Laptop sales have, for the first time ever, surpassed those of desktops in the US market, according to the latest figures from IDC.Figures from its US Quarterly PC Tracker show that during the third quarter, sales of laptops accounted for 55.2 per cent of all sales in the US, boosted in part by the back-to-school period.
The tracker also showed that sales grew by 18 per cent during the quarter compared to the same time last year – an increase of 9.5m units.
However, it wasn't just the overall market that saw a shift in desktop to laptop sales ratios, with almost all of the major vendors seeing notebook shipments exceeding those of their deskbound models.
The difference was even more profound at Sony, Acer and Lenovo where more than 65 per cent of all PCs shipped during the quarter were laptops. Notebook focused vendors also found themselves making more of an impact on the US market, with Asus and Samsung in particular reaping the benefits.
"The consumer market continued to be the top driving factor in the notebook offensive but the commercial sector played a critical role too" said research manager for IDC's US Quarterly PC Tracker and Personal System, David Daoud.
"The consumer market has long favored notebooks, with mobile ratios exceeding the 70 per cent mark. So it is clear that the small and mid-markets, as well as the enterprise and public sector buyers, are seeing good value in mobility.
"Looking ahead, while mobility will remain a leading growth factor, the economy will be a major wild card in the short to mid term," he added. "Prolonged economic tension could have an adverse effect on the PC space leading to reduced growth, but the good news is that virtually every buyer considers PCs as must-have products and not a secondary wish-list items."
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