Caris & Company analyst Robert Cihra says growth in the overall personal computer market for 2010 is trending upwards of 15 to 20%, fueled by greater than 90% growth in combined sales of netbooks and notebooks. However, it's the iMac that will account for 25% of worldwide desktop growth, he says.

In a note to clients -- as reported by "AppleInsider" (http://www.appleinsider.com) -- Cihra said desktop sales are showing signs of life for the first time in 24 months, given strong performance of the iMac line that could boost year-over-year shipments by approximately 3%, compared to last year's 12% slippage.

"We continue to model note/netbook accounting for greater than 90% of PC unit growth in 2010, but with desktops at least now looking like they’ve stopped eroding and can resume at least some low single-digit recovery after 2 years of decline, driven by emerging markets, corporate workhorse use and power gamers," the analyst said. "But believe it or not, we estimate Apple’s iMac accounting for a full one-fourth of ALL desktop market growth in calendar year 2010."