PC Market Shrinks For First Time in Over 10 Years

In 2012, the market for personal computers (PCs) is due to contract by 1.2%, with 349 million PC shipments due this year. This is down from 353 million PCs shipped in 2011 according to market research firm IHS iSuppli. This represents the first time the PC market has been in decline since the 2001 dot-com bubble burst. J.P. Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz thinks that the PC market will continue to face rough waters and in an investor’s note out today, Moskowitz noted that Gartner saw a drop in PC shipments last quarter of 8.3 percent from a year ago and an increase of only 2.5 percent from the second quarter. Those results trailed Gartner’s estimates of a decline of just 2.1 percent from a year ago and growth of 9.4 percent from the previous quarter. Many are noting that tablets are to blame and the reason laptops and desktops are not selling. In July 2011, only 11% of American adults had a tablet. By August 2012 that number had risen to 25%! Many in the industry are hoping that Microsoft’s new Windows 8 operating system will rescue the PC.

Microsoft Windows 8 is an important launch and is due out in just a couple of weeks. Sadly, Legit Reviews has been requesting support for Windows 8 stories from Microsoft and they have declined to offer any support. Legit Reviews has been around for several Windows OS launches and has always been kept in the loop by Microsoft. Not a good sign for likely the most important Windows OS launch in over a decade. You would think that Microsoft would be all about supporting PC hardware review sites like Legit Reviews, but that is not the case. Has Microsoft given up on the desktop user? Sure feels like it to us!