Global PC sales down 8.6% in third quarter amid bad economy

SINGAPORE (AFP) - Global personal computer (PC) sales fell 8.6 per cent in the third quarter from a year ago due to gloomy economic sentiment and the shift to tablets and smartphones, according to an industry report.

Potential buyers were also holding back for the expected release in the fourth quarter of Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system, United States-based technology research firm IDC said in a statement.

Sales of PCs in the July-September quarter totalled 87.8 million units, down from 96.08 million in the same period last year, tumbling more steeply than IDC's forecast of a 3.8 per cent contraction.

"PCs are going through a severe slump," said Mr Jay Chou, a senior analyst with IDC's Worldwide PC Tracker. "The industry had already weathered a rough second quarter, and now the third quarter was even worse."