According to data released by two technology research groups – IDC and Gartner - on Wednesday, the year-on-year worldwide shipments of personal computers fell ‘less than expected’ in the second quarter. 

Going by a statement by the IDC - a research group based in Framingham, Massachusetts – the global shipments of PCs dropped 3 percent in the quarter vis-à-vis the previous year. This drop was ‘better’ than the analysts’ forecasts of a 6 percent drop in PC shipments.

Meanwhile, the Stamford, Connecticut-based Gartner Inc – which uses a different method for tracking the industry than IDC – said that the shipments fell 5 percent, indicating a much gentler decline than the analysts’ projected 10 percent decline.

However, despite the softer than expected decline in the shipment figures, as well as the strong results posted by chipmaker Intel Corp. earlier this week, the researchers do not expect any dramatic turnaround in the PC industry this year.

In fact, analysts are interpreting the optimistic PC shipments’ results in a rather guarded manner. Conveying the opinion of most analysts, Gartner’s Mikako Kitagawa called the numbers “a small sign of a PC market recovery in terms of shipment volumes in some regions.” Kitagawa added that while PC shipments in the US and Asia beat expectations, shipments in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East continued to remain weak.