AUSTIN, Texas, April 26, 2010All-in-one (AIO) PCs enjoyed a 57% Y/Y growth in sales from 2008 to 2009, led by Apple and its continued strong iMac sales. HP, Dell, Lenovo, Acer (including its Gateway and Packard Bell brands) contributed to this growth, as well as second-tier brands such as MSI. According to the DisplaySearch Q110 Quarterly Desktop Monitor Shipment and Forecast Report, portfolios from major and minor brands indicate expansion to include consumer AIO PC products, as well as commercial AIO PCsresulting in growth rates for this market approaching those of notebook PCs.

Figure 1: Worldwide All-in-one Desktop PC Shipments by Manufacturer

Source: DisplaySearch Q110 Quarterly Desktop Monitor Shipment and Forecast Report

All-in-one PCs have been around for years, noted Chris Connery, Vice President of DisplaySearch PC and IT services. Historically, they have been benchmarked against the traditional desktop PC and monitor bundle, but they are becoming a market of their own with each consecutive generation of AIOs.

More attractive industrial designs and more powerful and affordable processors from mobile PCs are bringing the advantages of small form factors to the home or office without the need to worry about battery life or portability. As an example, a centralized PC is ideal for parents to monitor family PC usage. For corporations, smaller, more affordable form factors allow for efficient cloud computing for non-mobile professionals.

While the steady growth of AIO PCs continues, so does the debate over incorporating touch as a PC interface in such products. Most see touch as a nice alternative interface for stationary or larger size personal computer products, but not as a substitute for the tried-and-true keyboard and mouse, noted Connery.

The adoption of touch by AIO PCs increased in 2009, as many vendors added touch capabilities to their products in an effort to up-sell consumers. The prominence of touch AIOs has caused major retail outlets such as Best Buy to make distinctions between PCs that have touch capabilities and those which do not. For companies such as HP, touch is a part of their long-term plan across product lines. While their expectations for AIO PCs with touch are currently low, they expect it will become a more common interface for personal computing in years to come.

As Apple does not offer touch-screen versions of the iMac, the penetration rate of touch in AIO PCs is modest, with the share worldwide in Q409 at 22.4%. Among Windows-based PCs, the penetration of touch into AIOs in Q409 was 37.7%. North America and EMEA arethe dominant regions for AIO PCs, heavily influenced by Apple iMac sales. For non-Apple AIO PCs, regional splits still favor the NA and EMEA regions (25% and 27%) but China and Japan are strong markets as well, with 19% and 17% shares of the AIO PCs shipped in 2009. Regional penetration of touch for AIO PCs is only 2% for China vs. 24% for North America.

Both touch-enabled and standard AIO PCs are forecast to show continued strength in the coming years, as brands are now able to reach a wide variety of price points and design aesthetics to attract consumer and commercial customers alike. Growth rates are now forecast to lag behind only the fastest-growing mini-note/slate PC category.

Figure 2: Worldwide All-in-one Desktop PC Forecast

Table 1: CAGR by Application

Source: DisplaySearch Q110 Quarterly Desktop Monitor Shipment and Forecast Report

The DisplaySearch Quarterly Desktop Monitor Shipment and Forecast Report includes shipment and forecast data for LCD monitors, CRT monitors, LCD PCs and TFT LCD monitor modules, as well as cost forecasts of TFT LCD monitor modules, LCD monitor interface electronics and LCD monitors. The report is delivered in PowerPoint and includes Excel pivot tables. Please contact Charles Camaroto at 1.888.436.7673 or 1.516.625.2452, e-mail contact@displaysearch.com or contact your regional DisplaySearch office in China, Japan, Korea or Taiwan for more information.