SANTA CLARA, CA— Mobile PC unit sales outpaced those of desktops in China for the first time in the second half of 2011, according to a new report.

The news is significant because China is the world's largest market for desktop PCs and related displays (monitors or displays in all-in-one PCs), third in tablet PCs, and fourth in notebook PCs and mini-notes. For the PC market as a whole, China is third, behind North America and EMEA.

Total second-half PC shipments rose 12.7% sequentially to 53.4 million, according to NPD DisplaySearch. However, desktop PC unit sales were up only 1% sequentially and down 3% year-over-year. The all-in-one PC market rose 32% sequentially.

Mobile PCs include notebooks, mini-notes, and tablets.

Although shipments in desktop PCs are flat, the mobile PC market continued to show strong growth, reaching 26.5 million units in the second half, up 25% from the first half. In the third quarter, mobile PC shipments in China exceeded desktop PC shipments for the first time, thanks to the tremendous growth of tablet PCs.

“China continues to try to bolster domestic production of LCD panels to try to meet demand for both PC and TV displays,” said Robin Wu, PC and TFT Analyst for NPD DisplaySearch. “But most of China’s LCD production is from smaller Gen 5 fabrication lines, which cannot compete with larger Korean, Japanese, and Taiwanese fabs in large panel production; these fabs have thus focused production on small/medium panel production, causing some shortages,” noted Wu.

Figure 1. China PC Shipments by Application (2009-2011)

Source: NPD DisplaySearch Quarterly China PC Shipment and Forecast Report

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