European PC sales slow down

Falling interest in netbooks and other non-tablet form factor PCs has led to a noticeable slowdown in the European hardware market, according to analysis from research company Context.

In February 2011, unit shipments were around six per cent less than they were in the same period last year, according to the research.

Context chief executive Jeremy Davies said this fall was in stark contrast to the much larger growth that was experienced last year.

"This time last year we were still seeing double-digit growth, mainly fuelled by notebook PCs and netbooks, with both small businesses and home buyers still willing to buy," he said.

"It now seems that consumers have decided that netbooks are no longer desirable."

This may be true. Tablet PCs such as the Apple iPad have stolen much of the thunder from netbooks so far this year, and given the increasing range of devices and platforms on offer, they may have won favour among buyers.

Last month saw netbook sales fall by around a quarter against the same period last year, while notebook PC sales dropped off by just over 18 per cent.

Some geographies did particularly badly, but others including the UK held steady, going some way to keeping the market fairly buoyant, according to Davies.

"The only reason we did not see a bigger fall was due to a rise in German PC unit sales, with an increase in 16.4 per cent in February compared to last year," he added.

"Germany accounts for just under a quarter of all the units sold in western Europe. The UK, accounting for 14 per cent of all sales, held firm with unit sales rising 5.6 per cent in February compared to the same month a year ago, also mitigating the effect of the downturn."