More smartphones were shipped than PCs last year

blue-screen-of-death

Canalys research firm issued a report today that makes us all think back to our very first time getting a blue screen of death on a PC. According to combined statistics from 2011, manufacturers shipped more smartphones than computers in 2011 – 488 million smartphones hit shelves last year, while only 414.6 million PCs did. Though tablets were supposed to reign in the “post-PC” era, the PC numbers do factor in tablet shipments.

“Smart phone shipments overtaking those of client PCs should be seen as a significant milestone,” VP and Principal Analyst of Canalys, Chris Jones, commented. “In the space of a few years, smart phones have grown from being a niche product segment at the high-end of the mobile phone market to becoming a truly mass-market proposition.”

The 488 million smartphone shipments are up 63 percent from the 299.7 million in 2010. PC shipments grew too, but by 15 percent. Even with tablet growth at a staggering 274 percent in 2011, the PC still couldn’t keep up with the enormous demand for iOS and Android handsets. However, Canalys interestingly predicts slowed smartphone growth in 2012 “as vendors exercise greater cost control and discipline, and put more focus on profitability.” The rise in $299 Android phones seems to support the latter suggestion, but only time can tell.

Whatever happens in 2012, it’s clear that the future of computing is changing.

[via Engadget]

More smartphones were shipped than PCs last year originally appeared on IntoMobile.com on 2012-02-03T22:03:36Z. FV1gMYsz9b5j