The report concludes that the local PC market experienced another double digit growth in 2005.

Final quarter of the year was weaker than expected -- the overall PC market experienced a 2.9 percent decline in Q4 2005, compared with the same period during 2004 when the market experienced a 14.1 percent increase, however, all three form factors, server, desktop and notebook, experienced year-on-year growth.

Hannes Fourie, ICT analyst and author of the report, says that although performance in the PC market in 2005 showed little growth across the desktop form factor, the notebook and x86 server form factors made up for the flat but sustainable performance in the desktop market.

Notebooks continued to drive overall market growth, recording a robust 36.9 percent in 2005. Consumer demand was unabated, assisted by aggressive promotions in the retail channel, while portable adoption in the SMB space also continued at an accelerated pace.

Notebooks remained a major focus for all vendors across both consumer and business channels, and the attractive promotions clearly helped to boost demand.