The continuing economic recovery and growing interest in mobile devices will drive PC shipment growth by 19.8 percent this year compared to 2009, IDC said on Tuesday.

Gartner has raised its worldwide PC shipment forecast for this year, predicting growth of 20 percent compared to 2009, partly driven by growth in shipments of mobile devices like laptops and netbooks.

Worldwide PC shipments soared during the fourth quarter, driven by historically low PC prices and an increased demand for laptops and netbooks, analyst firm IDC said Wednesday

Netbook shipments worldwide are expected to have jumped by 103 percent this year compared to last year, although the fast growth rate could slow down in 2010 as prices for portable PCs fall, research firm DisplaySearch said on Tuesday.

Reversing earlier doom-and-gloom forecasts, Gartner now projects that global PC shipments will grow 2.8% this year.