14 DAY TRIAL // The netbook market is showing clear signs of expanding at a much faster pace than any netbook maker initially predicted. With approximately another 6 weeks to go until the end of the year, some of the early netbook manufacturers are changing their initial predictions regarding the number of shipped netbook units. That is also the case with Taiwanese manufacturer Micro Star International, which has recently updated its 2008 Wind netbook shipment estimations, and has also lifted the bar for its notebook shipment expectations.
According to Chairman Joseph Hsu, cited by Digitimes, the company is now estimating that its notebook shipments will reach 3 million, a good one million over the initial expectations. In addition, the company has also announced some of the figures to be met in the upcoming year in terms of netbook and notebook shipments. MSI expects that its netbook business will grow by as much as 100% in 2009, while notebook shipment figures are to settle in the 4-5 million range.
In an attempt to further expand its netbook portfolio, the company is also expected to unveil a new Wind netbook model, which should debut before the end of the year. The 10-inch Wind U120 has been already confirmed officially, with MSI saying that the upcoming product will target the business user, as it comes with a design facelift and some technical improvements. Among them is a built-in 3G module, which will enable MSI to begin collaboration with network carriers to deliver the Wind U120 as part of special bundles.
Currently, MSI is one of ASUS' biggest competitors in the netbook market, although both makers are expected to soon fall behind the global third leading computer systems maker, Acer, which has already managed to move more units of its Aspire One netbook system than initially predicted. In regard to the future of its business, MSI has also mentioned that it will continue ongoing efforts towards becoming a global top-ten vendor in 2009-2010.