Tablet Market Cuts Into PC Shipment Forecasts

by Jennifer Johnson — Monday, November 29, 2010, 01:45 PM EDT

The tablet market is HOT. If the fact that kids want an iPad more than anything else isn't evidence enough, Gartner is cutting its forecasts for global computer shipments in 2010 and 2011 due to the increased interest in tablets from consumers.

Previously, Gartner expected PC shipments to rise to 17.9 percent this year. In 2011, the research firm projected an increase of 18.1 percent. Now, Gartner is projecting a growth of 14.3 percent this year to 352 million units and an increase of 15.9 percent in 2011.

"These results reflect marked reductions in expected near-term unit growth based on expectations of weaker consumer demand, due in no small part to growing user interest in media tablets such as the iPad," Ranjit Atwal, research director at Gartner, said in a statement.

"Media tablets are expected to displace around 10 percent of PC units by 2014," he added.

Gartner expects worldwide tablet sales to reach 19.5 million units this year, 54.8 million units in 2011, and greater than 208 million units in 2014.

Tags: Desktop, Research, tablet, computer, statistic, ipad, Gartner

Jennifer Johnson

Jennifer grew up around technology. From an early age, she was curious about all things related to computers. As a child, Jennifer remembers spending nights with her dad programming in BASIC and taking apart hard drives to see what was inside. In high school, she wrote her senior term paper on her experiences with building custom computers.

Jennifer graduated from the Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. After college, she began writing full-time for various PC and technology magazines. Later, she transitioned to the Web. In these roles, Jennifer has covered a variety of topics including laptops, desktops, smartphones, cameras, tablets, and various consumer electronics devices. When she's not playing with or writing about the latest gadget, Jennifer loves to spend time with her family, capture memories with her camera, and scrapbook.

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