PC still Rules

With all the hypes and buzzes about smartphones , macs, and tablets, it doesn’t look like PCs go anywhere anytime soon. According to market researcher Gartner, Worldwide PC shipments this year are projected to increase 22 percent from a year ago to 376.6 million units, while spending is expected to rise 12 percent to $245.4 billion.

Microsoft says it has sold more than 100 million licenses for Windows 7 since the software came out in October, making it the company’s fastest-selling PC operating system. In contrast, Apple and other makers of tablet devices will ship an estimated 10 million of the devices this year.

Intel Corp. executives assert that the rise of portable computers has reinvigorated PC sales. Instead of one desktop a household, there can now be one portable computer for each person in a home. The chip giant says netbooks — the small, low-priced relative of laptop computers — have sold more quickly in the past two years than the iPhone, iPod or other recently released high-tech products.

Nor do Apple products dominate their markets. The Macintosh accounted for less than 4% of global PC sales in 2009, while its share of smartphone operating system stood at 14.4%, in third place in a market led by Nokia Corp., with 46.9%, Gartner said.

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