The Internet of Things (IoT) is "poised to change everything" IDC reports-- promising "huge potential" for new revenue and customer streams with global revenues growing from $4.8 trillion in 2012 to $8.9 trillion by 2020 with a CAGR of 7.9%.

According to the analyst the WW installed base of IoT "things" will reach around 212 billion by end 2012, a total including 30.1bn installed "connected (autonomous) things." Driving such growth are intelligent systems collecting data across both consumer and enterprise applications.

Ongoing developments in smart cities, cars and houses, enhanced connectivity infrastructure and an increasingly connected culture further aid growth.

Tablet shipments should surpass PC shipments on Q4 2013 before surpassing PCs on an annual basis by end 2015, IDC reports in the Quarterly Smart Connected Device forecast.

The analyst predicts the overall connected device market (combining PC, tablets and smartphones) will grow by 27.8% in 2013, with shipments reaching 1.6 billion units. Tablets and smartphones predictably spur such growth, while IDC lowers 2013 PC outlook by 10%.

In terms of revenue smart connected devices will grow by 10.6% to $622.4bn in 2013-- but such growth will trickle to just 3.1% by 2017, a tapering forecast caused by the the growing impact of low-cost smartphones and white box tablets.

Estimates from Canalys this month show Apple continuing to lead the global PC market, with China’s Lenovo in a strong second place. Canalys includes tablets in its numbers, reflecting the impact iPad and other devices have had on the overall market.

Apple held a 17% share in Q2 2013, with 18.6 million units, of which around 15M were iPads. Lenovo’s 13% share was primarily PCs, with only around 1.5M tablets shipped. The other big winner was Samsung, with a 10% share, and growth of 106% year on year.

These numbers reflect two intersecting discontinuities, whose impact is still reverberating across the industry. These are the growth of the tablet form factor, dubbed the “post PC world” by Steve Jobs, and the eastwards shift of the global economic centre of gravity, in particular towards China. These transitions are still playing out, and history will be the final judge, but we can pinpoint their defining moments. Continue reading...

According to Strategy Analytics Android dominates the Q2 2013 tablet market, with the OS making 67% of global shipments reaching 51.7 million units with 43% Y-o-Y growth.

Android tablet shipments total 34.6m units through devices from both big OEMs (Samsung, Amazon, Google) and white box ODMs.

On the other hand the iPad sees Q2 2013 shipments dropping by -14% Y-o-Y to 14.6m units as iOS market share falls from 47.2% in Q2 2012 to 28.3%. One has to keep in mind the quarter saw no new iPad launches, even if the iPad mini has been on the market for a while.

According to IDC Q2 2013 EMEA PC shipments contract by -22.2% Y-o-Y as high inventory levels and slow consumer demand constrain new purchases by channel partners, and economic pressure affects enterprises.

Shipments total 19.6 million units-- 7.2m desktops (down by -14.6%) and 12.4m portable PCs (-269% decline).

"Q2 2013 continued to be impacted by large inventory in several countries. April and May were weak as expected as most vendors, retailers, and distributors focused on stock reduction, and while June was supported by starting replenishment ahead of the back to school and product transitions, the volume of new orders remained constrained as caution prevailed in particular in retail," IDC says. "The PC market is going through a major transition with evolving form factors and a larger product portfolio, but the expansion of the overall client device market continues to drive increasing consumer spending and will also support key opportunities for the industry in the commercial space."

According to IHS PC Dynamics Market Brief Q2 2013 is the worst 2nd quarter (on a Q-o-Q basis) for the WW mobile PC market in 11 years-- shipments drop by -6.9% Q-o-Q, while H1 2013 sees the worst performance since 2003.

In the past 10 years the global mobile PC market always saw Q-o-Q shipment recovery ranging from 0.5% to as much as 6.5% during Q2.

The analyst also says H1 2013 shipments are down by -11.2% compared to H2 2012. In contrast, mobile PC shipments had surged by a spectacular 41.7% during H1 2010.

“The mobile PC industry on the whole is struggling to find any momentum for growth as upheavals rock the market,” IHS says. “In particular, more nimble devices like tablets have taken over among consumers given their ease of use and unique form factor. Meanwhile, innovation in PCs has stagnated, and the recent influx of low-cost tablets has further eaten into an already decimated mobile PC space. With such dire numbers, many are wondering whether this signifies the start of more record declines for mobile PCs, or if the industry has hit rock-bottom.”

Gartner forecasts double digit declines of -10.6% for global 2013 PC (desktop and notebook) shipments, even as the overall "devices" market (covering PCs, tablets and mobiles) should reach shipments of 2.35 billion units with 5.9% growth.

Such a decline reflects not only shifting customer demands but also adjustments in the channel making room for H2 2013 product launches.

According to the analyst PC shipments will total 305 million units in 2013. The decline is offset somewhat to -7.3% if one counts ultramobile PCs-- bringing some good news to the thin, lightweight notebooks of the Chromebook or Ultrabook variety.

Ultramobile PC demand comes from upgrades over both regular notebooks and premium tablets (such as the iPad or Galaxy Tab 10.1) and should be even more evident come Q4 2013, once Bay Trail- and Haswell-based Windows 8.1 models hit the shelves.

Despite the Windows 8 launch all PC segments show decline in W. Europe during Q2 2013 CONTEXT reports, as clumsy channel marketing and lack of attractively priced touch-based products undermine the potency of Windows 8 as a PC flagship.

“Demand for Windows 8 was not channeled particularly skilfully with mixed press prior to launch, insufficient marketing activity at store level as well as low availability of touch systems,” the analyst remarks.

CONTEXT does mention "some positives" for the period-- clamshell notebooks record a "lesser decline" and a Windows 7/8 upgrade scheme (free Windows 8 license upgrade for customers buying pre-installed Windows 7 Pro) created at least some demand.