RENEE MONTAGNE, Host: This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Renee Montagne.</s>MARY LOUISE KELLY, Host: NPR's Wendy Kaufman reports.</s>WENDY KAUFMAN: Andrew Bartels of Forrester Research says many consumers view computers and other gadgets as affordable luxuries.</s>ANDREW BARTELS: If you don't have the money to buy a new house or buy a new car, you still feel I can go out and buy a new PC for $500.</s>WENDY KAUFMAN: Martin Reynolds, an analyst with the technology research firm Gartner, says for the past couple of years companies haven't invested in new equipment.</s>MARTIN REYNOLDS: There's a consequence that technology has aged out. And one of the tremendous things about technology is every year it just gets better, and if you don't invest in it you tend to fall behind everybody else.</s>WENDY KAUFMAN: Wendy Kaufman, NPR News.
Microsoft's profits surged this week, so did Apple's and AT&T's. Despite stubbornly high unemployment, consumers are buying PCs, along with iPhones and iPads. Companies are buying, too.