Windows 7 'responsible' for higher PC sales

The release of Windows 7 from computing giant Microsoft is largely responsible for a rise in PC sales, alongside the build-up to Christmas, says an expert website.

According to PC Advisor, the public has greeted Windows 7 with open arms and the industry has been very welcoming too, partly explaining IDC figures that show PC sales rose by 2.3 per cent in the last quarter.

In addition, sales of netbooks grew by nearly 40 per cent during the same period and smartphones are growing ever popular as well, although Rosemary Hattersley, associate editor at PC Advisor, considers it unlikely that smartphones will become preferable to desktop PCs.

Ms Hattersley said: "Some of the prices with the mobile operators have been great and the notebooks themselves are very good, too. There is always the market for them as secondary machines as well, which is continuous."

A rise in PC sales could lead to more people using the internet and taking advantage of VoIP solutions to communicate more cheaply.

Mobile broadband is considered the second biggest technological development of the past decade, according to research from Airwide Solutions.