The netbook phenomenon has taken many by storm, having grown considerably since some of the early models released by Taiwanese netbook pioneer ASUS. As it turns out, the new market segment will continue its ascendant path, with around 32.7 million units expected to be shipped this year alone. This is a noteworthy increase over last year's shipments, which were in the 16.4 million mark. In addition, according to recent research, the netbook segment will continue to grow, while mainstream laptop shipments will remain flat.

As a recent report from research firm DisplaySearch shows, netbook shipments are expected to double this year, reaching an impressive mark of 32.7 million units, compared to last year's recorded 16.4 million units worldwide. This latest estimation comes to complete the company's previous forecast, according to which netbook shipments would reach 27.5 million units this year. In addition, it appears that this market will continue to grow, taking a larger chunk of the worldwide laptop shipments, with the mainstream ones expected to remain flat.

“Mini-notes are forecast to continue to be a significant portion of the market. However, as display sizes of these devices have quickly moved from 7.0” to 8.9” to 10.1”, and now with the emergence of 11.6” and 12.0” mini-note products, it is clear that buyers want a light-weight device, but that they also want a bigger display,” said John F. Jacobs, director of Notebook Market Research.

According to Jacobs, the hardware improvements made in this segment, such as NVIDIA's Ion platform, could further blur the line between netbooks and lower-priced mainstream notebooks. This could ultimately affect shipments of laptops priced at around US$800, with ultrathin laptops also playing a significant role.

DisplaySearch also noted that netbook shipments for the second quarter of 2009 were at 7.07 million, almost a 100 percent growth on a year-over-year basis.