Despite a flat Brazilian market, PC shipments in Latin America surpassed 2 million units in the second quarter of 2003, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, according to Gartner, Inc.

"'Compared with the weak second quarter in 2002 - when Hewlett-Packard's acquisition of Compaq became final, clearing market uncertainties - these results, while positive, are by no means an indication of a healthy market,'" said Luis Anavitarte, vice president and research director for Gartner's Computing Platforms Latin America group. "'Pockets of PC demand in the professional segment are helping to move sales, but insufficient credit and high interest rates are hurting businesses in their IT investment needs.'"

Source: "Gartner Says Latin American PC Shipments Increased 10 Percent in the Second Quarter of 2003," August 21, 2003

"'A sustained PC market recovery requires a return to business IT spending, which, in turn, is dependant on a significant improvement in economic conditions,'" said George Shiffler, principal analyst for Gartner's computing platforms and economics research. "'Despite some recent encouraging signs, economists are still guarded in their outlook for the second half of the year, so the prospects for a significant business PC recovery by year end remain questionable.'"

"'Within the PC industry, the mobile segment will continue as one of the major drivers of growth,'" said Kiyomi Yamada, industry analyst for Gartner's computing platforms worldwide group. "'Notebook prices and performance improvements are expected to continue as white-box notebooks become more widely available and Centrino products are priced to appeal to non-business markets.'"

Source: "Gartner Upgrades Global PC Shipments Forecast but Remains Cautious on Long-Term Outlook," August 14, 2003

Driven in part by highly competitive pricing, worldwide PC shipments totaled 32.8 million units in the second quarter of 2003, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, according to preliminary results from Gartner, Inc. The worldwide PC market has not experienced double-digit shipment growth since the third quarter of 2000.

"'The PC industry performed better than expected, which suggests that market conditions are improving,'" said Charles Smulders, vice president of Gartner's Computing Platforms Worldwide group. "'However, sustained improvement will depend on economic conditions and their effect on the business upgrade cycle. Recent Gartner IT Watch survey data confirms U.S. corporate budgets remain tight.'"

"'In the home market, competitive pricing and mobile PCs were important drivers,'" Smulders said. "'Mobile PCs continued to be the hot item in the retail space.'"

Source: "Gartner Says Worldwide PC Shipments Return To Double-Digit Growth for First Time In Nearly Three Years," July 16, 2003

"'The good news for the global economy is that the U.S.-led war against Saddam concluded more quickly and with fewer damaging economic consequences than many expected,'" said George Shiffler, principal analyst for Gartner's computing platforms and economics research. "'The bad news is that the global economy does not appear to be experiencing the uplift that so many anticipated once the war was concluded, at least not yet.'"

"'In the United States, prospects for a recovery remain mixed and economists are increasingly split over whether 2003 GDP growth will prove better or worse than 2002,'" Shiffler said. "'The outlook for the general economic recovery would be greatly enhanced were Europe able to engineer some autonomous growth, but the prospects for this remain poor because of weak confidence, the appreciating Euro, and overly tight macroeconomics.'"

Source: "Gartner Says Worldwide PC Industry to Experience Single-Digit Growth in Second Quarter of 2003," May 14, 2003

PC shipments in Latin America totaled 1.7 million units in the first quarter of 2003, a 2 percent decline from the same period last year, according to Gartner, Inc.

"'Although HP's shipments were affected by Dell's growing position in Mexico, there were other elements at work. Government purchases were down from one year ago, and HP suffered a 62 percent decline in the home market due to a growth in consumer preference toward white-boxes,'" said Luis Anavitarte, vice president and research director for Gartner's Latin America group. "'IBM's shipments declined 24 percent because of the lower government demand in Mexico in the quarter and Dell's positioning in some key corporate accounts. On a much lower scale, white-box manufacturers affected IBM's shipments in the small low-end business segment.'"

Source: "Gartner Says Latin American PC Shipments Decreased 2 Percent in the First Quarter of 2003," May 2, 2003

"'Worldwide first quarter 2003 results were slightly ahead of expectations, but even so do not signal a major return to buying. Aggressive price cutting was an important factor in maintaining PC shipment growth during the first quarter,'" said Charles Smulders, vice president of Gartner's computing platforms worldwide group. "'The PC market felt some impact from the outbreak of hostilities in Iraq in the second half of March, following generally better-than-expected performances in January and February. SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) did not play a major factor in the growth levels on a worldwide basis.'"

"'Centrino is focused at the corporate market initially. In addition to budget issues, it will take time for that community to qualify it within their IT environments,'" Smulders said. "'The marketing campaign around Centrino, however, is raising general awareness of the benefits of wireless mobile form factors.'"

Source: "Gartner Says Worldwide PC Shipments Experienced Third Consecutive Quarter of Positive Growth," April 17, 2003

As enterprises and home consumers have cut back on IT hardware purchases, PC shipments in Latin America totaled 7 million units in 2002, a 5.7 percent decline from 2001, according to Dataquest Inc., a unit of Gartner, Inc. In 2001, Latin America PC shipments reached 7.4 million units.

"'With 43 percent of its total sales in Mexico, mostly in the professional segment, Dell clearly came ahead in the Latin America PC market,'" said Luis Anavitarte, vice president and research director for Gartner Dataquest's Latin America group. "'Despite IBM's good regional PC performance, Dell has been able to successfully compete with IBM and HP on a regional scale, also leveraging from its strong worldwide position and the growing Latin American acceptance for the direct sales model.'"

"'2002 was a difficult year for the PC industry in Latin America. It included the economic collapse of Argentina, monetary instability and political uncertainties in Brazil, a growing political and economic crisis in Venezuela and an unstable international scenario,'" Anavitarte said. "Mexico was instrumental in keeping the region in only a moderate decline."

Source: "Gartner Dataquest Says Latin American PC Shipments Decreased 6 Percent in 2002," February 20, 2003

While the industry is facing many uncertainties, the biggest concern is economic recovery and the possible war with Iraq.

"'In 2003, the outcome of the U.S.-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, principal 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 of the near-term economic outlook is dampening consumers' confidence as well as corporate PC purchases.'"

"'Despite the emergence of some new drivers this quarter, we believe that they are not enough to accelerate PC sales,'" said Kiyomi Yamada, industry analyst for Gartner Dataquest's Computing Platforms Worldwide group. "'In the face of continuing economic uncertainty, PC buyers tend to be more focused on price. PC performance also exceeds the needs of many users who are carrying out regular tasks, such as e-mail, Web surfing, or word processing.'"

"'With the threat of war, the economic recovery will most likely be delayed to the second half of the year, and the major professional replacement cycle should begin to occur in the fourth quarter of 2003,'" Shiffler said.

Source: "Gartner Dataquest Says PC Shipments to Increase Slightly in First Quarter with Stronger Growth in Second Half of 2003," February 18, 2003

"'The Asia/Pacific market's growth rate was a significant contributor to the worldwide industry returning to positive growth in 2002,'" said Lillian Tay, senior analyst for Gartner Dataquest's Computing Platforms Asia/Pacific group. "'Much of the growth came from the home and the small and medium enterprise market, as well as demand for mobile PCs.'"

Legend maintained its leadership position as the No. 1 PC vendor in Asia/Pacific, followed by Hewlett-Packard and IBM. Dell was the only top-tier vendor to experience double-digit growth in 2002, as its shipments grew 23 percent. "'Dell was focused in countries such as China to build up the base there and that contributed to the growth rates while maintaining their strong hold on countries such as Australia, Malaysia and Singapore,'" Tay said.

A recent Gartner end-user study showed that businesses in Asia/Pacific are keeping their PCs for at least four to five years, which indicates that 2003 could be the year of replacement based on large pre-Y2K installments. "'However, buyers will continue to look carefully in acquiring PCs, scrutinizing the business value of the investment rather than just keeping pace with technology features. Vendors have to make a case of the returns on investment, and those who can do it successfully will be the winners,'" Tay said.

Source: "Gartner Dataquest Says Asia/Pacific PC Shipments Experience a 9 Percent Increase in 2002," February 5, 2003

The PC market returned to positive growth in 2002, as worldwide PC shipments totaled 132.4 million units, a 2.7 percent increase from 2001, according to preliminary results from Dataquest Inc., a unit of Gartner, Inc. In 2001, worldwide PC shipments declined 4 percent.

"'In the second half of 2002, the worldwide PC market had two consecutive quarters of year-on-year PC shipment growth,'" said Charles Smulders, vice president of Gartner Dataquest's Computing Platforms Worldwide group. "'Despite this growth, we still believe PC market demand is still at the bottom of a growth cycle and has yet to show evidence of a significant upturn.'"

"'The home PC market improved from a very difficult year in 2002,'" Smulders said. "'This segment received a boost from home mobile PC shipments. The professional market showed no signs of a recovery during the year. Faced with a high degree of uncertainty, corporations more frequently chose to extend the life of PCs rather than upgrade.'"

Source: "Gartner Dataquest Says PC Market Experienced Slight Upturn in 2002, but Industry Still Shows No Signs of Strong Rebound," January 16, 2003

"The personal computer industry has surpassed a historical milestone, as the one billionth PC was shipped this year, according to Dataquest Inc., a unit of Gartner, Inc. Gartner Dataquest research shows the one billionth PC shipped in April of 2002."

"While it has taken the PC industry approximately 25 years to reach the billion mark, the industry is forecast to ship the two billionth PC in 2008. The PC industry transformed businesses across the world on the way to one billion shipments, and the computer will continue to alter economies on its way to two billion units."

"'The PC is a tool that allows humans to leverage intellectual ability,' said Martin Reynolds, vice president and research fellow for Gartner. 'The PC allows companies to complete basic tasks with fewer employees, freeing up resources that can be used to grow the business. Businesses can decrease process cycle times, reducing the amount of working capital consumed by administrative processes.'"

Source: "Gartner Dataquest Says PC Industry Shipped Its One Billionth Unit in 2002," July 1, 2002