Netbook Sales Growth Outpaces Full Notebooks

Are netbooks just a fad? Not according to the latest sales figure breakdowns from DisplaySearch. In fact, it netbook growth nearly doubled that of notebooks.

In Q2 2009, the total notebook PC market (both netbooks and full sized laptops) posted strong sales past the 38 million mark. The netbook market was particularly strong, growing 40 percent over the previous quarter, nearly doubling the still-impressive 22 percent growth rate of notebooks.

Netbooks were notably more popular than notebooks in Latin America and Greater China, likely thanks to lower prices making them more affordable to these emerging markets. DisplaySearch also figured that these regions have more first-time PC buyers, making them less demanding of the expanded feature set available on a larger mainstream notebook PC.

DisplaySearch also noted that Asus has been steadily losing share because competitors such as Acer, HP, Dell, Lenovo and Toshiba have become increasingly aggressive in the netbook segment.

"Mini-note PC screen sizes have increased steadily, from 7.0" to 8.9” and then to 10.2". Some panel makers and brands are promoting 11.6" mini-note displays, leading to an overlap with ultraportable notebooks. However, the higher prices of these larger netbooks diminish their cost advantage. In addition to many other key players in the supply chain, Microsoft indicated it is their desire to increase the ASP of mini-notes. A significant increase to the ASP of mini-notes may deter consumers that are predominantly using mini-notes as secondary PCs," said John F. Jacobs, Director of Notebook Market Research.