PCWorld.com – PC Sales Strong in 2004
The worldwide PC market finished 2004 on a strong note, with double-digit percentage growth for the year, according to research released this week by IDC and Gartner. But growth will slow in 2005 as consumers pull back from their frantic purchasing of the last few years, the companies say.
PC vendors shipped 177.5 million units during 2004, up 14.7 percent from the 154.7 million units shipped in 2003. This number represents the peak of a worldwide recovery from the decreasing shipments of 2001, IDC says. IDC believes worldwide PC shipments will grow about 10 percent during 2005 and that growth will decrease the following year.