Netbooks Bring Down Laptop Market Revenue

By Jane McEntegart
published

Love them or hate them, netbooks are definitely serving a lot of people's needs in the laptop department, which makes it awfully unfortunate to have to note that they're bringing the over all revenue generated by the laptop market down.

DisplaySearch reports that, despite netbook shipments rising, sales of the cheap-as-chips PCs are dragging down revenue for the overall laptop market. A study released by the firm yesterday shows that the portable PC market was $26.4 billion, up 10 percent from Q1 but down 5 percent from the same period last year.

Netbooks are very affordable and for people who have little use for a powerful machine, they cover everything in terms of what they need their computer to do. Indeed, netbook shipments continue to grow. DisplaySearch notes that revenue generated by netbooks in Q2 topped $3 billion, up 37 percent sequentially, and from the Q2 2008 to Q2 2009, netbook revenue growth was up 264 percent.

However Channel Web cites John Jacobs, director of laptop research at DisplaySearch, who says the company expects netbooks to continue to harm laptop market revenue as the year goes on. "For 2009, we expect continued [average selling price] erosion across all portable computer categories, leading to the first [year-over-year] decline of portable computer revenue."

Read more here.

Jane McEntegart
21 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Honis
    I really hope the people who are buying netbooks aren't associating the lower performance with real PCs. I predict the netbook will only help drive up Mac sales in the coming quarters due to the "Gah this netbook sucks and is slow and... it must be Windows/Ubunto's/etc. fault! Damn PCs I'm getting a Mac!"
    Reply
  • the_krasno
    AMD is working with a netbook/notebook hybrid using a new mobile processor and it will have dedicated ATI graphics I believe.

    I can't wait for that.
    Reply
  • invlem
    This trend is probably due to the fact that notebooks were supposed to be mobile, yet over time they grew bigger, heavier and more bloated.

    Unless you need to run CPU/GPU intensive tasks a netbook (and the huge convenience of its portable size, go figure) is all a person needs. Toss in the cost of ownership and laptops really aren't required for the general user.

    All I need when I'm on the road is access to my office files, power point presentations, email and internet browsing. A net book is more than powerful enough for all those tasks. I see no reason to burden myself with a bulkier and heavier item. Not to mention battery life on the netbook is 8 hours, something i certainly havent seen form a laptop
    Reply
  • steiner666
    i got a $2000 dell laptop 4 years ago when i started college and i got an asus netbook this year for $300 that performs better than it and has a battery that lasts over twice as long. It's able to do everything I need without any issues. ppl want cheap. really, all they have to do is improve the flash video performance on netbooks to where they can watch HQ youtube/hulu and then everyone but gamers will be totally satisfied with them... and gamers should know better than to go with a netbook for their needs. With the economy being what it is, it's no surprise that ppl no longer want to shell out 3x as much money for a laptop when the netbook suites their needs and is more portable.
    Reply
  • hellwig
    Yes, surely netbooks, and not the recession, are responsible for reduced profits. Just like pirates, and not shitty movies and the recession, are responsible for lower movie studio profits.
    Reply
  • quantum mask
    the_krasnoAMD is working with a netbook/notebook hybrid using a new mobile processor and it will have dedicated ATI graphics I believe.I can't wait for that.
    huh? A netbook/notebook hybrid? How does that work? Why? What can a netbook do that a notebook can't?
    Reply
  • Kelavarus
    quantum maskhuh? A netbook/notebook hybrid? How does that work? Why? What can a netbook do that a notebook can't?
    Size/power efficiency.

    And they're already out. Not sure why people are saying they can't wait...

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2034940772%201722149527&name=AMD%20Athlon%20Neo
    Reply
  • Where is there a laptop that has a battery that actually lasts EIGHT HOURS or more? Less than two hours is not enough battery time, if laptop makers want to improve market share they need to actually give us a decent battery and make the laptop more efficient at battery usage not to mention that most people don't really need a 19 inch screen and a laptop thats bigger than their tv! The size and battery life are what make netbooks so attractive, if your on a metro train and don't want anyone to know your using a computer then netbook is for you. If you wanna walk around with the netbook in a bag downloading stuff then it's easier with a netbook with a long battery life. Netbooks are great diagnostic platforms too, data recovery through usb hdd adaptors etc it makes netbook use more popular.
    Reply
  • "AMD is working with a netbook/notebook hybrid using a new mobile processor and it will have dedicated ATI graphics I believe."

    You mean the HP Pavilion dv2 ? I sure fits the description...
    Reply
  • False_Dmitry_II
    hellwigYes, surely netbooks, and not the recession, are responsible for reduced profits. Just like pirates, and not shitty movies and the recession, are responsible for lower movie studio profits.
    You're wrong, they keep breaking box office records...
    Reply