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Sales of desktop computers soared 30 percent in February defying talk that such machines are being made obsolete by laptops, smartphones and other mobile devices.
"Desktops have been the surprise consumer technology growth category of 2010," said NPD vice president of industry analysis Stephen Baker.
Sales of personal computers running on Microsoft Window's operating systems and of Macintosh desktop machines made by Apple both grew in the month, according to NPD.
Microsoft's release of its latest Windows 7 operating system software in October was credited with propelling sales of desktop personal computers.
"We are also seeing tremendous growth numbers from the iMac after a few lackluster quarters from Apple," the industry tracker said. "This new decade is off to a booming start."
While the number of desktop computers sold in February was 30 percent higher than the figure in the same month last year, the dollar value climbed 33 percent due to slightly higher selling prices, according to NPD.
