Asus Reduces Netbook Shipments; Blames iPad

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Eee PCs aren't as hot these days, and Asus thinks it's because of the Apple iPad.

Asus, the pioneers of the netbook, are dialing back shipments due to weakening demand.

Although the third quarter is typically a high point for the company, Asus has adjusted its netbook shipment down to 1.4 million units, a fall compared to 1.5 million and 1.6 million from the previous quarters.

Asus CEO Jerry Shen blames the decreased demand on the Apple iPad, which he thinks is cannibalizing the sales of netbooks.

We think that another possible explanation is that the netbook craze may be dying down a bit due to heavily discounted notebooks and the stagnation of netbook hardware.

On the bright side, Asus will be seeing gains in both its laptop and motherboard shipments for the third quarter.

(Source: DigiTimes.)

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Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam served as Tom's Hardware News Director during 2008-2014. He entered tech media in the late 90s and fondly remembers the days when an overclocked Celeron 300A and Voodoo2 SLI comprised a gaming rig with the ultimate street cred.
41 Comments Comment from the forums
  • irh_1974
    Alternatively, people could simply be waiting for Asus to release a tablet themselves.
    Reply
  • awood28211
    I want a netbook... for 1 thing only. Delorme Street Atlas. Far cheaper than a comparable GPS system added in-dash and with a lot more function. Even if I could put Delorme's products on an iPad, it would be entirely awkward situating it in a car. The netbook fits between my seats and I can angle the screen toward me if I have to look at it... but... now my Evo does the same thing and it fits on a "shelf" by my stereo near my line of sight. So I guess I'll skip the netbook for now.. and the iPad foreverrrrrr
    Reply
  • xyzionz
    Come up with EeePad to grab their shares! I'll buy one
    Reply
  • pizzacheeks
    Ipad a waste of your money. Therefore Jobs must be hypnotize people to buy his icrap.
    Reply
  • tapnick
    I bought a netbook, havnt used it in at least 6 months. I cant speak for everybody but I'm waiting for a win 7 tablet. Although I will probably use it for a while then it will take its rightful spot next to the non used netbook. With smartphones these days i really have no need for these device besides just having one to play with.
    Reply
  • Godfail
    pizzacheeksIpad a waste of your money. Therefore Jobs must be hypnotize people to buy his icrap.Exactly how is something people use a waste of money? I could understand if it sat there, useless, but it's not the case.
    Reply
  • thesupermedium
    Make Ion and Dual core netbooks less than $400 and you can expect to get sales. Otherwise, don't blame the iPad for you still making that GMA950 crap that's in my HP mini from 2 years ago.
    Reply
  • smeker
    It was expected... Beside all the nerdy comments about how iPads will fail, they've sold like cupcakes. Yes they do only few things but the things they do those things quite well, and people love them...

    Reply
  • Parsian
    still, as a student who carries loads of books, netbook > notebook and iCrap is worthless to even consider

    but it would be awesome to get a tablet netbook with physical keyboard and the screen to write on with stylus...
    Reply
  • DjEaZy
    ... Jobs waz right then at the iPad presentation...
    Reply