PC sales boom on Windows 7

Windows 7 led to a boom in PC sales towards the end of last year as consumer interest spiked after the successor to the unpopular Windows Vista operating system was released, according to research firm IDC.

Sales for the October to December period were the highest for 2009 and were buoyed by government IT hardware refreshes and an uptake in consumer spending, and are indicative of a recovering economy IDC said.

Sequentially the Australian market recorded 6 per cent growth and year-on-year it achieved 10 per cent growth. IDC said the PC market's “lacklustre uptake of Windows Vista” was driven by consumers and businesses waiting on its successor, Windows 7.

Sales were also pushed by free Windows 7 upgrades for new PCs and notebooks.

IDC Australia PC hardware market analyst Neville Chan said the “driving force behind the increase in sales is the demand for those who did not upgrade to Vista”.

IDC predicts a 5 per cent growth in the PC market for 2010.

2009 Q4 Highlights

• Commercial shipments up 3 per cent sequentially and 10 per cent year-on-year due to an increase in demand from public sectors and big business.
• Hewlett Packard up 3 per cent sequentially on the back of Government wins
• Consumer PC sales up 11 per cent sequentially and 10 per cent year-on-year, outstripping the commercial sector and exceeding market expectations especially in regards to desktops
• Apple continued to perform strongly with swift sales of refreshed iMac all-in-one PCs in 21.5" and 27" and the new 13" MacBooks. Positive sales of Apple products was driven by lower price points which threaten the price points of traditional PCs

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