Vista Delay Will Have 'Limited' Impact on New PC Sales, IDC Says

Published: April 12, 2006

by Alex Woodie

Demand for PCs will be strong through 2008, despite Microsoft's decision to delay the long-awaited next release of Windows, the analyst group IDC announced recently.

The delay of Windows Vista will have a limited impact on the market for PCs, both at home and at businesses, IDC said, adding that Vista-related spending which would have occurred this year is now forecast to be delayed until next year. This will have the effect of dropping the PC growth rate in most of the world through 2006. In 2007, when Vista will be shipping (according to Microsoft), commercial spending will pick up, IDC says.

"Some consumers will certainly delay PC purchases until Vista is available, but we expect the delay to shift only moderate volume from the fourth quarter of 2006 into 2007 and will not cause a loss of sales," says Loren Loverde, director of IDC's Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker. "The timing of the release will have some impact on when consumers buy, but not so much on whether or not they buy."

The average annual growth rate for PCs across the world is expected to be about 10.5 percent through 2008, the group says.