PLANYC 2030

Global shipments of personal computers are set to jump nearly 20 percent in 2010, led by surging shipments of mobile PCs, according to a forecast issued on Thursday by industry tracker Gartner.,

The research group expects worldwide PC shipments of 366.1 million units this year. PC spending rose 12.2 percent to $245 billion.

Gartner’s outlook for 2010 is more bullish than the one it issued in December, which forecast unit growth of 13.3 percent and a spending rise of 1.9 percent.

“We expect mobile PCs to drive 90 percent of PC growth over the next three years,” Gartner analyst George Shiffler said in a release. “In 2009, mobile PCs accounted for 55 percent of all PC shipments; by 2012, we expect mobile PCs to account for nearly 70 percent of shipments.”

Gartner sees home PC demand increasing, and businesses recovering from the recession are expected to begin replacing four- and five-year-old computers.

Analysts expect vendors such as Hewlett-Packard Co and Dell Inc to benefit from the so-called corporate refresh of technology hardware, and and continuing strong market in refurbished desktops.

Gartner also noted opportunities in the new tablet segment, following Apple’s announcement of the iPad. HP and others are also expected to launch tablet devices this year.

Gartner said a total of 10.5 million tablets could ship in 2010.