Hot on forcasts last week by research group GFK that the consumer electronic industry is set to grow by over 15% comes claims from US research group IDC that  worldwide PC shipments will grow by 15.7 percent in 2008 to reach 311 million units.

They say growth will remain in double-digits through 2011, and  should grow another nine percent in 2012, taking annual shipments to more than 482 million.

However the Asia-Pacific region (excluding Japan) ­ while still expanding quickly ­ has seen some slippage in growth. After experiencing growth rates of almost 20 percent for the past few years, it looks like sliding below 14
percent in 2008.

Rising energy costs, inflationary pressures, the Sichuan earthquake as well as the summer Olympics in China, all limited growth, IDC says ­ but it predicts a return to growth rates above 15 percent through 2011.

The huge expansion in portable PC shipments will continue to drive overall growth, though IDC warns that the popularity of low-cost notebooks may see further erosion in average prices

"We continue to see a rapid transition to portable PCs around the world, even as economic pressures rise," said Loren Loverde, director of IDC's Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker. "The trend reflects the increasing
importance of computing, not just in the home or office, but as an integrated part of our lives."

Bob O'Donnell, IDC's vice president, clients and displays, couldn't agree more. "The right way to gauge the success of consumer PCs is no longer the adoption rate of households with PCs, or even the number of PCs per household ­ but rather the number of machines per individual," he said.

"The increasing form factor diversity in notebooks as well as desktops is enabling people to justify multiple PC purchases."