The timing of the release will have some impact on when consumers buy, but not so much on whether or not they buy, said Loren Loverde, director of IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker.
Microsoft last week said it would deliver Vista to PC makers in time for January 2007 sales, missing the crucial Christmas holiday period, when computer sales have been historically strong.
But Loverde reckons this will not make a big dent. He said he expects the delay to shift only moderate volume from the fourth quarter of 2006 into 2007.
The research firm said it expects worldwide PC shipments to grow by 10.5% in 2006 and 10.7% in 2007, compared to its November estimates of 10.6% and 8.9%.
Although this is still relatively strong and an improvement from the November 2005 forecast, it is also notably below the growth of more than 15% for the past 2 years and will bring growth in shipment value to below 5%, IDC said in a statement.
