FRAMINGHAM, MA -- PC shipments took a dive in in the second quarter, but analysts are seeing signs of recovery.

In recent announcements, both Gartner and IDC have seen fit to forecast mild recoveries in the making for the downtrodden sector.

Gartner said second-quarter shipments fell 5% worldwide. IDC said the drop was 3.1%. Both figures beat the firms' earlier forecasts.

In response, a Gartner analyst declared the smaller dip in shipments as "a small sign of PC market recovery," the Wall Street Journal reported today, while a counterpart at IDC said the findings support return to growth by the year's end.

Demand for low-cost netbooks is pushing the market higher, analysts say, basing their remarks on comments from top OEMs and suppliers like H-P, Dell and Intel.

Netbooks are primarily seen as a consumer product, which could suggest buyers are becoming willing to open their checkbooks for new technology.