Synaptics Appears Headed for a Slowdown
Late last Thursday, the market research firm IDC cut its forecast for global PC shipments not only for 2012 but also for the 2013 to 2016 period. On the heels of weak PC sales from Dell (DELL) and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), IDC now expects PC shipments to grow only 0.9% this year, compared with its June forecast that called for 5% growth compared with 2011. That means the industry would ship roughly 367 million PCs this year.
While consumers remain strapped in terms of disposable income, there are two drivers behind PC shipments year to date. First, many are waiting for the rollout of Microsoft's (MSFT) latest PC operating system, Windows 8, which is slated for November. The idea is that pent-up demand that will be released once PCs that run this new operating system are in the market. Odds are that that's at least partly why IDC sees PC shipment growth averaging 7.1% from 2013 through 2016. Overall, the total PC market -- including tablets, desktops and laptops -- is expected to grow from 433.5 million in 2011 to 705.2 million in 2016....414 more words left in this article. To read them, just click below and try Real Money FREE for 14 days.
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