SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT (publ. 6/24/2010)
An article about sales forecasts for tablet computers incorrectly attributed a report to NPD Group. It was produced by DisplaySearch, a research company owned by NPD. In addition, the article incorrectly reported John Jacobs’ affiliation; he works for DisplaySearch.
The unexpected popularity of netbook computers helped carry the PC industry through the recession, but industry analysts believe the scaled-down laptops will soon be overtaken by a wave of iPads and similar tablet devices.
Tablet computers will outsell netbooks in the United States by 2012, according to a report issued Thursday by Forrester Research, which also predicted that nearly one in four personal computers sold to U.S. consumers will be tablets by 2015.
The report echoes earlier projections from other leading research firms, which have suggested that sales are beginning to slow for netbooks, also known as mini-notebooks or mini-notes. Meanwhile, Apple has reported selling 2 million iPads in the first two months since the product was introduced.
Hewlett-Packard, Dell and other leading computer-makers are all rushing to introduce their own iPad-style tablets, which some in the industry refer to as “slate” computers. HP had planned to launch a Windows-based tablet this summer, but has recently emphasized plans to use software from Palm, the smartphone maker that HP is in the process of acquiring.
“It appears the momentum is shifting from mini-note PCs to slates,” said a report issued this week by NPD Group. As more computer makers begin to introduce their own tablets in the coming months, the NPD report predicted consumers will increasingly turn away from netbooks.
Lower-priced netbooks, which have smaller screens and keyboards than traditional laptop computers, have been extremely popular since their introduction in 2008. The Gartner research firm reported more than 32 million netbooks were sold worldwide last year.
Analysts say the strong demand for netbooks helped major PC makers maintain their sales volume through the economic downturn — when some customers shied away from buying higher-priced desktop and laptop models — although some of the netbooks provided a lower profit margin than full-size models.
But netbooks generally offered less processing power and other features that come with traditional notebook computers. Netbook sales have started to show signs of slowing in some regions, “as consumers begin to understand the limitations of mini-notebooks, especially in the face of aggressive price cuts of regular notebooks,” said Gartner researcher Mikako Kitagawa, in a report last month.
Tablet computers, meanwhile, offer consumers a different model for computing, according to NPD. Instead of a scaled-down netbook that attempts to mimic the complete operation of a traditional laptop or desktop computer, NPD’s John Jacobs noted that tablets based on Apple or Android operating systems allow consumers to choose from an a la carte menu of software applications, designed to perform specific functions with ease.
Forrester’s Sarah Rotman Epps estimates about 3.5 million tablet devices will be sold in the United States this year, but her report predicts that number will skyrocket to 20.4 million by 2015. The report estimates U.S. consumers will buy just over 15 million netbooks in 2015.
Contact Brandon Bailey at 408-920-5022 or follow him at Twitter.com/BrandonBailey.
