The Indian market grew 34.4% in 2004 for a 10.23% share in the Asia-Pacific region according to Gartner Inc. PC shipments are estimated to total 37.3 million units in 2005, a 12.8% increase from 2004.

The top vendors showed remarkable growth, snatching market share mainly from the white-box segment, while also growing the market. Within this segment, desktops grew 31.5% while notebooks grew 116% over 2003. HP is the top Indian PC vendor garnering 12.7% of the market share and growing 85.4% in 2004, followed by HCL and IBM at the second and third place respectively.

"Peaking business confidence based on strong economic growth catalyzed PC purchases in both consumer and corporate segments throughout 2004" said Gartner India, Computing Systems Analyst, Vinod Nair. While on one hand desktops are finding new users in metro and upcountry markets, notebooks are selling remarkably well on convenience and mobility. From a sector perspective, finance and banking, government and the small and medium businesses were the main drivers.

Looking forward, Gartner expects the Indian market to grow 29.3% in 2005. Strong economic indicators on the back of a growth-directed financial budget make way for healthy PC uptake in 2005. Vinod commented, "Current budget announcements will augment the disposable income of families, signaling further growth in PC deployment in consumer segment." There will be a small correction in the new user markets; this will be more than compensated by upgrades and replacements by existing users.

The APac PC market ended the year 2004 with year-on-year growth of 13.8% and 33.1 million units shipped. The mobile PC market recorded a growth of 31.3% and desk-based PC at 10.4%.

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