PC growth slowing, and Windows 8 won't fix that soon, says IDC

An Asus Taichi ultrabook in tablet mode. Will consumers flock to Windows 8 and ultrabooks?

/ CNET Asia

The traditional PC market is in dire need of some hot new products to drive growth. Too bad that's probably not going to happen soon, according to market researcher IDC.

The worldwide PC market has basically slowed to a crawl this year, IDC says in a report released today. It expects just 0.9 percent growth this year, the second consecutive year of growth below two percent.

While citing the usual macroeconomic culprits -- slowness in Asia and mature markets -- the report said consumers are "considering spending on other products like media tablets and smartphones" while waiting for Windows 8.

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If, that is, consumers actually are waiting for Windows 8. There's no shortage of Windows 8 critics these days. And IDC had some words of caution too.

Windows 8 "faces some initial hurdles; chief of which is that buyers

How to get the Start menu back in Windows 8

that is a dramatic departure from existing PC paradigms. The PC ecosystem faces some work to properly educate the market," wrote Jay Chou, an IDC analyst.

To be fair, he adds that Windows 8 coupled with new ultrabook designs could lead to a "positive turn of events next year."

IDC expects 367 million PCs will ship into the market this year, up just a fraction of a percent from 2011.

[barbaram99]

I don't want windows 8. I am using Vista.I am using my old Notebook. I can't use them tiny devices, I can't afford a talking reader. I see no need to change os as things work ,I hate the look of win 8. Wgen I moved to Vista and the main reason is Anna, I could not understand Sam. Vista and 7 have Anna, People can't aford to move to a newer os just MS thinks they should. I hate changes. My late Dad use to say* If it ain't broke-- don't fix it..I am aware that XP was the best. Everytime MS comes out with a new os I have to buy a book just to figure out when can and can't be done with the new os..

[BWB2020]

The good part of the evolution is that, according to recent changes in copyright laws, when they stop selling and servicing prior OSes, especially WindowsXP, then it will become legal to use cracked copies for those of us whose expensive higher-end hardware never worked well with any subsequent OS, and as the old apps that ran on XP become obsolete, we can use cracked copies of all of that also.

Looking forward to actually making money cracking old dongles, and other protection schemes!!!

[MegaProcrastination]

This article is completely silly. Windows 8 wasn't designed to "bring back" the PC market. It was designed to be compatible with tablets and smartphones AS WELL AS a PC! I have an idea that as far as PCs go it isn't going to gain much in popularity (but I could be wrong).

The fact that the PC market still has any gain at all is a good thing. While smartphones and tablets appeal more to many people than a regular old computer does, I don't see them as a dying breed because they're still necessary and widely loved but I can imagine many people, the type who mainly surf the 'net or some such, will likely replace theirs with smaller devices and not look back. It does make sense.

[hypnotoad72]

"The PC ecosystem faces some work to properly educate the market," wrote Jay Chou, an IDC analyst. "


In other words, "reeducation"? How very 1984 of Jay... the market is driven by shiny things, not by anything pragmatic or pro-life... not by default...

[hypnotoad72]

Should those of us who do 3D rendering, app compiling, etc, now be stocking up on replacement PC parts?

[BWB2020]

Yep, especially graphics interfaces, main boards, RAM, and SSDs. For us who use PCs for music, add audio interfaces.

Oh, and stock up extra copies of Windows XP, as that was the last OS that truly serviced our higher-end hardware.

[rwsmith29456]

I'm not into tablets and stuff, but if I were I may be interested in Win 8. Win 8 may not be a savior but it may sell well because people on the go will want it, especially if the initial word is the it is a good product. This is from a company that's known for selling OSs that need fixing right out of the box. I will say that I've been very happy with Win 7. I'm going to stick with my old PC for now.

[hypnotoad72]

The initial word comes from marketers and others with a vested interest.

I'll wait for customers who adopt early and talk online. If many non-marketers report similar issues, then I'll take notice.

I'll stick with my current Macs and PC as well... and, having looked at tablets, upfront cost, and other issues, they're still overpriced and by a huge margin... still, I'm not their primary target market and I do more in life than fling poorly drawn representations of avian life forms into wood or brick structures... nor is $500 a sufficient amount to make a green blob get fat from eating candy, or helping the confederate dude chuck dynamite into the river to kill hundreds of fish...

[skeezix06]

People whose jobs have been outsourced overseas won't be buying computers.

[hypnotoad72]

Who said anyone's middle class, existing or developing, is the goal?

[intellivizion]

I just used windows 8 on a tablet in the new Microosft Store in Boston. WOW is all I can say. This samsung tablet with the new OS was nothing short of stunning. I don't see how people can't be won over. It really did make the iPad feel steal and dated.

[hypnotoad72]

"stale"