China Tops US as World's Biggest PC Market

Jakarta Globe, August 24, 2011

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China eclipsed the United States as the world's largest personal-computer market in the second quarter, and is set to capture the full-year title in 2012, International Data Corporation said Tuesday.

PC shipments in China rose to about 18.5 million units in the quarter, compared to 17.7 million units in the United States, research firm IDC said.

The shipments were worth $11.9 billion and $11.7 billion, respectively.

During the April-June period, China's market share of global PC shipments increased to 22 percent, surpassing the 21 percent share held by the world's biggest economy.

The data includes desktops, portables and mini--notebooks, but not handhelds, such as tablets, the research firm said in a global quarterly report.

IDC forecast that 85.2 million units will be shipped in China in 2012, compared to 76.6 million in the US.

"There are of course still risks ahead for China, including not just inflation but also the impact of economic conditions in the US and Europe," Kitty Fok, vice president for Greater China Research at IDC, said in the statement.

"But in the meantime, the Chinese government's 12th Five-Year Plan should help large enterprises... to continue to move along, not to mention of course the ongoing efforts to increase consumer penetration in lower-tier cities." 

AFP