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For long there have been rumors that tablet computers--led by Apple's iPad--are eating into the market of netbooks and laptops. Taiwanese gadget vendor Asus has posted its most recent financial results, showing the first genuine results that tablets are cannibalizing netbook sales.
Changewave Research, in October surveyed more than 3100 consumers and found that only 14 percent of those who have planned to purchase a laptop within 90 days would get a netbook-a significant drop from 18 percent at the start of 2010. The netbook is the first ultra-mobile device to reach--mass-market appeal. Netbook shipments in the United States fell from 34 percent from the third quarter of 2009 to the same period in 2010. Apple's iPad has displaced about 10 to 20 percent of netbook shipments in the United States in the third quarter of 2010, which suggests that a sizable number of consumers chose the iPad over a netbook.
The annual worldwide shipments of netbooks (in millions) saw an increase from 15.8 million in 2008 to 36.3 millions in 2009, but saw a slow growth to 43 millions in 2010. While on the other hand, the tablet sales grew from 0.10 million in 2009 to 11-13 million in 2010. This is enough to prove that netbook sales are slowing down and that the recent shipments don't match the aggressive growth of the past two years. Netbook shipments in the United States fell from 34 percent from the third quarter of 2009 to the same period in 2010.
Apple computers topped sales for the mobile PC market last quarter, according to a new report from the market research company DisplaySearch. Apple shipped more than 13.6 million units, which translates to just over 21 percent of the mobile PC market. The computing giant retook the top spot from HP, which sold about 9.7 million units to take second place with 15 percent of the mobile PC market.
Experts feel that the success of the Apple iPad and the impending Google Android tablets are beginning to threaten Window's hold on the PC market. Indeed, if the sales of iPad were compared to the sale of Windows PCs, Apple would be leading the market share. The introduction of Apple iOS 4.2 for the iPad, would transform the tablet experience for many users. Beyond the consumers, the iPad is impacting numerous industries, consumer markets, books and magazine publishing, and many more.
So why are tablets so popular? Is it because their form factor is more appealing, or is it an inevitable evolution of personal computers? People use a notebook or a desktop, when they want to do a lot of word editing, drawing or working on a spreadsheet, but netbooks can't be used for a lot of typing as the keyboard is bit cramped. The tablet is ideal for a bit of typing, social networking and reading. The tablets focus on that different role, whereas the netbook is like a jack of all trade but masters none.
The form factor of tablets is perfect to watch TV or movies, as it has no attachments like keyboard or screens, while it may be tough to use a netbook on the go in social places, as many restaurants restrict the use of netbooks. It is the attraction of not having to open up the lid to use the tablet on the go which made it an instant hit. Also, if the user wants to do more of typing, a Bluetooth or a USB keyboard and be attached, and be tuvked away when not required.
The increasing adoption of the cloud clients like Google's email service-Gmail, and DropBox for document and file hosting has made tablets much more functional. Netbooks are good at web browsing and email, but multitasking can be a pain. Tablets on the other hand are very versatile, highly portable and generally very compact.
Tablets rule the market, as they have a great battery life and are accessible instantly, while netbooks take time to load; the cost of apps on tablets is cheaper than hundreds of dollars for professional-grade software on a netbook; tablets have a multi-touch screen. Netbooks still sell due to their performance, the full-fledged feature set provided (memory card reader, USB ports and VGA output), provide sufficient storage size and not to forget, they cost less than tablets.
According to a study by Neilson, five percent of the netbook users with a tablet said that they have stopped using the device all together since buying a tablet.
Acer, which defined the netbook genre with its Aspire One netbooks in 2008, has announced its plans to enter the tablet market, and sees a clear distinction between the slates and netbooks. They feel that tablets represent a different product segment, which caters primarily to gaming and content consumption in the $400-$600 range, while netbooks cost between $300 -$400.
In the coming years, tablets and netbooks might take different paths, with the former focusing on entertainment, communication, and convenience, and the latter adopting a more work-friendly role. Each will carve out a niche in the personal computing experience and will not kill off the other.
As of now, touchscreen tablets are luring consumers away from the netbooks, but in the long run, as computer makers address user complaints by enhancing netbooks, they might hold an increasingly fragmented market. Only time will tell whether the netbook market is replaced by tablets or whether both have different segments to cater to.
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