Romania's hot PC market to pass $1B; notebook sales soar

By Drew Wilson
Courtesy of EE Times Europe

BERLIN — Mobile PCs are beginning to overtake desktop sales in Romania as the PC market continues strong double-digit growth, according to research firm IDC.

Romania's total PC market in 2007 was worth $828M, according to Diana Preda, systems and hardware analyst for IDC Romania. She expects 52 percent growth to $1.26B in 2008.

Small businesses and home users are driving overall PC demand, as well as more significant investments in education and government projects. Moreover, local online retail stores are boosting mail orders.

Notebook PC unit demand is up 128 percent year-on-year and shows no signs of abating, according to the research firm. Desktop shipments, however, have slowed sharply to single-digit growth rates.

"The point at which notebooks prevail on the market is getting closer," Preda said. "Except for the government sector and SoHo segment, demand from all other end users has clearly shifted in favor of notebooks."