Research firm Gartner says it believes the total number of installed PCs worldwide has now surpassed one billion machines, meaning there’s roughly one computer in operation for every 6.7 people on the planet. Furthermore, Gartner estimates the annual growth rate of the total PC installed base worldwide will be growing by just under 12 percent a year, so the figure is likely to hit two billion by 2014.
Gartner’s definition of a PC includes desktop and notebook systems, but omits devices like PDAs and phones.
