June 11, 2009
For months executives at high-tech companies, such as Intel, have claimed netbooks are not cannibalizing sales of more traditional, fully featured notebooks.
Evidence to the contrary is rising.
In a PC market forecast released Thursday, IDC claimed that these “mini notebooks” are having a dramatic impact on the market.
IDC says netbook sales in the first quarter helped quash the notebook business
In the first quarter, shipments of 5.7 million netbooks helped contribute to a 3.1-million unit decline in the traditional notebook sales, the firm said.
Revenue suffered even more. Netbooks brought an additional $2.2 billion of sales to the PC market. But the drop in notebook revenue was $8.4 billion.
“Mini Notebook pricing is expected to rise with more robust models, and shipment growth is expected to slow with the release of low-cost, thin-and-light Intel CULV and AMD Congo-based (notebooks) this fall,” says IDC.
However, netbooks will rise to 17.3 percent of all portable PCs and that will drive shipment value down 17.7 percent this year.
Yes, I would call that cannibalization.
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Posted by Mark Boslet
March 2, 2009
The personal computer industry needs to brace for the worst decline in its history, with shipments falling 11.9 percent this year.
Say goodbye to the desktop: down 31.9% ths year, says Gartner
The plunge will be more than three times as deep as the previous worse case: the 3.2 percent drop in 2001, says Gartner.
Emerging markets will continue to grow, but at a slow pace of 11 percent. Mature, developed markets will slump 7.9 percent.
Netbooks will help blunt the fall, with shipments almost doubling to 21 million this year from 11.7 million last year. But they won’t be plentiful enough to buoy a market with 257 million units.
Gartner says overall, notebook PCs will rise 9 percent in volume while desktop PCs fall 31.9 percent.
Prices also will decline. The notebook with an 8.9-inch screen that sold for $450 at the end of 2008 will sell for $399 by the end of 2009.
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Posted by Mark Boslet
January 26, 2009
Netbooks proved the 2008 phenomenon in an otherwise unexciting computer market – the only bright spot when sales tanked toward the end of the year.
Sahipments of these inexpensive, lightweight and more energy-efficient laptops designed for wireless Web communications came to about 11 million for last year.
Sales estimated to triple this year
They appear ready to take off in 2009, perhaps finally cannibalizing sales of traditional notebooks, as some in the industry have feared but so far denied.
ABI Research estimates shipments of netbooks could come to nearly 35 million in 2009 and rise to 139 million by 2013.
“The advent of low-cost, power stingy x86 (processors, such as Intel’s Atom) and ARM processors were the technical keys,” says ABI.
“In recent years, the industry still expected smartphones to be more than they turned out to be, and most recently, MIDs (mobile Internet devices) were thought to be the next big mobile devices segment,” says Practice Director Kevin Burden.
What the techies overlooked was the compelling nature of price.
4 Comments | computers, news | Tagged: 2009, ABI Research, Netbooks, Notebooks, PCs, Sales | Permalink
Posted by Mark Boslet
January 21, 2009
Apple said Wednesday it is not interested in playing in the market for netbooks.
Sales of these cheap and sometimes miniature laptops that sell for $500 or less have been hot in recent months.
Netbook screens are small and keyboards cramped, says Timothy Cook
“We think products there are inferior,” said Apple COO Timothy Cook, who took over day-to-day operations at the company from Steve Jobs earlier this month. “We don’t think people will be pleased with those products.”
Cook said the machines aren’t powerful enough to satisfy consumer needs. Keyboards are cramped and screens are small, he added.
Rumors have suggested Apple may be developing a product for the market. Cook didn’t say one way or another.
“We’re watching that space,” he said.
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Posted by Mark Boslet
January 15, 2009
Intel answered critics Thursday by saying inexpensive netbook portable computers are not significantly eating away at the sales of more fully featured notebooks, as detractors assume.
Intel expects to do well in netbooks over the next couple years
“There is some cannibalization, but the data suggests the vast majority of netbook sales are incremental,” CEO Paul Otellini said on a fourth-quarter earnings conference call.
Netbooks, which can sell for less than $500, have been among the hottest products in the computer market, especially among budget conscious consumers. Intel said it anticipated machines running its low-power Atom processor would do well in 2009, and that Atom sales would grow substantially.
“I would expect we will do very well in the netbook market over the next couple years,” says CFO Stacy Smith.
On a separate topic, Intel vowed not to restart a price with rival Advanced Micro Devices. Chip prices fall as new products come to market. But price reductions in 2009 will not come in reaction to the “external environment,” Intel said.
8 Comments | chips, computers, news | Tagged: Cannibalize, Intel, Netbooks, Notebooks, Price War | Permalink
Posted by Mark Boslet
January 14, 2009
Despite an anticipated pickup from holiday buying, the personal computer market collapsed in the fourth quarter, IDC said Wednesday.
Shipments fell 0.4 percent ending six years of growth, the last five with average increases of 15 percent.
Popular low-cost netbooks and vendor discounting weren’t enough to overcome a deteriorating economy, IDC said.
Notebook growth was almost cut in half from earlier this year to nearly 20% and the number of desktop PCs shipped fell roughly 16% from last year.
Mini notebooks did relatively well, accounting for 5 million units and bringing the total for 2008 to 10 million, or about 7 percent of portables.
“The market has taken a serious hit and the competitive environment along with a race to low-cost portables could easily undermine profits from mobile computing,” said Program Director Loren Loverde. “I won’t be surprised if recovery gets pushed further in 2010 as this crisis unfolds.”
Leading PC vendors by market share in the fourth quarter
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Posted by Mark Boslet
December 23, 2008
Marking a milestone in the history of computing, vendors shipped more notebook computers in the third quarter than they did desktop machines.
Notebook shipments up 40% in third quarter
The momentum has been increasing behind notebooks for several years. So the crossover was not a surprise, said Matthew Wilkins, principal analyst at iSuppli. The notebook is no longer a tool for the business workers; it is “a computer for everyman,” Wilkins said.
According to iSuppli, notebook shipments rose nearly 40 percent to reach 38.6 million units. Desktop shipments declined by 1.3 percent to 38.5 million.
The popularity of notebooks increased noticeably with the advent of wireless Wi-Fi connections and the ability of companies, such as Intel, to put more powerful chips into the compact package required for these mobile computers. Battery life also improved as processors became more efficient and computer design changed to cut wasted energy.
Leave a Comment » | computers, news | Tagged: Desktops, isuppli, Notebooks, Personal Computers, Third Quarter | Permalink
Posted by Mark Boslet
December 9, 2008
Consumer technology purchases in stores across the U.S. fell for the first time during the week of Thanksgiving, which includes the top shopping day Black Friday, NPD Group.
No blowout sales hurt business
Sales were off 8 percent compared with last year as discounting appeared to be less widespread – with the exception of Black Friday’s TV deals.
Nevertheless, there were some bright spots. Sales of LCD televisions larger than 30 inches were up 18 percent in units and notebooks unit growth climbed almost 19 percent. Sales of GPS equipment, plasma TVs and digital picture frames were up, but aggressive price declines saw revenue dip.
“There were no blowout sales to attract consumers,” said Stephen Baker, an NPD vice president. “Deals mimicked a typical weekend sale.”
Leave a Comment » | computers, economy, hardware, news | Tagged: Black Friday, Consumer Electronics, Digital Picture Frames, Discounting, GPS, Holday Sales, LCD TVs, Notebooks, NPD Group, Plasma TVs, thanksgiving | Permalink
Posted by Mark Boslet
November 20, 2008
Michael Dell using virtualization to spark commercial sales
Increasingly popular netbooks – low-cost notebooks – don’t appear to be stealing sales from more expensive, higher performance laptops, said Dell CEO Michael Dell.
“It appears to us this is mostly a complimentary category,” Dell said on an earnings conference call Thursday. “We (are) diving into that in a big way.”
Netbooks have been among the fastest growing segments of the PC market in the past quarter, especially in the emerging markets where consumers have less to spend.
Dell also said his company is focused on fielding products with good margins instead of cutting prices to gain market share.
“Given the choice between profits and growth, we’re going to go for the profits,” he said. “The first priority for us it so retain solid profitability for the company” in today’s tough economic climate.
Dell added that he expected to include more virtualization software in his server and storage lines to spark growth among commercial customers.
2 Comments | computers, news | Tagged: computers, Dell, Michael Dell, Netbooks, Notebooks, Price Cutting, Profitability, virtualization | Permalink
Posted by Mark Boslet
October 27, 2008
Notebooks chips beat out those for desktops
Intel recaptured more market share from rivals AMD and VIA in the third quarter as the chip giant’s product portfolio improved from years past.
The world’s largest semiconductor producer now holds 81.2 percent of the market for PC and x86 server chips, up from 76.2 percent a year ago, according to Mercury Research.
AMD’s market share slipped to 17.7 percent compared with 23 percent last year. VIA has 1.1 percent share, down from 1.3 percent in the second quarter.
AMD did see a modest increase in share in the server market.
Dean McCarron, principal analyst, said overall the processor market had a reasonably good quarter, up 13.3 percent compared with the 10 percent average annual rise for the period. Oh, and one more thing. Mobile PC processors for notebooks outsold desktop chips for the first time.
Leave a Comment » | chips, computers, news | Tagged: AMD, Dean McCarron, Desktops, Intel, Mercury Research, Notebooks, PCs | Permalink
Posted by Mark Boslet
