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Vista expected to increase PC sales
(China Post Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) The new Microsoft operating system Vista is scheduled to hit the market in the first quarter of 2007, which is expected to help push up annual global sales of personal computers by 15 percent next year, according to analysts at Macquarie Securities.
With the new system, global PC shipments are expected to maintain an annual growth of over 10 percent in the next two to three years, and the unit sales price is also expected to rebound gradually, the analysts said.
Buying sentiment in the European market remained weak in the first half of the year, due partly to the 2006 World Cup Soccer Tournament and partly to downstream distributors moving to digest inventories instead of making new purchases.
But in the second half, market demand rebounded significantly, making the PC industry back to the traditional sales boom.
Accordingly, Taiwanese contract manufacturers of notebook PCs saw their PC shipments gain significant growth momentum. Compal Computer, for instance, posted a record monthly shipment volume of over 1.3 million notebook PCs in August, while Quanta Computer and Winstron Corp. also enjoyed a sharp increase in their notebook PC delivery volumes for the third quarter.
Macquarie Securities analysts forecast the annual global sales of PCs to grow 12.3 percent in 2007 and 13.6 percent in 2008, both higher than the corresponding figure of 9.2 percent in 2006.
Of the total global PC sales, desktop PCs are expected to see an annual sales growth of 6 percent in 2007 and 9 percent in 2008, while notebook PCs are poised to enjoy a much higher annual growth of 23 percent in 2007 and 20 percent in 2008.
According to PC makers, it takes around one year for the mainstay of the consumer-oriented PC market to be converted to Windows XP models from Windows 2000 models, and a longer time is needed for the conversion in the market for commercial-use PCs.
Therefore, initially, PCs with Vista operating system will focus on high-end models for professional PC players, and the buying sentiment will remain stable in the first half of next year. In the second half of 2007, market demand for replacement models with Vista operating system will gradually become brisk.
Microsoft is working out several programs to promote the Vista operating systems, including allowing buyers of MCE Windows XP models to upgrade their PCs to the Vista models free of charge. It is scheduled to unveil details of the programs in October.
Copyright 2006 China Post. Source: Financial Times Information Limited.
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