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Apple may be the one notable industry player holding a staunch unwillingness to jump on the Netbook bandwagon, but newly released market research would suggest every other manufacturer currently pushing the Web-centric platform can expect a distinctly rosy future.
Mo, mo, mo Netbooks. Image: nDevilTV/Flickr.
More pointedly, shipments of budget-friendly Netbook systems are set to double over the course of this year, according to research specialist DisplaySearch, which also notes that shipments of conventional notebook hardware are likely to be flat.
In terms of projected figures, DisplaySearch claims this year’s Netbook shipments could top 32.7 million units thanks to competitive prices and evolving hardware specifications – both of which are likely the result of increasing competition and a progressively more saturated market.
If those shipment figures prove to be accurate, 2009 will result in the Netbook market almost doubling the strength of its traction after the ultra-portable devices shipped some 16.4 million units in 2008.
Although the ongoing Netbook push certainly reflects the customer appeal of such pennywise mobile computers in our currently testing financial times, Netbooks still lag some way behind on the market when compared to conventional notebooks.
Moreover, while DisplaySearch claims notebook performance will remain flat for 2009, that lack of movement either forward or backward still equates to total worldwide shipments of around 129.5 million units.
According to John Jacobs, director of notebook research at DisplaySearch, the popularity of Netbook devices has benefited from adoption in poorer, developing countries, where they are often purchased as leading hardware for the home.
Looking closer at DisplaySearch’s regional breakdown of shipments, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) will pull in a combined 13.1 million Netbook units this year, with a further 8.8 million units attributed to North America, 3.9 million to China, 3.0 million across Asia, and 1.9 million shipped in both Japan and Latin America.
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