http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/26/technology/26spend.html
"Penny-pinching shoppers like Mr. Title could have the most
immediate effect on the tech industry, particularly if more people
consider canceling their cable subscriptions to watch video online, or
drop their landline telephones to depend on their cellphones or on
Internet calling services like Skype.
Many consumers appear ready
to abandon the costly desktop computer altogether. Analysts expect PC
sales to fall in 2009 for just the second time in the last two decades,
with desktops falling even faster than they did in 2007 or 2008.
The
only bright spot in the PC industry is netbooks. Analysts at the
Gartner research company said shipments rose to 4.4 million devices in
the third quarter of 2008, from 500,000 units in the first quarter of
last year. Analysts say sales could double this year despite a deep
worldwide recession.
Dell, missed the first wave of these tiny, stripped-down machines,
allowing Acer of Taiwan to grab market share. Acer pushed Apple out of the No. 3 spot behind H.P. and Dell as sales soared 55 percent. Dell and H.P. are making the devices now."
