PC Sales Withstand Economic Downturn

The global economy may be faltering, but PC sales just continue to grow. It's a testament to the central position computers hold in our working lives that demand for them rises even in such times.

Supporting data is provided by IDC and Gartner, two information technology research firms. Gartner says that PC sales in the second quarter of 2008 show a 16% improvement over the same period last year. IDC data estimates this increase at 15.3%.

Interestingly, unit sales have increased but not revenues. This suggests the increase in selling units might be attributed to the decrease in prices.

Apple saw gains in US Sales of 38.1% in this period. Analysts attribute this success largely to a 'halo effect': high sales numbers for iPhones and iPods are driving higher sales for other Apple products. This has catapulted Apple to third place, behind Dell and HP, in the US computer market. Apple does not however have the same status abroad: it does not rank in the top 5 globally as Acer, Lenovo and Toshiba are easily more popular.