Weakened economy, what weakened economy?

According to market research company iSuppli, a sluggish economy isn't having a negative effect on PC shipments, with the sector showing double digit percentage growth during Q1 08 over the same period last year.

“The first quarter of 2008 was better than hoped for, due to continued strong demand growth for mobile PCs,” said Matthew Wilkins, principal analyst for compute platforms research at iSuppli. “However, the financial markets are still adjusting to the effects of the sub-prime mortgage crisis in the United States, as are the consumers and businesses who have had their financial positions impacted.”

Both HP and Dell achieved growth well in excess of 10%, with Acer not far behind.

But what of future outlook? iSuppli remains confident:

“We now forecast global PC unit shipment growth in the range of 10 to 11 percent this year,” said Wilkins, “Exciting new developments in the area of low-cost PCs will help stimulate PC demand, along with bringing them to a wider audience.”

Given the current financial climate, I think that OEMs have done very well.