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Netbooks are selling like hotcakes as notebooks falter

The popularity of netbooks is continuing to have a profound effect on the fortunes of many computer makers. One company that is taking full advantage of the popularity of netbooks is Acer. Acer is set to overtake Dell as the second largest shipper of computers behind HP thanks to the popularity of Acer netbooks globally.

Research firm DisplaySearch announced this week that computer makers are expected to ship 32.7 million netbooks this year, an increase of 99.1% compared to last year. Shipments of notebook computers will reach 129.5 million units, a scant tenth of a percent under the 129.6 million units shipped last year.

When netbooks are taken into account, overall shipments of notebooks will rise by 11.1% compared to 2008. Netbooks are particularly popular in emerging markets like Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The EMEA region will count for 40% of all netbook shipments this year. The adoption and shipment of netbooks is the lowest in developed areas like the United States.

DisplaySearch says that netbooks will continue to be a significant portion of the notebook markets shipments through this year and beyond. The growth of netbooks is also being fueled by the glut of larger screen netbooks hitting the market with sizes from 10.1-inches up to 12.1-inches.

DisplaySearch's John F. Jacobs said in a statement, "It is clear that buyers want a lightweight device, but that they also want a bigger display. While these devices have certainly created a new market, our research indicates that they are predominantly used as secondary PCs by consumers, and are not replacing notebooks."

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Oh Great, Netbooks...
By TheRequiem on 7/15/2009 3:29:41 PM , Rating: 1
I really think in the long-run, Netbooks will never be able to compete or take over the market segments of Laptop and Desktop PC systems, however, it is damaging. In a frail world economy, with the budget-sense of behavior going strong with a lot of students and young adults... the sales of these halved versions of notebooks is ruining sales and the introduction of newer technologies for the better half. IMO, companies will be forced to focus more resources on these Netbooks, and it will only increase their value and the damage done. I think this Netbook scene is senseless and ridiculous. What's wrong with a full-featured 12-inch or 13-inch Notebook? I understand the price is attractive, at $300 - $400, but you can still get a FULL featured Notebook for $500, even with a 16:9 view and DVD drive for crying out loud. Netbooks are not something to gear for the American market, these would be perfect for 3rd world countries and poorer Governments and Educational institutes that don't have the luxury of having up to date PC systems, but to market and gear them for American audiences is purely senseless... why don't we just focus on improving the value of Notebooks? We already have Cell Phones that can do everything Netbooks can, plus much, much more.




RE: Oh Great, Netbooks...
By Moohbear on 7/15/2009 4:03:40 PM , Rating: 2
Even a 12'' laptop cannot compare to a 10" netbook in terms of portability. The footprint of those things is amazingly small. It's small and light enough to be taken almost anywhere without a second thought and it's cheap enough to risk losing/damaging. A cheap full-featured notebooks is bulky and heavy, a thin-and-light 12" notebook is quite expensive.

Cheap, small, powerful, pick any two...


RE: Oh Great, Netbooks...
By Oregonian2 on 7/15/2009 4:34:21 PM , Rating: 2
A Netbook is the combination of small size, weight, and price. It excels in portability both physically as well as being less concerned about it should it "disappear" someday.

Having a cheap notebook does not meet two of the three things a Netbook excels at. And even then usually isn't quite as good at that one.


RE: Oh Great, Netbooks...
By TheRequiem on 7/15/2009 5:41:39 PM , Rating: 2
Maybe so, but what exactly is the difference between two inches anyways? My iPhone does everything a Netbook can, hell, even more as it can actually play nice 3D games too. A small, cheap full-featured Notebook can fit on a coffee table, school desk or into a small backpack just as easy as a Netbook. I think they are just taking portability to an unnecessary extreme. A full featured laptop might be a few lbs heavier... but I don't know, the whole Netbook thing just doesn't convince me enough. I guess the whole "smaller is better" slogan is going out at it full steam now in the current situation. Time to start downsizing I guess, but for me, I don't require portability like this. I have a miniature Net browsing feature in my phone!


RE: Oh Great, Netbooks...
By PandaBear on 7/16/2009 1:04:41 AM , Rating: 2
No it doesn't do:

1) No subscription gouging of $40 a month
2) QWERTY keyboard
3) Run Windows, the most common OS out there
4) Upgradable in the future


RE: Oh Great, Netbooks...
By Oregonian2 on 7/16/2009 11:50:19 PM , Rating: 2
One of the reasons my wife want a netbook (to use for book writing, she's working on a novel) is so she can take it with her in one of her larger purses. Needs to be light (maybe 2.5 lbs at the MOST) and small enough. Even the lightest "regular" laptop (that' doesn't cost an arm and a leg) doesn't qualify. And she edits using .DOC format.


Europe
By parge on 7/15/2009 12:11:21 PM , Rating: 2
Europe is a developing market? Please elaborate on why Europe is a 'developing market'?

Oh, and your explanation had better be good.




RE: Europe
By Laereom on 7/15/2009 12:27:44 PM , Rating: 2
Maybe he's from the late 40s.


RE: Europe
By JC123 on 7/15/2009 12:39:42 PM , Rating: 4
True, Western Europe is already developed, but Central and Eastern Europe are developing markets.


Netbooks? Notebooks? Whats the difference?
By MrX8503 on 7/16/2009 8:26:17 AM , Rating: 2
Don't most netbook owners don't even know what the difference is between a netbook and a notebook?

Honestly, a netbook is probably enough for most consumers as most people just check email and surf the web anyway.

Given at such a low price, I can see how they are popular.




By pjwr2004 on 7/16/2009 12:50:42 PM , Rating: 2
I'm a hardcore user and love raw power but I hate lugging around a heavy laptop everywhere I go. In the end, it sits in its case I barely use it, just too much bulk. I bought an Asus 1000HE recently and I love it! I take it to work everyday and I carry it in a targus 10" dvd player case. I don't carry the ac power adapter (amazing 7hr battery life) and all I include is a microsoft 5000 bluetooth mouse which syncs to the internal bluetooh.
Sure, its not powerful like the Turions or C2Duos but its plenty enough for surfing the net, listening to music, editing docs, etc.

Pros for MY netbook:

1. Excellent battery Life (Mine lasts 7hrs with Windows 7)
2. Very Small and light (10" screen)
3. Fast enough (I upgraded to 2gb for $25.00)
4. 90% keyboard (Love the keyboard)
5. Clear and bright LED backlit LCD.
6. Bluetooth module built-in
7. Wireless N built-in
8. Build quality good-excellent.
9. Great speakers and camera.
10. Quiet, puts out little heat.
11. Runs Windows 7 amazingly smooth and fast.

Cons:

1. Limited Res (1024x600)
2. Glossy finish (lots of fingerprints)
3. No DVD drive (which I hardly use)
4. Some hi-def movies/videos play with jitter

All this including mouse and case for under $400.00!!!

Unless you're doing web design, photoshop, protools, you simply don't need more!


By ipay on 7/15/2009 11:20:40 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
(...) emerging markets like (...) Europe (...).
(...) developed areas like the United States.


Sales also lagging in other countries with a high human development index, such as gold-clad Bangladesh.




Need to correct the headline
By JC123 on 7/15/2009 12:42:37 PM , Rating: 2
32.7mm netbook shipments expected for the entire 2009 year, not so far this year




Interested in buying one
By AlphaVirus on 7/15/2009 1:01:12 PM , Rating: 2
I have never been into laptops, notebooks, netbooks, and whatever else they want to call themselves, but recently the idea to purchase one has crossed my mind. In the past I was all about raw power to be able to enjoy PC gaming but that has largely declined and now the most I do is accounting softwares, email, and web browsing....I have turned into a typical user almost.
With energy prices rising and my desktop running almost 24/7 and pushing some heat I have been looking very hard at purchasing a laptop.




By GodisanAtheist on 7/15/2009 4:04:34 PM , Rating: 2
While the Athlon Neo is an interesting chip that attempts to carve out its own market (one that I, personally, prefer to the too diminutive netbooks), their absence is beginning to look very conspicuous.

If there is a market that is ripe for a serious competitor (VIA tries), its netbooks. Further still, unlike the consumer market where AMD stands a snowball's chance in hell against Intel*, designing a chip & chipset for a netbook should be comparatively fruitful (instead of out and out innovation you're looking to more or less pare down existing designs). Pair the thing with an ATI gpu and AMD has a Atom killer on their hands.

Lastly, since AMD's presence in laptops is practically non-existent, such a platform wouldn't really be cannibalizing any profit from higher margin products allowing them to virtually do away with the kind of draconian restrictions Intel has placed on its own netbooks.

Its a little odd to watch computer manufactures dogpile onto the netbook market, only with the press release reading like a copy/paste of every other netbook manufacturer on the planet: 1.6ghz Atom, 1GB DDR 533 ram, 120GB HDD, so on so forth ad nauseum.

*Before everyone rates me down screaming "without AMD Intel chips would cost 5 bajillion dollars" or whatnot, I am not saying I dislike AMD OR Intel. They both make quality chips and I have given both companies my patronage at different times (AXP, A64, P4, C2D...) however to deny Intel's capital advantage (and to some extent technological advantage) at this particular juncture would be patently insane.

Thanks for reading.




By myocardia on 7/15/2009 6:17:32 PM , Rating: 2
Dear manufacturers, the reason that netbooks are still selling well, even in this economy, is because they are what notebooks should have been from day one. There is still a large percentage of people in the US who don't own a portable computer, but they all seem to be in the market for one now, since Asus beat the rest of you to the punch.




The X Factor
By ceslami on 7/17/2009 1:47:31 AM , Rating: 2
As some have already said, but none have sufficiently accented, the price is the key factor with netbooks. Now more than ever, people are really considering what they need in a personal computer. With infinite options in the web application market, most tasks that were initially performed exclusively on the desktop can now be done in the browser. This allows for the machine to become more of a terminal than an actual computer, making someone's digital life infinitely more portable. If anything, netbooks have taken mobile computing to a whole new, and more practical level.

For more information on netbooks, visit http://www.netbookstation.com




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