Notebooks will be the primary computing tool by 2014, outselling desktops, netbooks, and tablets combined, according to research firm In-stat.
The success story may take longer to play out on our shores as the UK bucks the trend, according to Gartner, with reports of dwindling sales generally in the PC market. Sales were down 2.4 per cent earlier this year, while global sales were soaring at 18 per cent.
By 2014, notebooks will account for 52 per cent of shipments worldwide, however, claimed In-stat. This means approximately 290 million units compared to 80 million desktop systems and 110 million of the smaller format mobiles.
The global PC market will have increased by 19.1 per cent annually to reach these figures.
The only upsetting factor could be the tablet market, which has shown phenomenal growth since the release of Apple's iPad. Over the next year, the range of products is expected to mushroom as Android, WebOS, Windows and other operating systems appear in tablet formats.
Another development that could have some effect is the growth of smartphones as computing devices. The processors driving them are set to gain a boost with multicore chips due to be released.
Already, according to IDC, 270 million phones will ship this year so, by 2014, the numbers could easily surpass In-stat's prediction for notebooks and tablets.
"While there will be a battle for the lower-end internet-centric devices, like tablets and netbooks, notebooks will continue to be the overall demand driver as consumers focus on lighter and lower-cost PCs and businesses continue to transition to mainstream and high-performance mobile platforms," said Jim McGregor, In-stat's chief technology strategist.
