China’s booming economy has hit another milestone, likely surpassing the United States as the world’s largest market for PCs in the second quarter, Bloomberg reports. If correct, the estimate would mark the first time since the onset of the PC market in the 1980’s that Americans aren’t purchasing the most computers globally.
Research firm IDC told Bloomberg that it estimates PC shipments in China shot up 14 percent to 18.5 million in the second quarter of 2011. During the same period in the U.S., PC shipments fell 4.8 percent to 17.7 million. Earnings wise, the two were much closer, but still, China lead the way, with $11.9 billion worth of PC shipments compared to America’s $11.7 billion.
Toshihiro Nagahama, an economist interviewed by Bloomberg, said the shift was was inevitable, comparing it to the dethroning of the U.S. as the largest automobile market in early 2010.
But even companies reaping the rewards of China’s PC frenzy, such as Lenovo, are aware that the ride can’t last forever. Though its own sales climbed 23.4 percent from last year to $2.8 billion, Apple’s second quarter sales increased by nearly 600 percent, pulling in $3.8 billion and displacing Lenovo for the first time in China, the Financial Times reports. That gain was driven, of course, by the explosive demand for Apple’s iPad and iPhone product lines.
Lenovo, while insisting its focus is on PCs, today began selling its new ThinkPad tablet, a device designed to compete with the IPad for business travelers.
Meanwhile, though Lenovo saw the most growth of all PC makers, 22 percent, the global PC market grew by only 2.3 percent in the second quarter, disappointing analysts who expected 6.7 percent growth.
