Personal computer sales have dropped nearly 18% this year and may be approaching the end of their life-cycle.
Forecasts by IDC consulting company predict that approximately 627,000 computers will be sold by the end of 2013, representing a 17.9% drop compared to the previous year.
If IDC’s outlook is right, it will be the fourth consecutive year in which personal computer sales decrease.
Gabriel Coimbra, the director of IDC for the Portuguese and Spanish market, believes the appearance of new higher-tech alternatives weighs heavily on these numbers.
“There is a tendency for PCs to lose their importance in the short-term due to the demand for tablets and smartphones,” he said
The current economic situation may have also contributed, Coimbra added.
Since the biggest fall was registered in 2010 – when sales dropped 29% – personal computers have been losing their relevance in the gadgets market.
But even so, three brands continue at the top of PC manufacturing: Asus, HP and Toshiba. The only question, according to Gabriel Coimbra, is which of them will win in the sales race for 2013…
