PC consumers turn attention to tablets

BEIJING / SAN FRANCISCO - Global shipments of personal computers fell 3.2 percent in the first quarter of 2011.

That's as businesses and consumers held back from purchasing new machines and shifted their focus to tablet computers, according to the market-research company IDC, which had projected growth of 1.5 percent compared with the same period last year.

"Slower-than-expected commercial growth in the first quarter failed to offset the ongoing challenges in the consumer market," said Bob O'Donnell, a vice-president at IDC. "While it's tempting to blame the decline completely on the growth of media tablets, we believe other factors, including extended PC lifetimes and the lack of compelling new PC experiences, played equally significant roles."