Austin, Texas – Led by Apple’s iPad, the netbook/slate
category will drive portable-computer sales in 2010, according to
DisplaySearch.
The number of portable PCs shipped will hit 214.6 million this
year, a 25.7 percent increase over 2009, on sales of $116.9 billion. This
figure almost matches the dollar revenue posted in 2008 for the category.
Dollar sales plummeted in 2009 to $109.8 billion.
The
, which started shipping on April 3, along with slate-type devices that
will be delivered from other manufacturers later this year, will grab some
market share from the traditional notebook segment and will garner interest
from potential e-reader customers interested in a device with more computing
power, DisplaySearch said. The higher-priced iPad and slate products will also
strengthen average selling prices (ASPs) for the category, offsetting the
sub-$300 netbook price point.
“The low ASPs of mini-notes have been a concern to component
suppliers, OEMs/ODMs, brands and retailers, due to the thinner margins and
lower revenue generation of the devices. Slates — especially those that will
be able to mimic Apple’s content library, model of content delivery, and their
very successful App Store — will be able to generate greater revenue and
healthier,” said John Jacobs, DisplaySearch’s notebook market research director.
DisplaySearch believes the majority of the iPad and other slates
will sell into the North American and Western European markets, while
entry-level priced notebooks will make further inroads into developing
countries.
DisplaySearch expects unit and revenue increases for both the
netbook/slate and traditional notebooks this year, with the former category
shipping 28.5 percent more units than in 2009. This will generate $13.4 billion
in sales, a 15.6 percent increase compared with the previous year.
Traditional notebooks will also experience extremely healthy
growth this year, with unit shipments increasing 25 percent and dollar sales
growing 5.3 percent, DisplaySearch reported.
