Indian PC market logs 34.4% growth in 2004: Gartner

The Indian market grew 34.4% in 2004 for a 10.23% share in the Asia-Pacific
region according to Gartner Inc. PC shipments are estimated to total 37.3
million units in 2005, a 12.8% increase from 2004.

The top vendors showed remarkable growth, snatching market share mainly from
the white-box segment, while also growing the market. Within this segment,
desktops grew 31.5% while notebooks grew 116% over 2003. HP is the top Indian PC
vendor garnering 12.7% of the market share and growing 85.4% in 2004, followed
by HCL and IBM at the second and third place respectively.

"Peaking business confidence based on strong economic growth catalyzed
PC purchases in both consumer and corporate segments throughout 2004" said
Gartner India, Computing Systems Analyst, Vinod Nair. While on one hand desktops
are finding new users in metro and upcountry markets, notebooks are selling
remarkably well on convenience and mobility. From a sector perspective, finance
and banking, government and the small and medium businesses were the main
drivers.

Looking forward, Gartner expects the Indian market to grow 29.3% in 2005.
Strong economic indicators on the back of a growth-directed financial budget
make way for healthy PC uptake in 2005. Vinod commented, "Current budget
announcements will augment the disposable income of families, signaling further
growth in PC deployment in consumer segment." There will be a small
correction in the new user markets; this will be more than compensated by
upgrades and replacements by existing users.

The APac PC market ended the year 2004 with year-on-year growth of 13.8% and
33.1 million units shipped. The mobile PC market recorded a growth of 31.3% and
desk-based PC at 10.4%.

CYBERMEDIA NEWS