IDC Press Release
FRAMINGHAM, Mass.– When looking at a holistic view of smartphones, tablets, and PCs, one thing is clear – smartphones and tablets are driving mobility growth. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Smart Connected Device Tracker, vendors shipped 367.7 million desktop PCs, portable PCs, tablets, and smartphones – a collective view IDC refers to as “Smart Connected Devices” – in the fourth quarter of 2012 (4Q12), up 28.3% from the prior year. As desktop PCs and portable PCs declined (-4.1% and -3.4%, respectively), the overall smart connected device space continued to surge to just over 1.2 billion shipments cumulatively in 2012. Tablet shipments experienced the largest year-over-year growth in 2012, up 78.4% over 2011, while smartphones grew 46.1% but accounted for 60.1% of all smart connected devices shipped throughout the year.