Gartner Dataquest computers and peripherals analyst, Andy Woo, said in a statement "there are clear indications that the PC market is on the road to recovery with end-users beginning to evaluate replacing some of their older fleets of systems". PC shipments rose 8.3 percent year-on-year for the fourth quarter, closing the year on a positive note. However, Woo told ZDNet Australia that the forecast growth rate for Australian PC shipments of five to seven percent in 2003 could, in a best-case scenario, fall to one to three percent in the event of a war between Iraq and Western nations. That rate could easily turn negative should the scenario be anything less than best-case, he said.
Woo said the Australian mobile PC space grew by 22.7 per cent for the year, easily outstripping the 6.4 percent growth in shipments of desk-based PCs. This echoed the Asia-Pacific outcome, whereby mobile PC shipments rose 25 percent year-on-year, well ahead of the desk-based PC growth rate of six percent.
Hewlett-Packard comfortably retained its leadership position in Australia with a total market share of 20.4 percent, well ahead of Dell with 11.6 percent. They were followed by IBM, Acer and mobile PC leader Toshiba. China dominated the regional market, accounting for 43 percent of all shipments, while Singapore and Hong Kong, mature markets struggling with economic strife and unemployment, recorded negative growth rates. Woo said China and India would lead growth in 2003 in the event of an Iraqi conflict as their economies were less mature and less tied to that of the United States.
