India PC shipments to grow 25% in 2011 to 13.2 mn units: Gartner

NEW DELHI: Computer shipments to India are expected to increase by 24.7 per cent to total 13.2 million units in 2011 over 2010, driven by increasing demand from smaller cities in the country, research firm Gartner on Monday said.

According to Gartner, in 2011, the desk-based PC market will grow five per cent totalling 7.2 million units year-on-year, while mobile PC shipments will grow 61 per cent with 5.9 million units.

Computer vendors are seeing an increasing demand from smaller cities in India, where PC penetration has grown considerably, Gartner said in a statement.

Rising income and declining PC prices are significantly contributing to this growth.

Gartner estimates that roughly 35 per cent of the vendor revenues today comes from Tier III and IV cities, which is expected to grow to 50 per cent by the end of 2013, Gartner said.

"There is an increased aspiration to own a PC in India. The younger generation is contributing to the large scale adoption of PCs in India in a significant way," Gartner Principal Research Analyst Vishal Tripathi said.

Besides, reading and surfing the internet, the usage of PCs for watching movies, listening to music, and gaming are playing a pivotal role in driving demand, he added.