Gartner lowers PC sales expectations as tablets take over

Gartner has lowered its predictions for PC sales in 2011 and 2012, as the tablet market continues to grow helped by the popularity of devices like the Apple iPad 2, Samsung Galaxy Tab and Motorola Xoom.

The analyst firm had originally forecast PC sales for 2011 to rise by 15.9 per cent compared to 2010, but has reduced this to 10.5 per cent, equating to sales of 387.8 million units.

Gartner expects sales to increase in 2012, but has reduced its estimate by 1.2 per cent to 440.6 million units, an increase of 13.6 per cent.

George Shiffler, a research director at Gartner, explained that the adjustment was necessary because tablets will replace primary PC and secondary device sales.

"We expect that growing consumer enthusiasm for mobile PC alternatives, such as the iPad and other media tablets, will dramatically slow home mobile PC sales, especially in mature markets," he said.

"We now believe that consumers are not only likely to forgo additional mobile PC buys, but to extend the lifetimes of the mobile PCs they retain as they adopt media tablets and other mobile PC alternatives as their primary mobile device.

Chris Davies, managing director of wireless networking firm D-Link, suggested that the figures underline growing consumerisation in the IT space, and warned IT chiefs to prepare for an influx of these devices in the office environment.

"As devices such as smartphones and tablets take over from laptops and portable PCs in the hands of the population, so organisations need to brace themselves to allow these devices in," he said.

"It seems that the consumerisation of IT is now an unstoppable juggernaut so, rather than attempting to ban personal devices, organisations need to investigate exactly how to let them safely onboard."

The figures come a day after Apple launched the iPad 2, and as rival manufacturers such as Samsung, Motorola and RIM gear up to bring new tablets to the market.