Netbooks - err mini-notebooks - falling fast
Summary
Topics
While PC makers are running full-speed to chase the iPad's success, it's notable that just as quickly they've stopped talking about Netbooks. Some people call them mini-notebooks. Even more people now call them that thing that's bigger than a smartphone but smaller than a laptop that looks more than a little bit clunky next to a tablet device.
Between October and December last year, PC makers shipped 10.5 million mini-notebooks, according to Gartner. That may have been a market peak. Fast-forward to the first quarter of this year: 9.7 million units shipped. Tick forward again to the second quarter of this year, and 8.4 million Netbooks left PC factories. The numbers are expected to drop even further in the coming months.
So what happened? It's not a stretch to connect the dots between the rise of the iPad and the sudden drop in last year's most-hyped product category. Even before the iPad was officially introduced in January, the talk of the PC world just a few weeks prior at CES 2010 was about tablets. Hewlett-Packard, Dell, and Archos showed touch-screen tablets somewhat tentatively--few details were named, and some shipping dates were vague--but it was clear the attention had shifted away from targeting consumers looking for a new mobile device with Netbooks.
For more on this story, read So, who's still buying Netbooks? on CNET News.
Talkback Most Recent of 7 Talkback(s)
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The sweet spot for ultra-portable will be 11.5 inches, dual core
Would love to see a dual core Arm "mini-notebook".
DonnieBoy9th Sep 2010 -
Me too
@DonnieBoy
Not sure about the sweet spot, as that is a highly individual thing, but I would love to have a light, big screen, ultra-portable, all day battery "whatever-you-call-it" kind of device. I think the obsession with names and categories is somewhat silly and pointless.
There will always be a demand for ultra-portable devices. Some people will prefer them a bit bigger and some will prefer them a bit smaller. Some will prefer a good physical keyboard and some will be satisfied with a virtual one. Some will prefer iOS and some will prefer Android (or WP7 or WebOS?).
Since the netbooks came out we have gone through a couple of "me too" cycles where people jump on the "new technology" bandwagons, but ultimately the market will settle down and people will buy devices that best suit their needs.
Economister9th Sep 2010 -
RE: Netbooks - err mini-notebooks - falling fast
"Some people call them mini-notebooks."
Actually, that terminology has been used by most stores for a while now. The tech news industry latched onto the "netbook" term only because they despise local computing and want everything on the Internet, whether it makes sense or not.
"It's not a stretch to connect the dots between the rise of the iPad and the sudden drop in last year's most-hyped product category."
Possibly, although I would not rule out market saturation either.
CobraA19th Sep 2010 -
Consumer PC demand has been falling
Sales of all PC form factors have been falling, and sales in emerging markets (in particular China), which have been responsible for much of the recent netbook sales activity, are spiraling downward as a result of economic worries. The iPad's selling well for a new product, but if you look closely at the demographic who are actually buying it, that's not a surprise.
eMJayy9th Sep 2010 -
One reason that people bought netbooks...
...was price, but with falling prices on more traditional notebooks that advantage has pretty much disappeared. Yes, some bought netbooks for the small, light weight form factor, but many bought them because they were cheap. My daughter just bought a new 15" notebook with 3 GB RAM and a 250 GB hard drive for $380. For those not concerned about the size and weight issue, why buy a netbook when you can get a far more powerful machine for the same price?
itpro_z9th Sep 2010 -
RE: Netbooks - err mini-notebooks - falling fast
I like my under $100usd netbook with the SD slot, but am disappointed at the lack of programs for Windows-CE6, or even a DOS prompt & PocketPC programs just don't work, also, I prefer to use Mozilla Firefox instead of IE8 on my desktops. A quick conversion utility for my Windows XP desktops to port Windows & DOS programs to Windows CE-6 would be something I'd pay actual money for. Jim Farmer
Jim Farmer9th Sep 2010 -
good idea about android
A good post. Thanks for sharing.Hi, do you own a tablet pc? We supply kinds of tablet computers, including 7 inch touch screen tablet . Buy a 9.7 inch android 2.2 from China at wholesale price.G00aG
gavin.chan1st Oct
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