The post-PC era is in full effect. According to market research firm IDC, global PC shipments dropped nearly 14-percent in Q1, totaling 76.3 million units. While that's certainly no paltry sum, it marks the largest year-over-year decline since the IDC began tracking the PC market in 1994. The Q1 2013 results serve as the latest lackluster figures in what has become a consistent quarterly trend of poor PC performance since last year. While the study includes Apple notebooks and desktops, it clearly paints Microsoft's Windows 8 platform as the culprit.
"At this point, unfortunately, it seems clear that the Windows 8 launch not only failed to provide a positive boost to the PC market, but appears to have slowed the market," IDC's VP of Clients and Displays, Bob O'Donnell said.
Of the top five vendors in the U.S., only Lenovo managed to achieve year-over-year growth, whereas HP, Dell, Apple, and Toshiba all experienced significant decline. HP saw the biggest drop, falling nearly 23-percent this quarter as compared to the same time last year. While PCs continue to serve as the foundation of enterprise, tablets have gained a significant stake in consumer sales.
Have you adopted the tablet trend? Would you ever consider foregoing a laptop or desktop in favor of an iPad or Android tablet? Sound off in the comments below.
Scott Lowe is IGN's resident tech expert and Executive Editor of IGN Tech. You can follow him on Twitter at @ScottLowe and on MyIGN at Scott-IGN.
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