They're not the same as tablets - so there's an army of users waiting for the right apps, writes the Softtalkmobile blog.
If the acres of print and online coverage in the past year are anything to go by, the belief that tablets are set to kill off netbooks appears to have solidified.
In the frenzied rush to analyse, dissect and predict the implications about all things smartphone, tablet and mobile app, the netbook has been relegated to a footnote.
However, as is my wont, I’ve been digging around and discovered that this belief doesn’t quite stack up.
In fact, as far as I can tell, the evidence strongly suggests the opposite is true.
For example, at the 2010 World Congress on IT, Intel’s CEO Paul Otellini pointed out that 85m netbooks were sold between the launch of the first netbook in 2007 (the Asus Eee PC) and 2010.
Article continues belowAdvertisement
Industry analysts are also positive about netbooks. For example, Jeff Orr, a senior practice director with ABI Research, said: “The hype that media tablets were displacing portable computers and dedicated CE devices simply didn’t become a reality.”
Meanwhile, IDC analyst, Helen Chiang, points out that netbook sales currently account for 20 per cent of the total portable PC market. She concedes that market share may drop as more tablets become available, but Tracy Tsai, an analyst with Gartner maintains there is still a sizable market for netbooks.
Tsai also said: ‘The low cost of netbooks makes them appealing to consumers in emerging markets, where people have tighter budgets and want to own a PC.”
These analyst viewpoints seem to be pretty much in line with Intel forecasts in which we anticipate a continued growth in netbook sales particularly in emerging markets.
As an interesting but clearly relevant aside I also discovered some Intel research on this subject. The 'How Netbooks Are Used' study reveals that both business and ordinary people, favour netbook usage for several distinct reasons:
− Popular for entertainment such as games
− Office tasks
− Note taking
− Online chat a
− Personal finances
In contrast, tablets are favoured for ebooks, video viewing, reading magazines and newspapers, and online shopping.
Can you see how app usage is informed by hardware difference? That’s right – the netbook has a real keyboard while the tablet has a virtual keyboard.
So netbooks are the choice for practical ‘doing stuff’ applications. As such, they provide a lucrative opportunity for developers to sell apps, and also act as a starting point on a longer app journey.
* This blog post is written by Softtalkmobile, and is sponsored by the Intel AppUp developer program, a single channel for distributing apps to multiple devices, multiple operating systems, and multiple app stores.
Add a new comment
You need to be logged in to post comments. If you do not have an account then please register.
Comments
0 comments
There are no comments yet, be the first to add one!