Industry news

1bn PCs worldwide, says analyst

The worldwide number of PCs in use has reached one billion units and is set to double by 2014, one analyst has said.

Gartner revealed there are more than one billion PCs installed across the globe and the number is currently growing at an annual rate of 12 per cent which means the total will surpass 2 billion in six years.

The firm's research director, George Shiffler, said mature markets such as the US, Western Europe and Japan currently account for 58 per cent of market share but only 15 per cent of the world's population.

He added the company expects emerging markets PC penetration to double by 2013.

"Rapid penetration in emerging markets is being driven by the explosive expansion of broadband and wireless connectivity in these markets [and] the continuing fall in PC average selling prices," he concluded.

Meanwhile, the analyst also revealed this week that virtual worlds will provide savings in the long-term.