Mobility is another major theme of Longhorn. Laptops, notebooks, and Tablet PCs are specific and identifiable hardware form factors that support scenarios distinct from those supported by desktop PCs. Mobile PCs comprise a large and growing segment of the overall PC market. Mobile PCs make up about 30 percent of the worldwide PC market now, and the segment is growing more rapidly than desktops.
In absolute terms, shipments of mobile PCs in the United States and Western Europe have increased year after year, whereas desktop shipments have declined (IDC PC Tracker, June 2002). Given that laptops cost more than desktops and given an economy in which the overall PC market is shrinking, the growth of laptop shipments and share is a striking and important trend.
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