Indian PC mkt logs 34% growth in '04: Gartner

NEW DELHI: The Indian market grew 34.4 percent in 2004 for a 10.23 percent share in the Asia-Pacific region according to Gartner Inc. PC shipments are estimated to total 37.3 million units in 2005, a 12.8 percent increase from 2004 according to forecast by Gartner, Inc.

From a country perspective, the Indian market grew 34.4 percent in 2004 for a 10.23 percent share in the Asia-Pacific region. The top vendors showed remarkable growth, snatching market share mainly from the white-box segment, while also growing the market. Within this segment, desktops grew 31.5 percent while notebooks grew 116 percent over 2003. HP is the top PC vendor in India garnering 12.7 percent of the market share and growing 85.4 percent in 2004, followed by HCL and IBM at the second and third place respectively.

"Peaking business confidence based on strong economic growth catalyzed PC purchases in both consumer and corporate segments throughout 2004" said Gartner India computing systems analyst Vinod Nair. While on one hand desktops are finding new users in metro and upcountry markets, notebooks are selling remarkably well on convenience and mobility. From a sector perspective, finance and banking, government and the small and medium businesses were the main drivers.

Looking forward, Gartner expects the Indian market to grow 29.3 percent in 2005. Strong economic indicators on the back of a growth-directed financial budget make way for healthy PC uptake in 2005. Nair commented, "Current budget announcements will augment the disposable income of families, signaling further growth in PC deployment in consumer segment." While there will be a small correction in the new user markets, this will be more than compensated by upgrades and replacements by existing users, he added.

The APAC PC market ended the year 2004 with year on year growth of 13.8 percent and 33.1 million units shipped. Mobile PC market recorded growth of 31.3 percent and desk-based PC at 10.4 percent. In 2005, Gartner expects demand for desk-based PC to continue with growth of 10.8 percent from the region. Growth engines for this year will be from China, India, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam for this form factor. Demand for mobile PC is expected to grow 21.3 percent.