Dell profits halve as iPad and Nexus tablets hammer PC sales

Dell's third quarter profits have fallen by 47 percent due to poor PC sales, to $475m on sales of $13.7bn.

The hardware maker blamed the massive slip in profits on a slump in PCs, with consumers now using mobile devices and tablets for basic computing.

Overall Dell saw its revenue fall 11 percent, to $13.7bn in the quarter and net income of $475m. In the same period last year Dell posted $893m in net income.

One bright spot for Dell was its enterprise business, with enterprise solutions' revenue climbing by three percent to $4.8 billion, while its server and networking revenue climbed 11 percent.

Dell cited the arrival of Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system as a key factor that will help it reverse its ailing financial fortunes.

“In a difficult global IT spending environment we saw solid proof points that demonstrate progress in our strategy,” said Brian Gladden, Dell chief financial officer.

“A highlight has been the strong progress of our newly introduced servers, with our server and networking business up 11 percent. We’re also encouraged by early interest in our new Windows 8 touch portfolio and the opportunities it creates for our commercial and consumer businesses. ”

Windows 8 was released in October and features a number of changes from the Windows 7 version, replacing the traditional start menu with a titled user interface bespoke designed for touch devices.

For a more thorough look at Windows 8 and its features check out V3's full review.