The Gartner Institute for Market Research expects sales revenue on the global PC market to drop slightly this year for the first time since 2010.
The reason for this, according to the company, is the high exchange rate of the US dollar in relation to major currencies such as the euro. This makes the prices rise and reduces the number of items sold. Growth in tablet sales also continues to weaken and, with regard to smartphones, the trend would appear to be towards cheaper models.
Gartner predicts that sales of PCs will drop by 2.4 %. Market researchers anticipate an increase in mobile phone sales by roughly 3.5 %; an increase of roughly 4.3 % more over-the-counter sales of ultra-mobiles (tablets and hybrid devices) is also expected. Therefore, despite a slight decrease in PC sales, analysts generally see the situation in a positive light. (Source: Gartner/rf)