Worldwide notebook computer shipments will post slower-than-expected growth in the second quarter of the year because of the weak demand in Europe, according to research firm International Data Corp (IDC).
IDC predicted that notebook shipments from original design manufacturers will rise 9.7 percent from the first quarter to 50.8 million units in the second quarter, much lower than its previous forecast of an increase of up to 15 percent.
“The manufacturers expected their sales to pick up in the second quarter after the supply of hard disk drives returned to normal,” Helen Chiang (江芳韻), senior research manager at IDC, said recently on the sidelines of a technology forum in Taipei organized by the research firm.
“However, they found that European demand was worse than they imagined due to the ongoing debt crisis, which offset the good news from the hard drive suppliers, while Intel Corp also delayed its new Ivy Bridge processors,” she said.
IDC expects notebook shipments to record quarterly growth of 12.1 percent in the third quarter thanks to the launch of more thin and light models, while full-year shipments will reach 213 million units, up 6.93 percent from last year.
Annual growth will rise even higher, to 12.75 percent next year, given that Microsoft Corp is expected to release its new Windows 8 operating system in the second half of this year, driving a boom in both consumer and commercial laptops next year.
“We expect new form factors, such as convertible and detachable models, and we expect a brighter outlook for touch-enabled notebooks in the second half of 2013 when touch-screen prices drop further,” Chiang said.
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