Gartner on Thursday raised its projection for global PC shipments. The research firm now expects PC shipments to jump 20 percent in 2010, up from its previous forecast of 13.3 percent growth.
Overall, global PC shipments are expected to hit 366.1 million units in 2010, up from 305.8 million units in 2009. PC spending will hit $245 million worldwide in 2010, up 12.2 percent from 2009.
Gartner’s revised estimates come as multiple vendors said they see IT spending improving amid a PC refresh cycle fueled by Windows 7. Like Dell, HP, Intel and Microsoft, Gartner expects the enterprise PC upgrade cycle to pick up throughout 2010.
Among the key items from Gartner:
- 90 percent of the PC growth over the next three years will come courtesy of notebooks, netbooks and other mobile form factors.
- By 2012, mobile PCs will represent 70 percent of shipments.
- Mini-notebooks will fuel growth in 2010, but then fade a bit as ultra-low-voltage portables pick up demand.
- Fueled by the Apple iPad, Gartner said that vendors could ship 10.5 million traditional and next-gen tablet devices in 2010.
