but it's not the only reason why people don't buy PC these days. The only people that are keeping the PC industry afloat are hardcore PC gamers.

 

[oldikes]

I would love to hear one significant advantage windows 8 has over 7. A two second faster boot time doesnt count or anything like that. How does windows 8 make my windows experience any better. Does it make it any WORSE? probably not. just different.

ITS CHANGE FOR NO REASON. Multitasking if anything is less efficient and I dont have time to learn a new system of browsing. keep going on about your stability which matches windows 7 and your two second faster boot time, I DONT CARE.

 

[Guest]

"Does it make it any WORSE? probably not. just different."

I am happy that you are against Windows 8 as much as I am but I would disagree with the statement above. I would argue that Windows 8 does make the overall end-user experience worse, especially for people who have used Windows operating systems for many years.

I have no interest in touch on my desktop. Zero. Zilch. Nada. None. It's a gay fad, a gimmick, to sell new hardware and new operating systems. If I wanted the tablet experience on my desktop, guess what I would have done? I would have bought a ****ing tablet!!! Tablets are wonderful for places you can't bring a desktop. I used one recently quite frequently while staying away from home. Tablets have their place and desktops have their place. Trying to kill off the desktop with a dumbed-down, watered down user-interface oriented around nothing more than content-consumption does NOT belong on the desktop. FAIL.

I don't give a frogs fat @$$ if Windows 8 boots faster or not. That doesn't trump the pathetic, dumbed-down, chimpanzee-swiping interface that I would be subjected to 24-hours a day, 7 day a week. I am sorry. But I won't trade 23 hours and 59 minutes of misery for 60 seconds of "booting" bliss. And everyone who has is simply a retard. End of story.

 

[Jim$ter]

I love Windows8.... Only after I installed start8. Have done so for many friends and family and it makes them all happy instead of pulling out their hair. Seriously Microsoft..Fix that crap

 

[Guest]

I'm still using XP on a 4 year old laptop. Yes I'm in the dark ages I know but I was made redundant in 2010 and I'm still unemployed and only get £71 a week which has to go towards my rent and broadband. I can't afford these fancy tablets and windows 8, though judging from some of the comments on here about win 8 I'm not missing much.

 

[Guest]

"pathetic, dumbed-down, chimpanzee-swiping interface that I would be subjected to 24-hours a day, 7 day a week. I am sorry. But I won't trade 23 hours and 59 minutes of misery for 60 seconds of "booting" bliss. And everyone who has is simply a retard. End of story."

Over the last 24 hours, I've used the "dumbed-down, chimpanzee-swiping interface" one time, to check an e-mail address. It (the metro interface) is nothing more than another app on my computer. Here's an idea, learn how to use one (computer) then post something worthwhile. End of story.