Fast Portable PC Adoption and New Consumer Applications Push for New Records in the

Fast Portable PC Adoption and New Consumer Applications Push for New Records in the U.S. PC Consumer Market in 4Q03

Product Type: Market Research Report
Published by: IDC
Published: March 2004
Product Code: R104-14823

Description

This IDC Insight provides an overview of the consumer PC market in the United States as we begin a new year, which many predict will be a recovery year. For the year 2003, the consumer market was the driving force in the sustainability of PC shipments as the business sector refrained from investing in new hardware and the public sector, with the exception of the federal government, faced declining PC shipments amid a deteriorating financial environment. The U.S. PC client market continued to sustain unit growth in 4Q03, a trend that has helped stabilize revenue thanks to prices that remained relatively flat on the sequential basis, sustained growth in unit sales across form factors, and an increasing share of portable PCs in total shipments. The U.S. market absorbed 14.56 million PCs in 4Q03, including more than half a million x86 servers. On the PC client side, 14.09 million systems were shipped during the quarter. This number marks a significant point in the PC industry, because it is the first quarter ever that unit shipments exceeded the 14 million?unit level, breaking the 13.6 million?unit record of 3Q00. The consumer market played a significant role in boosting those shipment levels, as reported in this Insight.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

IDC Opinion

In This Insight

Situation Overview

Consumer Shipments Reaching New Records

Figure: U.S. Consumer PC Shipments, 4Q98?4Q03

Figure: U.S. Consumer PC Shipments by Form Factor, 4Q98?4Q03

Table: U.S. Consumer PC Shipments, 4Q02, 3Q03, and 4Q03

Trends and Influential Factors Affecting the Consumer Market

Figure: Market-Related Drivers of U.S. Consumer PC Shipment Growth

Figure: Technology- and Consumer-Related Drivers of U.S. Consumer PC Shipment Growth

Future Outlook

Ordering and More Information

Price and Delivery Options

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