According to early data from DisplaySearch, netbooks accounted for nearly 20 percent of all worldwide laptop sales with 6 million units in the first quarter 2009.
Acer with its Aspire One line is the top selling brand with a market share of 30.5 percent, doubling the shipping numbers of Asus’ Eee PCs.
45 percent of netbook shipments went to Europe, Middle-East and Africa, while the North America only swallowed up 26 percent.
A year ago, netbooks were less than 3 percent of the laptop market. The rapid growth could be attributed to greater selection and availability along with consumers being more cost conscious. DisplaySearch also believes that telecom company subsidies for signing mobile broadband contracts have a part to play as well.
“It is clear at the moment that mini-notes play a vital role in the total PC market. Without the additional volume provided by these products, shipment volumes for the notebook PC market would have been down 19% Y/Y, instead of only falling 3%. While there is no doubt that many buyers of mini-notes would have chosen larger notebook PCs if mini-notes were not available, it is also certain that many buyers might have chosen not to purchase a notebook PC at all,” said John F. Jacobs, Director of Notebook Market Research and author of the report.
Did you buy a netbook within the last six months? If not, do you have any plans to?
