There was a big shift in the marketplace for computing devices in 2013. Sales for Windows PCs remained stagnant at best and sales for Apple PCs decreased significantly. This is because tablets are quickly coming to dominate the market. One PC, however, not only managed to survive 2013, but thrived. Sales for the Chromebook continue to grow at a rapid pace.
A new study released just before Christmas by The NPD Group paints a vivid picture of how the marketplace for PCs and tablets shifted in 2013. It also offers some clues about what to expect in 2014. According to NPD, in the 11 months from January through November 2013, 14.4 million desktops, notebooks, and tablets were sold through U.S. commercial channels. That total includes only preconfigured notebooks and desktop PCs, and it doesn’t include direct channels. As a result, the number of devices sold represents only a fraction of total sales in the U.S. By way of contrast,IDC’s most recent Quarterly PC Tracker report shows that 16.4 million notebook and desktop PCs (tablets not included in the total) were shipped in the U.S. in the third quarter alone.