Ouch! Gartner predicts worst PC annual drop ever printers to follow

Greetings from the JW Marriott resort in Palm Desert, CA. The opening sessions of the Demo 2009 conference are about to begin, with the familiar feeling of excitement brewing, despite the economic anxiety of the day.

Speaking of which, in addition to the usual stunning financial headlines that seem to come with every new morning, the Gartner Group is out with a PC forecast and its not pretty. (See "PC shipments to suffer worst decline in history: Gartner"). The consultants are calling for a 12% decline in unit sales in 2009, compared to 2008, with the Netbooks category providing a bit of upside relief. Of course, with the printer market leader HP reporting a 19% unit shortfall, quarter to quarter, just 10 days ago (see "HP (NYSE HPQ) Printer Metrics"), a 12% drop may look good!