iSuppli raises 2007 PC forecast

Following stronger-than-anticipated shipments of notebook computers in the first quarter, iSuppli Corp. has upgraded its 2007 PC shipment forecast.

iSuppli predicts global PC shipments will rise to 264 million units in 2007, up 11.2 percent from 239 million in 2006. The previous forecast envisioned 10.7 percent growth for the year.

"Notebook PC shipments rose to 21.8 million units in the first quarter of 2007, up 23 percent from 17.7 million in the first quarter of 2006," said Matthew Wilkins, principal analyst, compute platforms, for iSuppli.

"First-quarter notebook PC shipments were 3 percent higher than we had previously anticipated. There were concerns that the second-quarter release of Intel Corp.'s new Santa Rosa notebook microprocessor platform might cause buyers to delay purchases originally set for the first quarter. However, Santa Rosa did not have a significant negative effect on first-quarter shipments."

iSuppli expects notebooks to account for almost 40 percent of total 2007 PC market shipments.

In a related note, iSuppli also is reissuing its forecast for Solid-State Drives (SSDs) in notebook PCs. iSuppli predicts the penetration of SSDs in notebooks will reach 12 percent by the end of 2009. In contrast, penetration of Hybrid Hard Drives (HHD) in notebook PCs will reach 35 percent by the end of 2009.