Vendor competition and continued development in the entry-level
notebook market will keep European PC prices falling in the near
term, according to a study released by market researcher IDC.
IDC predicts that notebook price tags will continue to fall as a
result of heated competition in the entry-level segment. Although
component prices continue to remain high, PC vendors will likely
absorb those costs to stay competitive, IDC said.
And even though desktop and server prices had begun to return to
mid-2001 levels in the first quarter of this year, thanks to the
market transition to Pentium 4 processors, they are also poised to
decline as demand slows, IDC said.
Competitive pricing from Dell Computer is also having an effect on
the market, especially in the UK and Germany, the researcher noted.
Dell released revised second-quarter guidance figures, predicting
higher sales boosted by growth in the US government, education and
consumer market.
Hewlett-Packard (HP) is also keeping the heat on European vendors,
in a bid to maintain prices despite increased component part
costs.
IDC expects that the merger between HP and Compaq Computer will
affect all market players, as the new company consolidates its
product lines and works to increase margins.