Smartphones eclipse PCs for first time
By Henry Leineweber, Resource Recycling
In another sign that personal computer no longer dominates the consumer and enterprise IT market, smart phone shipments overtook PCs for the first time in 2011.
According to the latest numbers from market-research firm Canalys, OEMs and vendors shipped 487.7 million smart phones in 2011, compared to 414.6 million PCs. These numbers reflect a 63 percent year-over-year increase for the mobile devices, compared to a more modest 15 percent annual growth for PCs. However, it is worth noting that Canalys includes tablets, such as Apple’s iPad, in counting personal computers. With those devices factored out, OEMs only shipped 351.4 million desktops, laptops and netbooks in 2011.
Canalys does not view this surge in smart phone shipments as sustainable, and expects market growth to slow in 2012 as vendors seek to capitalize on profitability.
