IDC says 100.9M smartphones sold in fourth quarter, PCs outsold for first time

In case you had any lingering doubt that the smartphone is the new personal computer, just take a glance at IDC’s new global smartphone sales numbers for the fourth quarter of 2010 where we learn that some 100.9 million units were pushed in the three-month period — up a whopping 87.9 percent year over year. That figure compares to 92.1 million PCs sold during the same quarter , which, though a record for the PC industry, was left in the dust of the smartphone’s stratospheric rise. This marks the very first quarter in history that smartphones have outsold traditional computers — and considering the trajectories that both industries are in, we’d be surprised if they ever flip-flopped again. If anything, IDC and other analysis firms might need to readjust the nomenclature in their reports in a few years if (or when) convergence platforms like the Atrix 4G with its Laptop Dock start to gain traction. Of course, to Bill Gates and others, this technological cross-pollination comes as no surprise — and really, who can argue with a handheld that’s packing PC power? IDC says 100.9M smartphones sold in fourth quarter, PCs outsold for first time originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Feb 2011 12:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

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