It's going to be hard slog for solution providers hoping to for a resurgence in PC sales in 2016. IDC and Gartner predict flat sales, despite hopes that Windows 10, Intel's release of its Skylake processor and new form factors would spark a PC revival.  

"We are in line with forecasts," said Robert Braceland, president of Springfield, Mass.-based Entre Computers.

Nobody would confuse Braceland for being a Pollyanna. "We are seeing some movement at the low end of the market in education. But when it comes to selling PCs under $500, you need to sell about three or four of them to make the same type of margins as a full-priced laptop."

Framingham, Mass.-based IDC reported earlier this week that year-over-year shipments for PCs tumbled 10.6 percent, with 2015 sales hitting a seven-year low. IDC forecast that PC sales would stabilize in 2016, tapering off just 1 percent over last year.

[Related: Dell Top PC Exec Clarke Talks 2016's PC Outlook, Microsoft Surface Book And EMC]

In contrast, PC makers are predictably bullish about 2016. Where some analysts see struggles, Dell and Lenovo say this year ahead will be one of PC transformation from traditional desktops and laptops to more premium form factors that range from 2-in-1s, convertibles, hybrids and tablets larger than 10 inches that ship with keyboard accessories. 

PC makers such as Dell say the gloom of PC sales is masking much of the current success shared by PC manufacturers. Jeffrey Clarke, vice chairman of operations and president of Dell's client solutions, argues that analysts are hung up on defining laptops as different from tablets and missing the big picture.  

"This point of view that the PC is dead and that tablets will replace the notebook is insane," Clarke said. "If people have a tablet and they want to make the tablet useful, what do they have? They add a keyboard. What's a tablet with a keyboard? What's a convertible, a 2-in-1, a hybrid? These devices have a display, a microprocessor and a keyboard. These are PCs… They are sales for Dell."

By broadening the definition of a PC, manufacturers see computer sales from a glass-is-half-full perspective for 2016. The market for 2-in-1 devices, such as the Surface Pro, iPad Pro and Microsoft Surface Book, will reach 7 million units in 2017 compared to about 5.8 million in 2015 in the commercial space, according to IDC.

"As an industry, we worked really hard to make PCs as affordable as possible and put them in the hands of as many people as possible," said Lenovo channel chief Sammy Kinlaw. "Once we got there, it was kind of boring for a few years. It was like the netbook was the most exciting thing that anybody was announcing."

Lenovo, along with Dell and HP Inc., used this month's Consumer Electronics Show as a springboard for PC makers. Lenovo, the China-based manufacturer, launched an impressive array of sexy PC gear, from laptops, 2-in-1s and Windows tablet PCs.

Lenovo is hoping to hit it big with commercial buyers with its ThinkPad X1 tablet, which has three optional clip-on modules that include a miniature projector, a power extender that boosts the tablet's battery to 15 hours, and a 3-D imaging module that includes a rear-facing Intel RealSense camera. Both Dell and HP Inc. have introduced high-end tablets and PCs, hoping to capture growing interest in these form factors.