According to the Financial Times, the current crisis in the PC industry could benefit the category of ‘netbooks’, a new generation of small, inexpensive ‘laptops’ that accounted for one in eight portable computers sold in the last quarter of last year. Sales of ‘netbooks’ are expected to double in 2009.
The rest of the personal computer industry could see a decline in PC sales this year for the first time since 2001.
Evidence, as highlighted in the article, has become increasingly visible since the beginning of this year, when the deterioration in sales hit unexpected parts of the market, and troubles are emerging even in developing markets, which had been the main source of growth. Last month, even Microsoft warned that weaker results could be seen in the first half of this year compared to the last quarter of 2008, when expectations for growth of 10 to 12 percent in the PC market completely evaporated.
Microsoft, the global software giant, is expected to launch the latest version of the Windows 7 operating system, aimed at lower-powered computers, for the first time this year, likely in July. This system could attract new corporate clients who have not purchased computers running the Vista operating system. However, this move by Microsoft, global analysts warn, could disrupt the usual pattern of increasing demand for more powerful computers. (M.Č.)
