Microsoft Surface Pro gets May UK release date

Surface Pro release date arrives but still no UK price

Microsoft has finally announced that its Surface Pro tablet will go on sale in the UK by the end of May.

So far, the more powerful Surface tablet running Windows 8 Pro has only been available in the US, Canada and China. However, Microsoft has confirmed it will be released by the end of May in the UK and a number of other countries. See also: Microsoft Surface Pro vs Surface RT comparison review.

Microsoft said: "We know it took us a while to get back to you, but we hear you, and are excited to be able to provide an update on the countries where Surface RT and Surface Pro will be launching in May and June."

The software giant said more details will be provided on exact launch dates, retail partners and prices via the Surface Twitter account. We think the Surface Pro could be priced from ?749 in the UK for the 64GB model. See also: Microsoft Surface Pro price in the UK.

The Surface Pro will be released in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland by the end of May. It will reach Korea, Malaysia, Russia, Singapore, and Thailand before the end of June.

Meanwhile, the Surface RT will be released in Malaysia on April 25th, in Mexico by the end of May and in Korea and Thailand in June. See also: Microsoft to launch 7in Surface.

"The enthusiasm for Surface has been fantastic, and we love hearing the stories of people who are making it the one device they use to work and play. This is what Surface was designed to do – simplify your life while letting you do more!" added Microsoft.

Follow Chris Martin and @PCAdvisor on Twitter.

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What happened to iPad 3? Why the third-generation iPad disappeared

What happened to Apple's third-generation iPad, the first one with a Retina display? We reveal all...

When the fourth-generation iPad 4 arrived the iPad 2 was retained but the third-gen iPad 3 disappeared. So what happened to the iPad 3? (See all iPad reviews.)

In the beginning, there was the original iPad (well, in April 2010, to be exact). The world saw it, and it was good. The second generation 'iPad 2' then launched almost exactly one year after the original, and was then followed a further year on in March 2012 by the third-generation iPad. But this wasn't called the 'iPad 3'. Not officially anyway. The third iPad was known only as 'iPad'.

Confused? We haven't yet started.

Just a few months after the launch of the third-generation iPad, or iPad 3, Apple called back the world's press to announce the long-expected iPad mini. It then threw everyone a curveball by announcing an upgrade to the full-sized iPad. The third-generation 'iPad' would now be replaced by, well, the fourth-generation 'iPad'. Now known as the iPad with Retina Display.

If you wanted a cheaper option you could and still can buy the iPad 2, but the iPad 3 was no more. It had disappeared from Apple's shelves overnight.

So what happened to the iPad 3? Why did Apple announce a good product in March only to have it disappear in November? And why can you still buy the iPad 2 but not the iPad 3?

Here we answer the question: what happened to the iPad 3? (And for simplicity's sake I am going to refer to them as iPad, iPad 2, iPad 3 and iPad 4. Apologies to Apple employees.)

The clue to all of this is to look at the iteration of iPads from the iPad 2 through the subsequent two generations. You'll see that the iPad 3 was a big step up from the iPad 2, but the iPad 4 only a gradated development of the iPad 3. In fact, the iPad 3 became the iPad 4. That's what happened to it.

 

The third-generation Apple iPad built on the staggering success of iPads 1 and 2 and added in an HD screen, as well as a camera that can capture 1080p footage, an improved processor and a bigger battery. It was a big step forward at the time. (For more, see: Apple iPad 3 vs iPad 2 comparison review.)

Physically there was little to distinguish the iPad 3 from the iPad 2. The newer iPad was a fraction thicker and around 60g heavier. But the noticeable difference was in the display: Apple uprated the new iPad screen's resolution fourfold. Gone was the iPad 2's PC-like 1024 x 768 resolution, to be replaced by the HD-punishing resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels. The result was described by our reviewer as 'breathtakingly sharp typography and cunningly crisp images... writ large across a 9.7in rather than 3.5in phone touchscreen, the upgrade in image quality is quite extraordinary on the new iPad.' (You can read more about this here: iPad 3 vs iPad 4 comparison review.)

Thus the iPad 3 was a winner. But it lived for only a few months when along came the fourth-generation iPad: what changed? 

The fourth-generation iPad brought with it only a handful of key upgrades, at the same prices and storage options as the iPad 3, with the same dimensions and weight. And, critically, that same great display. The iPad 4 is very much an iterative update of the iPad 3.

The biggest update from iPad 3 to iPad 4 was the new Apple A6X processor, a dual-core chip featuring quad-core graphics that Apple said could be twice as fast as was the iPad 3's.  The numbers are certainly impressive. In GeekBench 2 we saw a then record of 1769 where the iPad 3 scored 'only' in the region of 750. We also found graphics performance impressive with a frame rate of 39fps compared to the iPad 3's 22fps. In real-world testing, however, the iPad 4 is a nippy device but it doesn't feel that much quicker than the iPad 3. It's certainly not twice as fast. A solid upgrade, but not a different device.

In other upgrades Apple also added the new Lightning connector to the iPad 4 - making it incompatible with older peripherals, but offering future-proofed compatibility with newer Apple speaker docks and chargers. This was the only change to ports and buttons from iPad 3 to iPad 4, however. So again it's an upgrade and not a redesign.

There was an updated 4G LTE modem, too. This largely righted the wrongs wrought by the iPad 3 in the UK and elsewhere when it turned out that the '4G' frequencies that tablet used weren't compatible with many 4G networks. The iPad 4 supports 1800MHz - a crucial number since this is what EE and other telcos use for their 4G networks in the UK.

This was a problem solved by the iPad 4, but not a new feature. (Apple also said that the iPad 4 has 'advanced Wi-Fi technology - up to twice as fast as any previous-generation iPad' but actual details of how this is achieved are sketchy to say the least.)

One bigger change was that the front camera of the iPad 4 became a 'FaceTime HD' snapper, with support for up to 720p video and 1.2Mp photos. This is a big step up from the iPad 3's VGA camera. The back camera was largely unchanged, a few teaks notwithstanding.

So, in the end, the iPad 4 is the iPad 3 with a handful of updates - most of which you cannot see. It's like the sort of software update you are told you have received, but you barely notice. (See also: Nexus 10 vs Surface RT vs iPad 4 tablet comparison review.)

Here's what I think happened to the iPad 3: in early 2012 Apple wanted to launch a Retina-display iPad and keep to its yearly upgrade cycle. It hadn't yet completed the design or couldn't get the stock for the new, faster processor, and it wasn't yet ready to move the iPad to the Lightning connector - although that was clearly on the cards. It also wanted a 4G tablet to take to market. Finally, Apple wanted to retain a less expensive iPad option, but give value to those paying more to upgrade to the new iPad.

So it launched the iPad 3, called it just 'iPad', and retained the iPad 2. The iPad 3 was largely well received, with the exception of the international 4G problem.

But when Apple could make the incremental upgrades it did so, keeping the nomenclature vague to reduce the urge of early adopters to upgrade again (technically the iPad 4 is known as 'iPad with Retina Display', despite the iPad 3 also having the HD display).

So what happened to the iPad 3 is it had a few bells and whistles added, and it was relaunched as the fourth-generation iPad. Annoying if you bought one? Perhaps: if you own an iPad 3 you have a great product, but your peers who waited for the iPad 4 have a marginally better one. That's life in Apple's world, I guess - Apple could have rushed out the iPad 4 before it was ready. Instead of which it launched a product which was entirely fit for purpose, but quickly superceded it.

See also: what's the best iPad?

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Lenovo ThinkPad L

Lenovo's business laptops range from big, powerful machines to small, portable devices. The standard options available on these business laptops, unfortunately, leave a lot to be desired, and the Lenovo ThinkPad L Series fares in a similar way. While it does have impressive aspects, you will likely need to upgrade several components of this business laptop.

The features on this business laptop are adequate. The 1366 x 768 15.6-inch display complements its large size. That large size – 1.3 inches thick at its largest point – translates to a heavy weight at just under 6 pounds. Thankfully, this size leaves room for a large enough battery to provide up to 8.1 hours of usability. The Lenovo ThinkPad L Series features a 0.9-megapixel HD webcam along with Dolby Advanced Audio integrated stereo speakers.

Despite its large size, the standard model of this business laptop could use some improvement in the performance department. Issued with the base model is an Intel i3-3120M processor with speeds up to 2.5GHz. We would have liked to see the entry-level L series model outfitted with at least an i5 processor. Thankfully, you can upgrade this component to an Intel i7-3520M with speeds up to 2.9GHz. The built-in Intel HD Graphics chip is nothing special and unfortunately cannot be upgraded.

The Lenovo ThinkPad L series has 4GB of RAM, which can be upgraded up to 8GB. We've found that 8GB is typical for most business laptops, and is almost necessary by today's standards. We would have liked to see this Lenovo business laptop equipped with at least 8GB out of the gate. Another area in which the L series could use some improvement is the available storage space. This device comes with a 320GB hard drive, which can be upgraded all the way to 1TB of space. Alternatively, you can choose to install up to a 256GB solid-state drive.

The connectivity options available on the Lenovo ThinkPad L Series business laptops are good, but a few key components are missing. There are three USB 2.0 ports and one USB 3.0 port available on this device. We were impressed with the total count of USB ports, but we would have liked to see more 3.0 ports available, as the speed boost from 2.0 to 3.0 is very noticeable. This business laptop is Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled and features an SD card reader. The VGA connection on this device is handy, but it is missing an HDMI port, which many external displays utilize. The optical drive does not offer DVD writing ability, but this feature is available at an additional cost.

Lenovo's support offerings are solid. The company's website contains guides and manuals, as well as online tools that may be able to help you diagnose and repair your issues. If you are still unsure of how to solve your problem, Lenovo representatives are available by phone, email or live chat.

The Lenovo ThinkPad L series business laptop is a big machine with plenty of room to house both a powerful processor and impressive battery. However, unless you choose to upgrade several components, you might be unimpressed with its performance. The specs on this Lenovo business laptop almost necessitate an upgrade, and the connectivity options could be better. The display size and battery life are impressive, but without the power to back it up, this business laptop falls a bit short.

The available memory and processor on this business laptop could be better.

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Vizio

Vizio Co-Star is one of the few home media servers still using Google TV. This works in its favor in some respects, but overall Google TV still has a few bugs to work out. There is still a tendency toward the occasional system crash and freezing app. But still, it is much improved over previous versions.

The other problem is that major services like Hulu Plus, Google Music, Amazon Instant, HBO Go, MLB.TV, Spotify and even Google’s own TV and Movie rental service have been blocked and are therefore missing dedicated apps on the Vizio Co-Star. The Amazon button on the remote is misleading and simply takes you to Amazon.com in the Chrome browser.

The Vizio Co-Star looks very much like many of its competitors – it’s a small black box that connects to your TV via your cable box. It enhances your cable watching experience by joining your cable content and that of the internet into a single interface, powered by Google. A Google TV overhaul should involved making the interface easier to navigate. Since the cable and Vizio box share the same HDMI input, you don't have to switch inputs when you toggle between live TV and Vizio's apps and services.

Google TV has come a long way recently and the Vizio Co-Star has earned its place on our lineup, even if it can't quite compete with the best media players on our list. It’s compatible with resolutions up to 1080p, but the network connection often determines the real quality of the picture. It has built-in WiFi and Bluetooth and supports 3D playback.

The remote is clunkier than the remote included with other media servers. The main buttons like play, pause, fast forward and rewind are too small and located in a non-intuitive location above the touchpad. The QWERTY keyboard on the back help you navigate through Google TV’s many features, and there has a directional pad on the left and ABXY game buttons on the right for use with the online streaming game service.

As for connections, the Vizio Co-Star has both HDMI input and output, USB and Ethernet ports and a power cord receptacle in the back. These ports will allow you to access some of your personal media files.

Vizio's customer support is somewhat limited and can only be reached by phone or email, but the company’s website does have FAQs and user manuals online.

The Vizio Co-Star home media server provides a wealth of web content on your TV. While it has a way to go before it truly competes with the best home media servers on the market and needs to work out some issues with Google TV, it's still a decent streaming device with the ability to access loads of internet content.

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Panasonic

With the DMP-MST60, Panasonic enters the home media server scene in style. This media player allows you to stream media directly from the internet to your living room, and it also gives you access to digital home media content.

The MST60 provides full access to Panasonic's proprietary Viera Connect services so you can access all of your favorite online services from the box. You can also check on your Facebook and Twitter accounts as well as play your favorite games and access movies and sports online. It's also 3D capable and has a web browser for easy internet navigation.

A number high profile apps are available on this device like Netflix, Hulu Plus, CinemaNow, Vudu, Amazon Instant Video and YouTube, but there are also limitations. Sports apps are limited to MLB.TV, Fox Sports and MLS MatchDay Live at this point. And app availability overall is somewhat lacking, though for a device brand new to the market the selection isn't bad. Another challenge with being a brand new device is it really hasn't proven itself, but by all appearances, it has a lot of potential.

This home media server has built-in Wi-Fi with access to such high profile apps as Netflix, Hulu Plus, Vudu, Amazon Instant Video and YouTube. The MST60 also gives you a web browser, 3D capability and the ability to stream content from an Android device.

With the MST60, you can convert your 2D videos into a 3D format, so you'll have a fresh experience watching videos you've seen a dozen times. The built-in web browser will allow you to take full advantage of the mirroring feature. You can search for content from a smartphone or tablet and stream videos, images and music onto your large screen TV. You can share photos with friends, play games or enhance presentations with videos or complementary images.

If you have any issues after purchasing this home media player, Panasonic has a great support system. You can use any method of contact you prefer, including live chat, phone, email and even regular mail if you're so inclined. When we contacted live chat with several questions, the representatives were very helpful. The MST60 comes with a one-year warranty and you can purchase additional years of protection for your streaming media player.

Panasonic enters the home media streaming market with an impressive, feature-loaded product that should compete well in its price range. This is a solid choice if you're looking for a healthy selection of apps and some extras like enabling you to access your personal computer files.

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HP Spectre

One of the first things you will notice about the HP Spectre business laptop is its sleek design. With a chrome finish and thin profile, the appearance of this device is stunning. However, when you're considering a business laptop, good looks are secondary to powerful performance. With a strong battery life and thin, lightweight design, the portability of the HP Spectre is without question, but its other features may leave you wanting a bit more.

As we mentioned, the design of this business laptop is a big selling point. It weighs in at just over 3 pounds and is only 0.7 inches thick. The 13.3-inch display features a native 1366 x 768 resolution, which is fitting for a display of this size. The HP Spectre can be used for up to 7.5 hours on a single charge, which is just about enough to get through a typical business day. This business laptop also features a 0.9-megapixel webcam, as well as built-in Beats Audio speakers.

Performance-wise, the HP Spectre could use some improvement. Housed within this device is an Intel i5-3317U processor with speeds up to 1.9GHz. This was quite a bit slower than the majority of the business laptops we reviewed, but it can be upgraded to an Intel i7-3667U with turbo-boost speeds up to 3GHz. However, the built-in Intel HD Graphics chip is not upgradeable.

The memory and storage available on the HP Spectre are lacking as well. The standard model is outfitted with 4GB of RAM and cannot be upgraded. This business laptop has a 128GB solid-state drive and can go as high as a 256GB SSD. While the solid-state drive is nice, you should be aware of the likelihood that 128GB of space will fill up quickly. We would have liked to see an option for at least 500GB of standard HD space.

Unfortunately, the connectivity options of the HP Spectre fare no better. This business laptop has one USB 2.0 port and one USB 3.0 port. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are standard on this device, but that's about where the options end. While this device does have an HDMI port, it lacks an SD card reader, a VGA port and an optical drive. The missing optical drive may be the biggest issue with this device, as its absence can prove dire in many circumstances.

With the HP Spectre, you may be drawn in by the slick, thin and lightweight design. While these are excellent features, the device simply lacks too many necessary attributes to be a solid choice for a business laptop. The processor is decent and the battery life is impressive, but the small amount of RAM coupled with little to no connectivity options takes this business laptop down a few places in our ranks. The lack of an optical drive seals the deal. The solid-state drive ensures speedy access to files, but when all is said and done, the HP Spectre can't earn our full recommendation.

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Dell Inspiron

The Dell Inspiron business laptop is just about as entry-level as you can get. With less-than-stellar standard features and plenty of room for upgrades, this device can be as powerful or as lowbrow as you want. Its memory and storage options are slightly above average in the base model, but a few weak features and lacking connectivity options keep it from being a top-ranked option for a business laptop.

This device is 1 inch thick and features a 15.6-inch display. The 1366 x 768 default resolution is not upgradeable. The Dell Inspiron features a 1 megapixel HD webcam with Waves MaxxAudio integrated stereo speakers, which give it a slight edge over the competition in sound and video capabilities. Another advantage to the Inspiron is its weight, coming in at less than 5 pounds for the standard model. Adding a battery pack can increase this weight and may be necessary, as the standard battery will only last five to six hours on a full charge.

Powering this business laptop is an Intel i3-3227U processor with speeds of up to 1.9GHz. This performance is especially weak compared to other business laptops, but thankfully, you can choose to outfit this device with up to an i7-3517U CPU that is capable of speeds up to 3.0GHz. However, you cannot upgrade the built-in Intel HD Graphics chip on this device.

The Dell Inspiron enjoys a slight edge over the competition with its storage and memory options. This business laptop offers 6GB of RAM and 500GB of hard drive storage space, which can be upgraded to 1TB. Sadly, 6GB is the maximum amount of RAM available on this device. While 6GB should be enough for most users, an extra 2GB could make the difference when performing multiple high-demand functions on your device, such as rendering video or making in-depth presentations.

For those presentations, you'll likely need to be prepared with a good selection of connectivity options on your device. Unfortunately, the Dell Inspiron offers few means by which to connect to other devices. While it does have an HDMI port, it lacks Bluetooth capabilities and does not have a VGA connection. On the bright side, we were impressed by the four USB 3.0 ports on this machine, and the SD card reader is a useful inclusion. The lack of a DVD writeable optical drive was disappointing, as well as the absence of a Blu-ray option.

The Dell Inspiron has enough to get the job done, but it does nothing beyond the call of duty. While the available RAM and USB connectivity impressed us, this business laptop falls short in several key areas. Having the option alone to upgrade these devices is critical, and Dell falls short in providing these choices with the Inspiron.

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Wall Street Beat: Weak PC sales rain on tech stocks' parade

Just as tech stocks were starting to rise this week, dismal PC sales reports for the first quarter burst the very short-lived bubble, causing shares of IT companies to fall back to earth Thursday.

As market indices hit milestone after milestone this year, PC stocks have lagged behind. This week, however, tech stocks climbed and led the markets to record highs Wednesday. After the markets closed, though, the bad news came: both Gartner and IDC reported a nosedive in first quarter PC sales.

IDC said the 13.9 percent year-over-year drop in PC sales was the worst decline it has seen since it started tracking the PC market in 1994. Both Gartner and IDC noted it was the fourth consecutive quarter of declining PC sales.

On Thursday, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Standard and Poor's 500 index hit yet new nominal (not adjusted for inflation) highs, the Nasdaq Computer Index dropped 0.79 percent. Some of the biggest losers were companies with exposure to the PC market. Hewlett-Packard dropped US$1.44 to $20.88, Microsoft fell $1.35 to $28.93 and Intel declined $0.43 to $21.83.

In its report, IDC said global PC shipments totaled 76.3 million units in the first quarter, down 13.9 percent year over year and worse than the forecast decline of 7.7 percent.

On its part, Gartner said PC shipments totaled 79.2 million units, an 11.2 percent decline and below 80 million units for the first time since the second quarter of 2009.

"Even emerging markets, where PC penetration is low, are not expected to be a strong growth area for PC vendors," said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner, in the report.

Windows 8 has hurt the PC market, according to Bob O'Donnell, an IDC analyst. "While some consumers appreciate the new form factors and touch capabilities of Windows 8, the radical changes to the UI, removal of the familiar Start button, and the costs associated with touch have made PCs a less attractive alternative to dedicated tablets and other competitive devices," O'Donnell said, in the IDC report.

IDC also attributed the drop to PC buyers' unease with HP, which has undergone various leadership and strategy changes, and with Dell, which is weighing a controversial plan to go private.

Heading into earnings season, the weak PC data means potential trouble for HP, Intel and Advanced Micro Devices, according to Sterne Agee analyst Vijay Rakesh ."Even after the weak February, we are lowering our estimates to represent continued challenges in the PC market," Rakesh wrote in a research note Thursday.

Weak PC sales could continue into the second quarter with, for example, notebook shipments flat to down by 2 percent to 5 percent, Rakesh said.

Looking at the entire hardware market, though, some industry analysts see a silver lining: While the PC market implodes, other computing devices such as tablets and smartphones are selling well.

Despite a "miserable" year for semiconductors in 2012, smartphones and tablets will help drive growth in 2013, according to a research report from IHS.

Global semiconductor revenue in 2012 declined by 2.2 percent from 2011, according to final results from an IHS iSuppli report, issued Wednesday. There were a few bright spots, however.

"Robust growth in smartphones and media tablets was key to driving growth opportunities for logic ASICs, CMOS image sensors and sensors essential to enabling new and attractive features in the exciting wireless market," said Dale Ford, senior director at IHS, in the report. Growth in CMOS image sensors hit 38.8 percent, followed by logic ASICs at 19.0 percent.

Some industry analysts are taking a broad view. "We are watching the resizing of the computer industry into different slices. Yesterday it was just one big pie with two slices, desktops and notebooks," noted tech analyst Jeff Kagan, in an email. "The computer industry is not going away. It's just changing, resizing. "

This sort of positive spin on tech will be put to the test next week, when tech bellwethers including IBM, Intel, AMD, Google, Yahoo and Microsoft report earnings.

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Windows 8 takes blame for 'brutal' PC sales slide

Microsoft's Windows 8 took another knock Wednesday as research firm IDC laid much of the blame for the first quarter's historically-horrible PC numbers at the feet of the beleaguered operating system.

Yesterday, IDC and rival Gartner released their estimates for 2013's first-quarter PC shipments. The former painted a gloomy picture of the industry, saying that the 14% decline, year over year, was the largest ever in its nearly two decades of tracking.

Gartner pegged the global downturn at 11%.

While the drop was expected -- IDC, for example, had forecast an 8% contraction year over year -- yesterday's figures had one analyst searching for words. "It's brutal," said Bob O'Donnell of IDC. "These are disastrous numbers. Huge."

O'Donnell was one of the IDC analysts who blamed Windows 8 for the unprecedented fall-off in consumer PC purchases during the quarter. "Not only has Windows 8 not helped, but it's actually hurt PC shipments," he said in an interview.

In a statement that accompanied the firm's estimates, O'Donnell ticked off a now-familiar litany of Windows 8's confusing traits that caused consumers to shy from new PCs, including the bold-but-radical move to the tile-based "Modern" user interface (UI), the removal of the Start button and menu from the "Classic" desktop UI; and the touch-first strategy Microsoft's taken.

"The costs associated with touch PCs have made PCs a less attractive alternative to dedicated tablets and other competitive devices," O'Donnell said in the statement. "Microsoft is going to have to make some very tough decisions moving forward if they want to help reinvigorate the PC market."

Jay Chou, another IDC analyst, also tapped Windows 8 for contributing to the decline in PC shipments. "Users are finding Windows 8 to offer a compromised experience that doesn't excel either as a new mobile interface or in a classic desktop interface," he said in the same statement. "The result is that many consumers are worried about upgrading to Windows 8."

David Daoud, however, said that Windows 8 is only one of several factors that suppressed PC shipments. "This was a perfect storm, and Windows 8 was just one issue among many," IDC analyst Daoud contended in an interview.

He ticked off several other contributors, including a general saturation of PCs, especially in developed countries like the U.S.; the fact that PCs bought since 2008 or 2009 remain "good enough" for what consumers want out of a desktop or laptop; and in some parts of the world, stagnant economic conditions.

But like his colleagues, Daoud agreed that Windows 8's lackluster acceptance played a part. "There's a disconnect between what the OS wants to do and what the end user sees," said Daoud, referring to the touch features of Windows 8 and the higher price of touch-ready PCs.

Daoud expected that the bad news for the PC business -- and Microsoft, which largely relies on sales of new systems to fuel Windows revenue -- won't be over soon, although he was optimistic that things would improve in the second half of the year.

"There is a correction the industry has to go through," said Daoud. "The addressable market going forward will certainly be smaller than this industry has been used to from 2002 until 2012. And that correction is likely to continue."

In some places, the downward turn is the new normal: The U.S. has posted smaller shipments year-over-year in nine of the last 10 quarters. Globally, the first quarter is the fourth consecutive to record fewer shipments than the year before.

Daoud rejected the idea that the industry is seeing the death rattle of the PC. "Do we need the PC? Definitely. They're going to be around for a while."

Gartner's numbers were a bit brighter in that it estimated worldwide PC shipments at 79.2 million for the quarter, compared to IDC's 76.3 million. And although Gartner did not call out Windows 8, it implicitly said that the new OS hasn't helped boost PC shipments.

"Similar to other mature markets, the U.S. will see the installed base of consumer PCs decrease going forward," said Gartner analyst Mikako Kitagawa in a statement. "This is because many of these systems will not be replaced with PCs; they will be displaced by other devices, or simply retired."

Last week, Gartner's Carolina Milanesi said declining PC sales and booming business for tablets and smartphones were putting the heat on Microsoft. The Redmond, Wash. developer, she said, must manage to grab consumers' attention with its tablets and phones in the next 20 months, or see its influence and relevancy wane.

The quarter's PC shipment estimates add fuel to Milanesi's argument, as Gartner's previous bet was that the PC market would contract by 3.5% in 2013, less than a third as much as the first-quarter drop.

Microsoft will hold its quarterly earnings call with Wall Street analysts next week, on April 18, starting at 2:30 p.m. PT, when it will reveal revenue figures from its Windows division.

Gregg Keizer covers Microsoft, security issues, Apple, Web browsers and general technology breaking news for Computerworld. Follow Gregg on Twitter at @gkeizer, or subscribe to Gregg's RSS feed . His e-mail address is gkeizer@ix.netcom.com.

Read more about pcs in Computerworld's PCs Topic Center.

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Windows XP's looming retirement won't shake PC business out of sales funk

The looming retirement of Windows XP won't stem the dramatic drop in PC sales this year, but it may help bolster Microsoft's revenue, analysts said today.

Although experts expect some business laggards to buy new hardware as they try to replace the 12-year-old XP before it's retired in April 2014, the quantities won't be enough to move the PC shipment needle to the positive side of the meter.

"Replacements for Windows XP won't be enough to offset the declines on the consumer side," said David Daoud, an analyst with IDC.

Earlier this week, both IDC and rival Gartner released estimates of PC shipments for the first quarter. Both said sales had plummeted, with IDC pegging the contraction at 14%, a record in the 19 years since the firm began tracking shipments. Much of that decline was due to consumers ignoring new Windows 8 PCs, said IDC.

Microsoft has said it will not issue security updates for Windows XP after April 8, 2014, and shows no sign of bending on the date.

"They've drawn a line in the sand," said Matthew Casey of Technology Business Research.

IDC, which has already integrated potential replacement PC sales into its forecasting model, said that the new wares will contribute to a slightly better second half of 2013, along with the usual back-to-school and holiday sales seasons.

The retirement of XP "will help the commercial PC market, but it will do zero for the consumer," said Bob O'Donnell, another IDC analyst.

But while PC makers suffer, Microsoft software will come out smelling much sweeter: It's likely to reap more revenue from the disappearance of XP than will system builders, as many corporate customers will do in-place upgrades to Windows 7 on current hardware.

In February, CFO Peter Klein said that while Microsoft was seeing a mix of in-place upgrades and hardware refreshes by companies moving off XP, to date "a lot of these upgrades [are] happening on existing hardware."

That's feasible for two reasons. First, few of the machines still running XP are as old as the operating system -- corporate refreshes have taken place since XP debuted, even if many of them were downgraded to that OS to keep corporate environments as homogeneous as possible. Second, Microsoft has reduced the hardware requirements of Windows 7 to the point where the OS can run on old-but-not-ancient PCs.

Two months ago, Klein credited Windows 7 upgrades on existing hardware for boosting volume licensing revenue. In fact, Microsoft earns considerably more from an upgrade license sold to customers than it does for a new license it sells to OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), or computer makers, for equipping new systems with an OS.

Rod Helm of Directions on Microsoft could not put a figure on the difference -- in part because what Microsoft charges OEMs for a new license is one of the Redmond, Wash. developer's most closely-guarded secrets -- but said that the System Builder version was the priciest OEM license Microsoft sells, and so a maximum for what it charges computer makers.

Microsoft will probably post Windows revenue figures during 2013 that outperform the PC business because of in-place upgrades, Helm said.

In a purchase of 1,000 upgrade licenses for Windows 8 Pro -- which include downgrade rights to Windows 7 Professional -- each license costs $184 under Microsoft's Open Licensing program, one of its most expensive. Meanwhile, a copy of Windows 8 Pro System Builder costs $96 on Amazon.com.

In other words, Microsoft makes about twice as much from a corporate in-place upgrade than it does from a sale to an OEM. No wonder the company's happy to see businesses move off XP by upgrading existing hardware.

But not all XP users will bother to upgrade. IDC's Daoud said that many businesses have downsized to the point where they have a surplus of PCs, and will simply set aside older systems running XP. Consumers, on the other hand, are even less likely to buy a new PC to replace their aging XP machines, instead steering toward smartphones and tablets as substitutes.

Microsoft will hold its quarterly earnings call with Wall Street analysts next week, on April 18, starting at 2:30 p.m. PT, when it will reveal revenue figures, signaling whether in-place upgrades helped offset the drop in income from OEM licensing.

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