Smartphone tablet launches PC sales for the first time in three years

Due to the impact of smartphones and tablets, global PC sales in the first quarter of this year fell for the first time in three years. The PC market share in China's first-tier cities may be overtaken by smart phones and tablet PCs.

According to data from Gartner, an authoritative research agency in the United States, global PC sales reached 84.3 million units in the first quarter of this year, down 1.1% year-on-year. This is the first time that PC sales have fallen since 2009.

“In addition to the decline in sales of traditional PCs, in addition to rising raw material prices and the impact of the economic downturn, the superior user experience of products such as smart phones and tablet PCs has also increased the likelihood that PCs will be replaced. It is expected that PC market share will drop significantly this year.” Yesterday (April 18th), Qi Feng, vice president of Dixon Group, said in an interview with the reporter of “Daily Economic News” that this trend was particularly evident in first-tier cities such as Beijing.

According to the person in charge of Dixon’s marketing department, “At present, the price of smart phones and tablet PCs is only equal to the price of low-end PCs and even lower, and many consumers will give priority to smart phones and tablet PCs.”

Smartphones account for 60% of total sales

Compared with the slightly downtrend PC market, smart phones have become a breakthrough. According to statistics from Analysys International, China's mobile phone sales reached 67.598 million units in 2010 (excluding "black" mobile phones and "parallel imports"), of which smart phone sales reached 22.0003 million, accounting for about 33% of total sales. In the fourth quarter of 2010, global smartphone shipments increased by 50% over the same period in 2009.

"The sales volume of smartphones in the first quarter has already exceeded 60% of the total sales volume of (Dickson Mobile)," Qi Feng said. As of the end of the first quarter, the sales of smart phones of Dixon Beijing Branch accounted for 63%, and it was less than 50% in the same period of last year. .

Qi Feng said that sales of smart phones exceeded 60% of total sales, indicating that these products have entered a period of full-speed development.

The decline in PC shipments The shift in consumer buying sent more PC makers to tablets. Data from Gartner shows that tablet PC shipments in 2011 are expected to reach 57.3 million units, an increase of 267.3% from the previous quarter. Traditional PC giants such as Dell and Hewlett-Packard have begun to actively develop tablet computers. Mobile phone manufacturers such as Samsung, Motorola, and LG have also introduced tablet products.

"The traditional PC sales crisis is rooted in the rapid development and popularization of mobile Internet this year. On the other hand, compared to the PC replacement cycle of more than 5 years, the average replacement period of smart phones and tablets is about 15 months. Consumer tastes and replacement costs are also more easily accepted.” Qi Feng told reporters that the market share of traditional PCs in the first-tier cities is expected to decline significantly in the second half of this year and will be replaced by smart phones and tablet computers, which will inevitably lead to a new round of Industry turmoil and consolidation.