Stamford, Conn. — Worldwide PC shipments of mobile computers will be extremely strong in 2006, posting a 31.4 percent increase during the year, according to research firm Gartner.
The computer industry will ride the mobile shipment numbers to an overall double-digit increase during 2006. Gartner is forecasting 234.5 million units will ship during this year, a 10.7 percent increase over the 211.8 million shipped in 2005. The growth will be about 5 percentage points lower in 2006 primarily due to the peaking of desktop sales, which will limit the category to a small 1.9 percent growth rate, Gartner reported.
The one area where desktops still sell well is in emerging markets, Gartner said. In these regions desktops shipments will increase 19.5 percent, offsetting the 8.6 percent decline expected in mature markets. The same held true for mobile models with developing markets growing 38.7 percent compared to the 22.1 percent growth expected elsewhere.