Desktop PC’s dead in Asia Pacific says Analyst

The wide variety of alternative products such as tablets and smartphones, along with the continuing gloomy economic outlook is being blamed for a decline in PC shipments across Asia Pacific in the second quarter of 2012.

Shipments of desktops and notebooks slumped across most of Asia Pacific according to Gartner’s latest figures, with New Zealand following the regional trend to record a 2.2% drop, year-on-year.

For the first time China also recorded a decline, down 5.4% compared with the same quarter in 2011.

Shipments across the region were down 2.6% to 30.3 million units. Mobile PC shipments dropped 3.7%, while desk-based computer shipments were down 1.7%. The professional segment declined for the second time this year, dropping 8% as organisations deferred PC purchases where possible and reigned in expansion plans, favouring prudence in an uncertain market. The consumer segment bucked the downward trend, growing 3%.

Lillian Tay, Gartner principal analyst, says gloomy worldwide economies have put a dampener on PC spending over the past year. “The wide array of alternate products entering the market is also affecting consumer spend, resulting in declining interest in PC spending,” Tay says.

Singapore, Korea and Australia saw the biggest declines down 21.5%, 11.9% and 9.2% respectively. On the flip side, India and Malaysia experienced strong growth of 17% and 21.6% respectively, largely driven by mobile PC growth.

Tay says despite talk around the introduction of Ultrabooks, consumers did not proactively seek them out, which is likely to be the result of prices remaining high.

Lenovo continued to pick up market share across the region, especially from HP and Dell, with HPs re-organisation and Dell’s change in business stategy for better margin gains affecting their shipment levels. Lenovo was up 12.6%and continues to hold top spot, followed by Acer and Dell.