India PC shipments to grow 25 pc in 2011: Gartner

MUMBAI, INDIA: India PC shipments will total 13.2 million units in 2011, a 24.7 per cent increase from 2010, according to the latest forecast by Gartner, Inc.

PC demand is growing beyond India’s largest cities. Vendors are seeing an increasing demand from smaller cities in India where PC penetration has grown considerably, said a Gartner study. Rising income and declining PC prices are significantly contributing to this growth.

Gartner estimates that roughly 35 per cent of PC vendor revenue today comes from Tier III and IV cities. This will grow to 50 per cent by the end of 2013.

“There is an increased aspiration to own a PC in India. The younger generation is contributing to the large-scale adoption of PCs in India in a significant way,” said Vishal Tripathi, principal research analyst at Gartner.

According to him, “besides reading and surfing the Internet, the usage of PCs for watching movies, listening to music, and gaming are playing a pivotal role in driving demand.”

By the fourth quarter of 2011 mobile PCs will outgrow desk-based PCs in India, though the total number of desk-based shipments will be higher than mobile PC, the analyst firm added. In 2011, the desk-based PC market will grow 5 percent totalling 7.2 million units year-on-year, and mobile PC shipments will grow 61 per cent with 5.9 million units.

“The Indian PC market is far from reaching maturity, unlike the other developed countries. India contributes significantly to the overall growth of PC shipments worldwide,” said Tripathi.