Notebook PC manufacturers, such as Dell (NASDAQ:
DELL
) and Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:
HPQ
), have hoped that Microsoft's (NASDAQ:
MSFT
) upcoming operating system would reinvigorate corporate and
consumer interest in their products. A new report suggests that
may not be the case. According to
DigiTimes
, notebook vendors and ODMs continue to be "quite optimistic"
about the growth that is expected to occur internationally.
Taiwan-based component makers are less enthused, staying
conservative about their notebook sales estimates in the coming
months. If component shipments do not experience a significant
increase by late October, the component makers believe that there
will not be any growth in the demand for notebooks in the fourth
quarter.
Consequently, "first-tier PC brand vendors" have reduced their
shipment forecasts for 2012, with one exception. According to
DigiTimes, Apple (NASDAQ:
AAPL
) will raise MacBook shipments by as much as 30 percent in the
fourth quarter, selling as many as 16 million units.
While Apple's success has been speculated before, it is worth
noting that the company recently cut the price of the 13-inch
MacBook Air by $100. Companies do not usually reduce their prices
unless they are experiencing a decline in sales, they
anticipate
a decline, or plan to release an updated product. Since the price
cut was announced alongside the updated MacBook Air, it seems
unlikely that Apple would release another model this year. More
than likely, Apple will save its Retina Display upgrade for
2013.
The decline in notebook demand could also be blamed on the
growth of tablets. This is something that Microsoft has been
preparing for, which is why it designed Windows 8 with tablets in
mind.
Regardless, component makers might not have anything to worry
about. In a previous report, studies showed that all computers --
notebooks, netbooks, and desktop machines -- were on schedule for
another growth spurt
. In 2010, 350.9 million computers were shipped worldwide. Last
year, that number jumped to 352 million. In 2012, global PC
shipments are expected to reach 367.2 million.
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