Austin, Texas – Spurred by subsidized purchase plans
and low pricing, netbook growth remained very strong in the second quarter.
According to a DisplaySearch report, worldwide netbooks now hold
22.2 percent share of the portable computer market. This is compared with the
17.8 percent share the devices had in the first quarter and the 5.6 percent
share held during the second quarter of 2008.
DisplaySearch said low pricing combined with larger screen sizes
are making netbooks a viable choice for consumers looking for a secondary
computer system. Helping these people make the decision to go with a netbook is
the fact that almost all of the top-tier PC makers now play in the category and
that screen sizes available have steadily grown from 7 inches to almost 11 inches.
The low pricing situation could change in the coming months as
some component vendors, like Microsoft, want to increase the netbook’s average
selling price, said John Jacobs, DisplaySearch’s notebook research director.
