Research firm Gartner slashed its growth forecast for the global PC market this year to 3.8 percent from 9.3 percent. While the tame Apple Press is claiming it is because of the tablet, Gartner says that it is mostly slower economies in Western Europe and the United States.

The long-hoped for recovery in the corporate and government PC replacement cycle has been derailed by the U.S. and European debt crises and associated fallout, Gartner said. Ranjit Atwal, research director at Gartner, said that an increasingly pessimistic economic outlook is causing consumer and business sentiment to deteriorate in both regions."

Gartner said it expects consumer spending to tighten in response, while business spending would also tighten but to a lesser degree. "U.S. consumer PC shipments were much weaker than expected in the second quarter, and indications are that back-to-school PC sales are disappointing" Atwal said.