PC sales

Dell shares opened sharply lower on Wednesday after the PC maker posting disappointing financial results. Sales are soft, margins are contracting, and the outlook is uninspiring.

IT trends researcher Gartner cut its forecast for 2011 worldwide PC shipment growth from 18.1% to 15.9%. That's still very robust for PCs, but it's an early sign that the iPad's wild popularity is taking a toll on the rest of the computer industry.

Shipments of personal computers missed forecasts in the third quarter, increasing by 7.6% rather than the 12.7% industry analysts had expected to see.

A Wall Street analyst is projecting Apple's iPad sales to reach 28 million in 2011, with low-end notebook computer sales suffering as a result.

Computer makers are scrambling to goose faltering consumer demand after a weak start to the back-to-school shopping season. That could mean deeper price cuts and other promotions for shoppers this fall.

Intel issued a third-quarter warning, saying its revenues will come in lighter than expected due to softening consumer demand for PCs. It now expects to bring in revenues of $10.8 billion to $11.2 billion, compared with its previous guidance of $11.2 billion to $12 billion.

Taiwan's PC industry, the world's largest, is booming. Driving sales is a massive shift toward mobile computing as buyers flock to devices like netbooks and tablet computers.

Tech tracker Gartner reported today that according to its research, global PC shipments fell by five percent in the second quarter of 2009. And the big loser was Dell (DELL). The Round Rock, Texas-based PC giant saw its global market share fall by a stark two percent as compared to the same...