For the first time in history, mobile products have exceeded computer shipments.
According to a report by the Financial Times, manufacturers shipped more smartphones than personal computers in the fourth quarter of 2010. Over 100 million smartphones were distributed in the last three months of 2010, up 87-percent from the year prior. In contrast, PC shipments reached only 92 million units in the same timeframe, up 3-percent from 2009.
While certainly a noteworthy turn of events, the data should be taken with a grain of salt, and special consideration should be given to the high turnover of smartphone units. In other words, customers buy new smartphones more frequently than they do PCs, due to the lower costs and rapid evolution of mobile technology.
Nevertheless, we expect to see these sort of results become an ongoing trend as tablet devices and smartphones begin to edge out netbook and laptop sales.
Caintech.co.uk 