Worldwide PC shipments suffered the steepest decline ever in the first quarter of 2013.
According to IDC, the industry shipped a total of 76.3 million units between January and March, a 13.9 percent decline over last year’s first quarter.
The PC industry continues to suffer from the rise of smartphones and tablets, which are gradually replacing PCs as the primary computing device for many consumers.
Moreover, the release of Windows 8 failed to deliver the impetus to the industry many insiders had hoped for. The radically changed user interface, Microsoft forced on consumers with Windows 8, apparently scares potential buyers away instead of winning them over.
By the end of March, six months after its launch in October 2012, Windows 8 had reached no more than 3.2 percent market share. Its predecessor Windows 7 had already reached double-digit adoption six months after its launch in October 2009.
The Global PC Market Is Collapsing
Description
This chart shows worldwide PC shipments by the Top 5 vendors in the first quarter of 2013.
