14 DAY TRIAL // Even though the entry-level laptop market has been on the rise for years, it seems like it will start dropping by a fair bit before the ongoing year is out, or so says a certain market analyst firm.
DRAMeXchange is best known as an analyst firm that looks into the situation on the semiconductor market, as its name would suggest, but it seems it does other sorts of predictions as well.
One of the more recent ones has to do with the market for entry-level mobile personal computers.
Otherwise known as netbooks, these laptops were one of, if not the fastest growing market segment by early last year (2010).
Then, tablets emerged and, coupled with the apparent market saturation of the netbook segment itself, led to the latter's slowdown in growth.
Slates have mostly won over consumers through their multimedia support and fitness for casual, on-the-go computing, the lack of a physical keyboard being just a minor peeve at this point.
At first, when the iPad came out, most PC makers didn't think netbooks would be too affected, but they were soon proven wrong. They even decided to make tablets of their own.
As such, even as early as 2010 the segment for low-end laptops felt the brunt of the impact, and 2011 may just be the year when the real decline begins.
According to DRAMeXchange, netbooks won't disappear, but their shipments will decline by 18% or so, on year.
This may not even sound surprising, knowing how few such laptops were launched at CES 2011, as opposed to last year's edition.
Granted, 10-inch low-end laptops are still cheaper than tablets, but this situation may not last, since more and more companies are joining the tablet rush and will likely spark a price competition of sorts.
Finally, while mature markets are welcoming tablets, netbooks will have to rely more on emerging markets this year.