The sluggish global market for personal computers appears poised for a rebound in 2003 but is being held in check by concerns over war with Iraq, according to a survey released this afternoon.
Gartner Dataquest predicted that worldwide PC shipments would rise at a 4.8 per cent in the first quarter before ramping up toward the end of the year.
Overall the firm predicted 2003 sales of 138.7 million units, a 7.9 per cent increase from 2002, but noted that the economic recovery and the possible war with Iraq may affect the industry.
"In 2003, the outcome of the US-Iraq confrontation will be the key factor influencing the timing of an economic recovery and that timing, in turn, will impact PC sales," said George Shiffler, analyst for Gartner Dataquest's computing platforms and economics research.
"As tension rises, oil prices have been unstable, which negatively impacts overall economic conditions. The uncertainty ofthe near-term economic outlook is dampening consumers' confidence as well as corporate PC purchases."
Although many users are still relying on older computers, the PC industry is suffering from the lack of a killer application that will push new and replacement unit sales.
Dataquest said however that users will eventually have to replace a large number of aging PCs purchased to address Y2K concerns that are reaching the end of their lives.
"These old PCs would normally have been replaced, but economic uncertainty delayed new PC purchases further," Dataquest said.
AFP