Worldwide PC shipments will total 363 million in 2012, a decline of 1.5 million units or 0.4% from 365 million shipped in 2011, the Chinese-language Commercial Times quoted data from Gartner as indicating. This will be the second time global PC shipments register a decline since the dot-com bubble in 2001.

A decrease of three million units in desktop shipments will contribute to reduced global PC shipments in 2012, the paper quoted Gartner's data as saying. Gartner has also projected global notebook shipments to grow 5% in 2012 compared to a double-digit rate recorded in previous years.

However, global tablet PC shipments are expected to expand by 80% to 110 million units in 2012, pushed by sales of iPad, Nexus 7 as well as the forthcoming next-generation Kindle Fire and iPad Mini.

Including tablet PCs, global shipments of client computing devices will top 485 million units, increasing 14% from 424 million units shipped in the previous year, Gartner estimated.