From our front-page news:
As if proof was ever needed that netbooks have become more than just a fad, Gartner has just released a report that tells of a nice 2.8% growth for PC shipments in 2009, while at the same time showing an 11% decline in revenue. In most any market, those kinds of results would be considered strange, but not here. Netbooks have exploded in popularity, which helps the growth, but they cost far less than a normal PC, hence the decline in revenues.
It's an interesting result, to say the least. Even if each person out there right now purchased a desktop PC and a netbook, the PC shipment growth would of course increase, but the acceleration of revenue growth wouldn't be the same as if netbooks were out of the picture entirely. The raw data of just how successful netbooks are might be surprising nonetheless though. Out of all the shipments in 2009, which will hover around 298.9 million, 29 million will be netbooks.
There's no two ways about it... 10% of such a market is huge, and as things are going, 2010 will finish off even better for the netbook, and the industry as a whole. While 298.9 million units shipped in 2009, Gartner expects that number to rise to 336.6 for 2010... that's huge. Of that, 196.4 million units are expected to be consist of mobiles, 41 million of which will be netbooks (or other like devices).
With its 162 million unit market share for 2009, mobiles account for 54.2% of total PCs shipped, and if the 2010 numbers hold true, that percentage will increase to 58.3%. Given the obvious acceptance of mobile computers, whether it be notebooks, netbooks or whatever else, these numbers aren't too surprising. As a desktop enthusiast, the numbers can be a little depressing, but they don't have to be. After all, it's not unusual for people to own more than one mobile computer, but few people tend to own more than one desktop PC. Desktops, and especially high-end desktops, will hopefully be around for some time to come.
"Mobile PC shipments continued to get a significant boost from mini-notebooks," said Mr. Shiffler. "We've raised our near-term forecast for mini-notebooks in response, but we have also narrowed our scenarios for them. Mini-notebooks are facing increased competition from other low-cost mobile PCs, as well as alternative mobile devices. They are rapidly finding their level in the market, and we expect their growth to noticeably slow as early as next year.
Source: Gartner Press Release
It's an interesting result, to say the least. Even if each person out there right now purchased a desktop PC and a netbook, the PC shipment growth would of course increase, but the acceleration of revenue growth wouldn't be the same as if netbooks were out of the picture entirely. The raw data of just how successful netbooks are might be surprising nonetheless though. Out of all the shipments in 2009, which will hover around 298.9 million, 29 million will be netbooks.
There's no two ways about it... 10% of such a market is huge, and as things are going, 2010 will finish off even better for the netbook, and the industry as a whole. While 298.9 million units shipped in 2009, Gartner expects that number to rise to 336.6 for 2010... that's huge. Of that, 196.4 million units are expected to be consist of mobiles, 41 million of which will be netbooks (or other like devices).
With its 162 million unit market share for 2009, mobiles account for 54.2% of total PCs shipped, and if the 2010 numbers hold true, that percentage will increase to 58.3%. Given the obvious acceptance of mobile computers, whether it be notebooks, netbooks or whatever else, these numbers aren't too surprising. As a desktop enthusiast, the numbers can be a little depressing, but they don't have to be. After all, it's not unusual for people to own more than one mobile computer, but few people tend to own more than one desktop PC. Desktops, and especially high-end desktops, will hopefully be around for some time to come.
"Mobile PC shipments continued to get a significant boost from mini-notebooks," said Mr. Shiffler. "We've raised our near-term forecast for mini-notebooks in response, but we have also narrowed our scenarios for them. Mini-notebooks are facing increased competition from other low-cost mobile PCs, as well as alternative mobile devices. They are rapidly finding their level in the market, and we expect their growth to noticeably slow as early as next year.
Source: Gartner Press Release