Worldwide combined shipments of devices (PCs, tablets and mobile phones) will reach around 2.32 billion units in 2013, up 4.5 per cent from 2012, but the market is being driven by a shift to lower-priced devices in nearly all device categories.
Worldwide shipments of traditional PCs are forecast at 303 million units in 2013, an 11.2 per cent decline from 2012, and the PC market, including ultramobiles, is forecast to decline 8.4 per cent in 2013.
Table 1
Worldwide Device Shipments by Segment (Thousands of Units)
Device Type
2012
2013
2014
PC (Desk-Based and Notebook)
341,273
303,100
281,568
Ultramobile
9,787
18,598
39,896
Tablet
120,203
184,431
263,229
Mobile Phone
1,746,177
1,810,304
1,905,030
Total
2,217,440
2,316,433
2,489,723
Source: Gartner (October 2013)
Mobile phone shipments, meanwhile are projected to grow, but only at 3.7 per cent, with volume of more than 1.8 billion units.
The global market keeps on taking the tablets. Shipments are expected to grow 53.4 per cent this year reaching 184 million units. Premium tablets are faced with continued price decline in the 7-inch form factor as a larger number of consumers prefer smaller form factors (the phablets) when it comes to content consumption.
Gartner says that a recent consumer study it conducted in Brazil, China, France, Germany, Italy, the UK, the US and Japan showed that smaller is better when it comes to consumer tablets with the average screen sizes of the tablets in use across the countries ranging from 8.3 inches to 9.5 inches.
Table 2
Worldwide Device Shipments by Operating System (Thousands of Units)
Operating System
2012
2013
2014
Android
505,509
879,910
1,115,289
Windows
346,468
331,559
363,803
iOS/MacOS
212,875
271,949
338,106
RIM
34,584
23,103
19,297
Others
1,118,004
809,912
653,228
Total
2,217,440
2,316,433
2,489,723
Source: Gartner (October 2013)
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