Worldwide PC shipments soared during the fourth quarter, driven by historically low PC prices and an increased demand for laptops and netbooks, analyst firm IDC said Wednesday.
Shipments totaled 85.8 million units during the fourth quarter of 2009, growing 15.2 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2008. The unexpected growth signals a possible end to the struggles the PC industry has gone through during the recession, IDC said in a statement.
I imagine this is because the accessabilty of computing has improved, no longer are they limited to the geeks, they are now far more mainstream than ever. Tablet PCs and increasingly sophisticated smart phones along with social media and video sites have helped bring computing to the masses.