CE spending in W. Europe will remain flat in 2012 according to Strategy Analytics, as the Eurozone crisis continues to crunch on consumers' spending power.

Customers will not stop spending on CE entirely, mind-- purchasing will continue, especially on devices eliminating the need for multiple dedicated devices. Just not enough to drive growth within the region.

On the global front hand analyst predicts WW 2012 CE revenues will grow by 5% and reach $790 billion in value, with mobile devices ( Continue reading...

Are PCs growing or declining? While Gartner reports on a virtually flat Q2 2012 for the WW PC market , Canalys breaks the mould by saying global PC shipments grow by 11.7% Y-o-Y in the quarter.

When it comes to EMEA, Gartner says Q2 2012 growth totals all of 1.9% Y-o-Y, as demand remains "very weak." Unlike Canalys, who says EMEA Y-o-Y growth is up to 17.3%.

It all boils down to what the analysts actually define as a "PC." Canalys adds tablets to its PC market totals. Gartner and virtually all other analysts (such as IDC) do not.

As a result Canalys says "2012 is shaping to be a record year"-- but only for vendors selling tablets. However when it comes to Windows PCs Canalys echoes all other analysts with talk of new lows and disappointing shipments.

Gartner reports Q2 2012 EMEA PC shipments total 25.1 million units-- a 1.9% Y-o-Y increase, with "very weak" demand across both W. and S. Europe as the eurozone crisis continues growing.

As a result, distributors might end up with greater inventory levels while retailers take the (perhaps wise) risk adverse approach. This can hinder future growth before Windows 8 and new Ultrabook models hit the market sometime around H2 2012.

The global situation is not any better-- according to Gartner, the Q2 2012 WW PC market is virtually flat. Shipments reach 87.5m and decline by -0.1%, the 7th consecutive quarter of flat to single-digit WW growth.

"Despite the high expectations for Ultrabooks shipment volume was small and little impact on overall shipment growth,” the analyst remarks.

Customers also prefer spending on non-PC (or post-PC) technologies-- chiefly smartphones and tablets. Continue reading...

According to Business Insider, the PC market looks "flat and mature" as after "decades of sustained growth" WW shipments are grinding down to a halt.

The reasoning behind the gloomy forecast goes as follows-- global 2011 PC shipments are up by only 4% Y-o-Y, the slowest growth rate since 2001. In comparison, 2010 PC shipments grew by 14%.

The reasons for such a slowdown are both various and well known by now. A "choppy" global economy (affecting both consumer and business spending), longer PC Continue reading...

Global tablet shipments total 18.2m units with 185% Y-o-Y growth (or -33% Q-o-Q decline) according to ABI Research, with Apple firmly on top of the market.

The analyst says iPad shipments make 65% of WW units, thanks to the 3rd generation lineup launch and iPad 2 price reductions.

Meanwhile the Kindle Fire "fizzles" in 2012, as Samsung beats Amazon to the #2 spot with shipments reaching 1.1m units.

“A pattern similar to smartphones is also occurring in tablets,” ABI says-- that is, the tablet mark Continue reading...

According to GfKRT the IT peripheral market remain positive in the Arabian Gulf (UAE and Saudi Arabia), with Q1 2012 sales growing by $1.03m over Q1 2011.

Saudi Arabia is the "main driver" behind such growth, thanks to an increase in volume sales for 3 segments-- webcams, keyboards and mice.

Webcams are the slowest growing segment within the Gulf, with average customer spend remaining flat ($21, the same as in 2009) while volume sales drop.

The average customer spend per sale on mice is also Continue reading...

NPD DisplaySearch reports global Q1 2012 mobile PC shipments reach 76.2m units with 30% Y-o-Y growth as tablets dominate the market and notebooks decline.

Tablets show 124% Y-o-Y growth, while notebooks and mini-notebooks grow by just 12%.

When it comes to vendors, Apple and HP remain on top-- Apple has 22.5% of the total WW mobile PC market with shipments reaching 17.2m units (80% of which being iPads). HP shipments total 8.9m units with 11.6% market share.

The following vendors (Acer, Lenovo, Continue reading...

According to Canalys HP takes back the lead in the WW Q1 2012 client PC market, following its getting beaten by Apple (mainly thanks iPad shipments) in Q4 2011.

One has to keep in mind Canalys counts tablet shipments in its PC shipment totals, while other industry analysts (including Gartner and IDC) do not.

The analyst says HP has a close lead on the Q1 2012 market, outshipping Apple by around 40000 units. Apple shipments for the quarter reach 15.8m, 11.8m of which being iPads.

Canalys reports EMEA PC shipments show 19% Y-o-Y growth. Total WW Q1 2012 PC shipments reach 107m units with 21% Y-o-Y growth.