Personal computer (PC) sales in the Asia-Pacific region grew at their fastest pace in five years in 2005 with 41.1 million units sold on the back of lower prices, International Data Corp. (IDC) said on Jan. 20. The 18% growth from 2004 was driven by demand for notebook computers, with sales posting double-digit increases in the region's key markets outside of Japan.
Sales of notebooks and desktops in the fourth quarter alone totaled 11.3 million, up 19% from the same period in 2004. Sales are expected to grow by at least 13% this year.
"Notebooks were particularly solid as all countries in the region recorded double-digit year-on-year growth rates in shipments in 2005," an IDC statement said.
For desktop PCs, most regional markets also posted growth, except for New Zealand and Taiwan where sales fell 10% and 3%, respectively. Australia, China, India and South Korea accounted for most of the region's PC sales growth last year.
Chinese computer vendor Lenovo took a 21.5% market share in the fourth quarter of 2005 to maintain leadership, followed by Hewlett Packard and Dell.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2006
