Initiatives like those done at Intel could ease the constraint of some barriers. But it's still a slow process.
You're seeing price drops and government-sponsored initiatives in many countries, in an effort to get PCs in. But you're still facing low per capita income and an immature economic structure.
Vendors are likely to see a fundamental shift in the market as they come to grips with the steep decline in mature-market desk-based growth and are forced to seek growth in other market segments.
As recent earnings announcements illustrate, vendors are facing strong competitive pressures. These pressures are only likely to intensify if unit growth slows. Vendors may have little choice other than to cut prices or offer more lower-cost, de-featured machines.
People need to be convinced that it's a must have, and it's not clear that it is.
The next two years will produce a turning point for the PC industry.
The quest for growth is forcing vendors to test the limits of PC price elasticity. The whole dynamic is compounded by the fact that buyers have increasingly come to expect sharp price declines.
End-user concerns about availability and value of these new technologies could result in some buyers holding off PC purchases until later in 2006 or beyond.
It's a very competitive environment in terms of pricing, and vendors began running out of room.
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