Characteristics of China's computer market in 2012

CHINA: In the shadow of the global economic downturn, the overall demand of China's computer market shrank in 2012. The performance of all kinds of products was below expectation, with the overall growth rate estimated at 25.3 percent.

The annual sales volume of desktop computers is expected to be 25.574 million pieces, with an annual growth rate of 3.4 percent; the annual sales volume of laptops is expected to be 29.839 million pieces, up 10.6 percent year-on-year; the tablet market maintained a rather high growth rate in 2012 after experiencing an explosive growth in 2011, with the annual sales volume expected to reach 9.175 million pieces.

In China’s laptop market, 14-inch laptops maintained their leading position with a proportion of 55.7 percent in 2012; the launch of ultrabooks drove a growth in the sales of 13-inch products, which accounted for 16.4 percent of the total. The proportion of desktops with large display screens increased to some extent, and the proportion of 19-inch and 20-inch desktops reached 36.1 percent and 31.1 percent, respectively.

Well-developed regions such as Eastern China, Northern China and Southern China were the top three markets respectively, but their proportions decreased to some extent, while proportions of Southwestern, Northwestern and Central China saw increases compared with 2011.