14 DAY TRIAL // It seems that, with netbooks turning out to not be as expansive, marketing-wise, as some thought, some of their makers have started looking at newer selling opportunities in other regions.
So far, the three main regions where entry-level mobile computers sold massively were the US, China and, of course Europe.
Initially, these devices came like a sort of a godsend, as they sold well even during the hard years of 2008 and 2009.
Unfortunately, while they were expected to keep growing as a market for years to come, conditions changed, slowing down their progress substantially.
One may say that the situation in the US is not so bad right now but, like in China and Europe, sales are dropping.
Europe can be seen as the most understandable case, since it is there that the woes of an economic recession are still being felt.
Either way, low-end laptops haven't been doing as great as their makers hoped, or as market analysts expected.
Surely, tablets have definitely become a thorn in the side of this field, as has market saturation.
On the other hand, new platforms have appeared (and will soon appear), like AMD's Fusion and Intel's Oak Trail.
Now, while they will continue to offer machines in the aforementioned regions, PC makers ASUS, Acer and Samsung will extend their reach to other markets.
Emerging market said to be part of their plans include the countries of Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
Unfortunately, even with the wider coverage, it is quite possible that the companies won't be able to exactly exceed the 2010 sales.
ASUS, for example, seeks only to succeed in maintaining the unit level of six million, or so says Digitmes, according to its sources.
That said, there should be a special press conference on January 19, where Asustek Computer will announce new Eee PCs and the so-called roadmap for its netbooks, as well as tablets.