New research has suggested that the trend of
netbooks becoming bigger will continue next year. Market watcher Canalys has claimed that the average
netbook saw an increase in screen size to 10 inches during 2009, and predicts that manufacturers such as
Acer and
Asus will upgrade to 12 inch screens next, though they will face competition from the thin’n’light
laptop market.
The number of
ARM based netbooks with integrated always on
3G network capability has increased, and the Taiwanese manufacturers are keen to elevate their netbooks above these
smartbooks . 10 inch netbooks will therefore have their prices cut, further squeezing the profit margins. However, profit margins will be greater on the 12 inch models, which are expected to feature greater capabilities.
There is currently a £100 difference between a good 10 inch netbook and an 11 inch thin’n’light laptop, leaving some room for PC manufacturers to manoeuvre. They will most likely opt for the new Pine Trail Atom platform from
Intel, with the chip maker set to eliminate its current Atom N-series chips from new
notebooks to encourage uptake of the new processors.