By 2011, Notebooks Will Rule Computing

By Geoff Duncan March 21, 2007

A new market research report from IDC forecasts that laptop and notebook computers will account for half off all PCs worldwide by the year 2011.

IDC forecasts that overall computer unit sales will continue to increase, with sales of desktop systems continuing to grow through at least 2011. However, laptop and notebook sales will grow faster, with a compound annual growth rate forecast at 16.1 percent, compared to just 3.8 percent growth for desktop systems over the same period.

“Slower growth in desktops and in relatively mature regions changes the market dynamics a bit,” said Loren Loverde, director of IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker, in a statement. “Portables are picking up some of the slack from Desktops and will benefit from improved security, power management, and new designs supported by Vista. While more replacements and Vista adoption may provide a brief respite for desktops in 2008, essentially all desktop growth will occur in emerging regions.”

According to IDC, more than 82 million portable computers were shipped worldwide in 2006, compared to 140 million desktop systems. However, compared to 2005, the number of notebooks shipped increased by 26.3 percent, compared to a 2 percent growth in PC shipments.

In mature markets, notebook computers are already outselling traditional desktop PCs; research firm Current Analysis found that portable systems outsold desktop computers in the U.S. in 2005.

“In the United States, portable PC shipments will maintain double-digit growth through 2010, but this shift to mobility will not be enough to offset reduced demand for desktops,” said Doug Bell, analyst in IDC’s Personal Computing program. “The release of Vista and a desktop refresh will create some growth opportunity in late 2007 and early 2008, before resuming a declining growth trend in the out-years.”

Editors' Recommendations

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

Computing

This Alienware gaming PC with an RTX 4090, 64GB of RAM is $1,000 off

Alienware Aurora R15 placed at an angle on a table.

Dell is consistently a great place to check for gaming PC deals and that’s certainly the case today. If you want a high-end gaming rig for less, you can currently buy the Alienware Aurora R15 gaming desktop for $2,900 instead of $3,900. The $1,000 saving is particularly sweet when you bear in mind that this is a truly high-end gaming PC packed with all the latest hardware. If you’re keen to know more, check out what we have to say about it below or you can simply hit the button below to go straight to the deal.

Why you should buy the Alienware Aurora R15 gaming desktop
Alienware makes some of the best gaming PCs around and the Alienware Aurora R15 gaming desktop is a perfect representation of that. It’s packed with the latest hardware. That includes an AMD Ryzen 9 7900X processor, 64GB of memory and 2TB of M.2 SSD storage. It’s great to see so much RAM with many gaming PCs still sticking with 32GB when 64GB really does set you up for the long term. Similarly, the large amount of fast storage is perfect for ensuring you won’t run out of room any time soon even when handling large installs like Call of Duty: Warzone or Hogwarts Legacy.

Computing

HP sale: Up to 68% off laptops, printers, monitors, and more

Photo of an HP Envy 16 laptop.

HP has a huge sale going on now with awesome laptop deals, monitor deals, and many other deep discounts. If you’re keen to buy a new device for less, this is your chance to do so. There are over 50 different items in the HP sale from high-end laptops to mice, so the best thing you can do is tap the button below and see for yourself what’s out there. Alternatively, if you want to see what we recommend, keep reading while we take you through our choices.

What to shop for in the HP sale
The biggest discount in the HP sale is being able to buy the for $989 reduced from $3,098. Perfectly suited for business users, you get an Intel Core i7-1255U processor, a huge 32GB of memory, and 512GB of SSD storage. A 14-inch WUXGA screen with 100% sRGB, 400 nits of brightness, and 1920 x 1200 looks great, while there are extensive security provisions courtesy of HP Wolf Pro Security Edition. From one of the best laptop brands, you can’t go wrong.

Computing

The 5 best desktop PCs under $500 in 2024

The HP Victus 15L gaming PC on a desk.

A reliable desktop PC is a necessity for professionals and students alike. They're not portable like laptops, but desktop computers provide stable performance that you can improve over time by upgrading with newer components. Some desktop PCs can go over thousands of dollars, but there are also budget-friendly options that you can buy right now. To help you make a decision, we've rounded up our top picks for desktop computers that cost less than $500.

While some of the cheap desktop PCs sacrifice too much to keep their prices low, we've identified desktop computers that are still capable of handling your daily activities. While they're not going to challenge the best desktop computers in terms of their performance, our recommendations below are dependable enough in helping you complete your tasks efficiently. There's something for everyone among the desktop PCs below, so read on to determine what purchase you should make on a budget of less than $500.
The best desktop PCs under $500 in 2024