Michael Dell Not that Confident in Netbooks' Potential

Earlier this month, one of the leading manufacturers of portable computer systems decided it was high time it dived into the fast evolving market of netbooks by launching the highly anticipated Inspiron Mini 9, an 8.9-inch netbook designed with ultra-portability in mind. However, it looks like the company's CEO, Michael Dell, isn't all that enthusiastic about the new product and the general development of the portable computer systems market.

 

As mentioned in a previous article earlier today, netbooks have become very successful in a rather short period of time, which is why a company like Dell couldn’t have just sat back, watching its competitors gain a considerable market share in a totally new segment. The Inspiron Mini 9 was very mediated for quite a while prior to the official release, and everybody believed it would come out with a bang, especially given all those ongoing rumors of a $299 price point.

 

Now, if the Inspiron Mini already has fans and potential users, that's just fine by the company, but its CEO, Michael Dell, isn't really convinced of the success rate of these devices. As Cnet reports, when asked about the netbook phenomenon, Dell had this to say, “I'm not that fond of the phraseology. If you look at screen sizes for portable computers, 85 percent of portable computers that run advanced operating systems are in the 14- to 15-inch screen space. What percentage will be 8.9- to 10-inch [screens] is hard to say.”

 

Michael Dell also said that, even if they already had a product to compete in this quickly expanding market, he didn’t expect netbooks to deliver a “massive growth factor in the industry.”

 

Michael Dell's statements appear to go against the very trend of the market, where netbooks become ever more popular and are close to achieving sales records similar to those of fully-fledged notebooks. The Mini Inspiron is yet to prove itself on the market, but when it does (if it does), Dell's CEO might want to reconsider his position on the matter.