Office 2010 Key PC Sales Slump Because of Quake an

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Japan’s earthquake and subsequent tsunami contributed to the first decline in personal computer shipments since the end of the recent recession, according to two reports released on Wednesday.
Despite an improved economy, worldwide shipments of computers fell 3.2 percent in the first quarter to 80.5 million, IDC said in its quarterly PC Tracker report.
Gartner released a similar report that showed a 1.1 percent decline in worldwide computer shipments in the first quarter to 84.3 million.
Japan’s natural disasters along with the uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa played a key role in the decline. Computer shipments in Japan fell 15.9 percent during the first quarter compared with the comparable period a year earlier, according to IDC. Japan’s earthquake on March 11 temporarily shut down that nation’s economy because of the widespread destruction,Windows 7 Discount, power outages and supply shortages.
IDC and Gartner had forecast small gains in the shipments for the quarter.
“While the consequences of events in the Middle East and Japan remain unclear, these will surely be factors that will influence short term market performance for 2011,” Jay Chou, an analyst with IDC, said in a statement.
In the United States, shipments slipped 10 percent as consumers held onto their older computers or bought tablets, IDC said. New computers offer improved performance,Office 2010 Key, but not enough to give consumers a reason to upgrade.
“The U.S. and worldwide PC market continues to work through a difficult era that we expect will continue into next quarter, but will start to improve in the second half of the year,” Bob O’Donnell, a vice president with IDC, said in a statement.
He continued: “While it’s tempting to blame the decline completely on the growth of media tablets, we believe other factors, including extended PC lifetimes and the lack of compelling new PC experiences,Office Pro 2010 Key, played equally significant roles.”
IDC said Hewlett-Packard retained its position as the world’s largest computer maker, although its sales fell 2.8 percent to 15.2 million. Dell came in second with 10.3 million shipped computers,Discount Office 2007, down 1.8 percent.
Acer Group’s shipments fell 15.8 percent to 9 million largely because its netbook niche has fallen out of favor with consumers. Meanwhile, Lenovo showed considerable strength with a 16.3 percent increase in shipments to 8.2 million.
In the United States, H.P. led all manufacturers with 4.3 million computers shipped, down 2.4 percent,Office 2007 Activation, IDC said. Dell, which has been struggling with weak sales for some time, followed with 3.7 million, down 11.1 percent.
Toshiba’s shipments increased 10.4 percent to 1.7 million.
Apple passed Acer to fourth place with a 9.6 percent increase in shipments to 1.4 million. Acer’s shipments slipped 42.1 percent to 1.3 million.
Gartner says Apple did even better than IDC says. It reported that Apple’s PC shipments in the United States rose 18.9 percent in the quarter in a market that slipped 6.1 percent.