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Value of Gulf PC market touches $3.3b
The value of PC market in the Gulf is expected to surge to $3.3 billion (Dh12.11 billion) this year, an increase of 26.92 per cent compared to $2.6 billion (Dh9.54 billion) in 2007, according to a research firm.
- By Naushad K. Cherrayil, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:52 February 1, 2008
Dubai: The value of PC market in the Gulf is expected to surge to $3.3 billion (Dh12.11 billion) this year, an increase of 26.92 per cent compared to $2.6 billion (Dh9.54 billion) in 2007, according to a research firm.
"Total PC shipments into Gulf region are expected to be 2.65 million units for 2007, 23 per cent year-on-year growth compared to 2006," said Omar Shihab, research manager, PCs and Systems, IDC Middle East and Africa.
He said total PC (notebooks and desktops) shipments in UAE is expected to touch 1.1 million units in 2007 and Saudi Arabia is expected to ship one million units.
UAE lead
The UAE surpassed Saudi Arabia as the biggest PC market in 2006.
Shihab predicts the fourth quarter would be slightly quieter. Still there is a lot of room for growth in notebooks. Booming notebook sales across the entire region continued to act as the primary growth driver for most vendors. Region's fourth-quarter shipments are projected to stand at 660,000 units, registering a nine per cent year-on-year growth compared to fourth quarter 2006, slightly less than 702,062 units recorded in third quarter 2007.
This year's mobile PC shipments are expected to stand at 2.3 million units, an increase of 34.10 per cent compared to 1.73 million units in 2007. In 2006 it stood at 1.25 million units.
Low prices
"Last few years the prices has gone down drastically. It has reached a point where it cannot go down further. It has come down to the price of the components. What the vendors are doing is they are repositioning themselves. They are adding more add-ons to the machines. Consumers are not only looking at the price, they are also looking at other value-added features," said Shihab.
"We're still seeing healthy growth [in notebooks] from the consumer market, especially the small office, home office segment and small- to mid-sized enterprises," he said. "Notebook demand on the increase as corporates is replacing desktops with laptops. In the UAE, wireless connectivity is on the rise. It is still slow in other countries. Companies are now becoming more aware of their employees' work from remote locations. Since the competition has become cut throat, profit margins are getting squeezed to an all-time low.
"Demand for desktops will continue despite falling market share. Also replacement cycle of the PCs is shortening. Before they used to replace PCs after 5-7 years, but now it has come down to two years," he said.
He said Vista has played a key role in boosting the PC sales in the consumer segment. Most of the product shipped is preloaded with Windows Vista. But it is almost nil in the corporate segment. Microsoft is expected to launch a new version soon, but despite that Vista will take years to become popular.
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