New figures from International Data Corporation (IDC) have revealed that the
netbook market is continuing to expand at a considerable rate. The
mini laptops now account for 30 per cent of
laptop sales in Europe according to the new figures, with 3.6 million
netbooks sold in Europe in the last quarter of 2008. The Christmas period and back to school demand have been cited as two major factors in the netbooks surge in popularity. IDC also suggested that netbooks are particularly popular in the UK, with Western Europe accounting for over 80 per cent of all European sales.
Acer were the leading netbook vendor in the last quarter, taking nearly one third of the market.
Asus were only a couple of per cent behind, with 28 per cent of the netbook market. Those two dominate netbook sales, with third placed Hewlett Packard obtaining 7 per cent of the market. Most
PC manufacturers have now entered the market, though there are still some notable absentees, including
Apple and Sony.
IDC commented, ‘Market dynamics will remain driven by consumer demand, but improving specifications, larger screens, and integrated
3G will make mini
notebooks more appealing to businesses as well.’