I’m a huge netbook fan. I love its functionality, with its usb ports, large hard drive, flash capabilities, long battery life, external monitor port, webcam, etc. Moreover, netbooks are sold at an affordable price, typically arround $250 after tax. The device has everything a traveling writer could possibly need or want. But what it lacks is hype.
People lined up for hours to buy the Apple iPad, missing work and school to get a $600+ device that has less than half the functionality of the average netbook. When asked why they wanted the device, most responded that they thought it was cool. So Apple wins the cool contest, if you like style over substance. Similarly, people are excited about the Blackberry tablet, poised for release soon, and it could prove to be a formidable competitor to the netbook if it has similar functionality.
Regardless of its limited features, tablet market share is spreading, and netbook sales are retreating according to a new study by International Data Corporation (IDC).
“Mini notebooks had started to slow down in 1H10, but increasing noise and announcements around Media Tablets have contributed to accelerating the trend, and also impacted notebook renewal intentions from a share of wallet standpoint. Some users already purchased an iPad, and many others adopted a wait and see position as more products develop towards Christmas.”
A new report from iSuppli indicates that Chinese OEMs overestimated the back-to-school season, and haven’t shipped nearly as many PCs as they thought they would. The report claims that Chinese exports have fallen a few percentage points year-over-year, because cash-strapped consumers are reluctant to upgrade.
The one region of the world where demand isn’t depressed is in emerging markets. The aforementioned IDC report claims that if you replace the “E” in EMEA with Central and Eastern Europe, the CEMEA region altogether posted an incredible 30 percent jump in shipments year-over-year. This tracks with what Intel claimed in its most recent quarterly earnings reports—weak demand in Europe and America, but emerging markets and Asia were on fire.