Gartner: PC Shipments To Drop 12 Percent

Desktop PCs sold in North America will lead an expected record 12 percent decline in sales this year, a research firm announced Monday. The drop overshadows the 2001-2002 sales fall-off, which till now had been the industry’s worst.

PC makers will ship 257 million PCs in 2009 with “mature” North American and European markets taking the brunt of the slowdown, according to Gartner.

Desktop PCs will lead the economic-inspired sales drop, falling nearly 32 percent. However, the drop in demand will boost sales of notebook computers, expected to increase 9 percent.

Netbooks, the segment of low-cost computers rapidly gaining steam, will see prices shrink even further. A Windows XP-based netbook selling for $450 now will cost just $400 by the end of the year, a report said.

In related news, Credit Suisse Monday forecast a 15.3 percent drop in PC sales this year, nearly triple its early expected 4.5 percent drop in demand.

As a result, Microsoft hovered near a decade low, falling to $16 per share in early trading. Stock of the software giant had not finished below $16 since 1997, Barron’s said.