IDC says 2 million netbooks sold in Europe, Middle East and Africa in Q3

We've seen plenty of evidence of netbooks' impact on computer round here (like the image above), and market research firm IDC has now found that the situation is much the same in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (otherwise known to market research-types as EMEA), and it has some numbers to back it up. According to the firm, it estimates that there were more than two million netbooks sold in the EMEA market during the third quarter of 2008, which is a hefty chunk (more than 7%) of the 27.9 million laptops and desktops sold during the same time period. Of those, IDC found that ASUS and Acer had corned a hefty 80% of the market, with broadband-equipped netbooks offered by cellphone carriers also helping to boost those two companies in particular. Not surprisingly, it only sees things going up from here, and it estimates that sales could potentially double to a full four million in the fourth quarter of this year.

[Via Register Hardware]

[Vance @ Oct 17th 2008 7:54PM]

I can't imagine Apple can ignore this market much longer. A Mac Brickbook about the size of the HP mini would be really neat. If the keyboard was good, I'd have a hard time resisting that purchase.

[projekt84 @ Oct 17th 2008 7:59PM]

Apple will never enter this territory, the selling point of these laptops are their price point.

Sony has been making tiny laptops for years, but they are too pricey.

[AL @ Oct 17th 2008 8:35PM]

It's not Apple's market and it's the opposite of Apple's strategy. The netbook market is all about downsizing to a small form factor at a very attractive price point for users who use it as a second computer. Apple's market is high-end powerful computers for multimedia processing. If they went to a netbook, the trade-off's on processing power and a small screen would turn off buyers, then MacOS is no different to Linux or XP. If they go into this market, they'll be heavily criticised for the lack of power and multimedia capabilities and pricing.

[thethirdmoose @ Oct 17th 2008 9:18PM]

Mac Mini.

[OddManOut @ Oct 18th 2008 3:25AM]

"Apple will never enter this territory, the selling point of these laptops are their price point.

Sony has been making tiny laptops for years, but they are too pricey. "

I've heard people say this before, but I remain unconvinced, They could easily make a Netbook much like the Mini-note and simply charge $950 for it. I'm sure enough people would buy it for it to be worth their while.

I mean they made and released the MacBook Air for crying out loud, and it's nothing but a NOVELTY. It isn't any lighter than a netbook or comparable laptop. It isn't significantly more powerful that other laptops. It's battery life isn't superior. It isn't *really* any more portable than any other laptop with the same length and width. It's just thinner...and has less USB ports...and no ODD...

And I'm not saying that to knock it. I'm just saying it's a REALLY niche item...and yet, they produced it and it's selling. A near $1000 price tag would also make an Apple branded netbook pretty much a Novelty for those with plenty of Dis-I (disposible income), but I'm pretty sure it would sell...

"Apple's market is high-end powerful computers for multimedia processing. If they went to a netbook, the trade-off's on processing power and a small screen would turn off buyers, then MacOS is no different to Linux or XP. If they go into this market, they'll be heavily criticised for the lack of power and multimedia capabilities and pricing."

Yeah, but apple over the last 5+ years has shown a willingness to stick their toes in other side daliances. Ever hear of a thing called the "iPod" ? In it's field (PMD's) it' extremely UNDERPOWERED (or at least under featured) , and yet it sells.
And if they are really worried about such a possible perception, they can always wait until AMD Bobcat/Fusion drops, or perhaps Larabee...heck Raon has already built one with a Turion in it.. If nothing else they can wait for the Dual-core Atoms to come out in force. That should provide more power and justify the all to chic high price. And since they control the software they could optimize it for the Atom/DC Atom.

I'm not saying Apple WILL release a netbook, the arguments against the possibility are valid points indeed. I'm just saying it can't be ruled out with any certainty at this point.

[Alexandre Emond @ Oct 18th 2008 5:57AM]

"Apple will never enter this territory, the selling point of these laptops are their price point."
We may be surprised. I had a long discussion with my kid on the limited graphical capability of his possible acquisition of a Dell Mini 9. The point was: How come there is no option for a Dual Atom, better graphics and 32gb SSD?
Also, replacing the keyboard and the track pad by a good touch (second) screen could open a new high end market.
Those two points could be Apple's opportunity.

[Ruben @ Oct 18th 2008 10:27AM]

Apple was the one to popularize MP3 players with the iPod, just like it was the one to popularize really thin notebooks. Neither fields it invented.

The problem here is that Apple is not the first to popularize this market, thus it wont get nearly the foothold that it got in those other two (mainly one, because no one cares about thin, underpowered, under featured, and really expensive notebooks).

Asus and now Acer have shown how these netbooks should be made and sold. Anything Apple releases will be meaningless, unless it is willing to compete in this price point.

Trying for the HP price point isn't that great an idea to sway non-Apple fans, since even PC fans don't really want to pay that much for a netbook. If they aim for 499, then they would have something that would give cause for concern to Asus and Acer. Otherwise, stay out of it. We already have Sony VAIO's.

[Deputy Doffoos @ Oct 17th 2008 8:02PM]

To Asus dismay , ACER is kicking their asssss

[carlosmbernal @ Oct 17th 2008 8:08PM]

Take that Apple!

[Saad Rabia @ Oct 17th 2008 8:34PM]

Stop making a big deal about what Apple thinks of netbooks. They have their targeted customers, and anything else people find wrong in their products is low priority for them, and whatever you or I say will be proven wrong and "unnecessary & old" by them or their fans; it's normal healthy and all companies do it.

Be smart and pick what suits you.

[monty @ Oct 17th 2008 8:22PM]

Argh! Why do people class Apple's MacBook as a netbook!!? IT'S NOT! For starters it's 13.3".. and don't get me started on the price.

I think Apple should enter the netbook market but as projekt84 states, the price is a huge factor that Apple would have to deal with. If they produce an aesthetically pleasing product and price it right (a bit higher than the current products in the market would be accepted but none of this Apple pricey hoo-ha) they have the ability to gain a significant chunk of the market, IMO. As with Sony, their prices are too high with an already released product.. It would be suicide to drop their prices to compete with the other products from Asus, HP etc.

[Phoenix987 @ Oct 17th 2008 11:41PM]

I'm assuming you missed the point of the picture. The macbook is up there to show that the Top 10 bestselling items in the Laptops Category is almost all netbooks, with Apple's laptop barely able to hang on. Wasn't that kinda obvious?

Besides, I'm about 99% sure Engadget used that image before, and your comment was about a dime a dozen.

[Saad Rabia @ Oct 17th 2008 8:27PM]

I was in Dubai last weekend and passed by an electronics shop just to find that in less than 5 minutes 3 people were already convinced and bought the ASUS Eee, without even having a salesman to talk about anything!! I've been living in this country for 25 years and to see 3 people buying such technology within 5 minutes is alone an absolute stunner! I was amazed by how a simple product can easily win the customers by being physically clean and small, even if specs were too low compared to other laptops.

[KilgoreTrout @ Oct 17th 2008 8:51PM]

It really doesn't surprise me.
For the price of a decently spec'd laptop you can buy an excellent desktop AND a very good netbook having the best of both world: more power, fun and multimedia , when you're home , and better and easier portability when you're around.
If then you would even get yourself a little NAS you could also access all your files from wherever in the world you happen to be.
I've had a MSI wind (improved) clone since more than two months and a week after I got it I gave away my 15" to a kid and now I know I will never own again a laptop bigger than 10".
(OK I could make an exception for the 11" of the Sony Vaio TT if someone were to buy it to me).

[Tom @ Oct 17th 2008 10:16PM]

I picked up an Acer Aspire One last week. I can understand why they are so popular. I'm already using it more than I ever thought I would. The speed is much better than I expected, it has quick startup and recovery times from full boot and standby, and it's a hell of a lot easier to lug around than my widescreen T60p.

I even sold my portable memory card backup hard drive. This little machine serves the same purpose - I can backup all my travel pics at the end of each day. Although, I have the 160gb version...probably not as easy to do on the 8GB SSDs.

[Ruben @ Oct 18th 2008 10:34AM]

I was apprehensive about buying the AA1 at first. I didn't think i needed it. But i just had to get rid of my iBook since OSX sucks so much, so i finally bit the bullet and spent a 399 for Onyx Black 160GB. The best money Ive ever spent. I don't even find myself turning on my desktop PC unless I'm playing a game or re-encoding videos.

Even with Vista Business, my AA1 flies. Its one of the best purchases Ive made. I have no urge for a full laptop.

[ishism @ Oct 17th 2008 11:02PM]

Actually there is talk among other tech sites about Apple joining the netbook market. Though, a pricey netbook (not the MBA). Maybe sub $1000 netbooks.

[diode3diode @ Oct 18th 2008 12:55AM]

I'd rather not see an Apple netbook that is worth $1k. What if it becomes as popular as the ipod was when mp3's became popular. Then I think we'd all have to start forking over $1000 to be trendy.

[ngamer007 @ Oct 18th 2008 10:55AM]

I'm going to get down rated with this, but someone has to say it. Netbooks are garbage.

My fear is that companies will eventually stop pushing innovation in real notebooks if netbooks really take off. I don't want a tiny screen underpowered alternative, alternatives blow. I want a high performance, high end LCD, 13.3 or 14.1 notebook with a full featured optical drive, preferably with BD. I want options like a decent graphics card, HDMI out, a high resolution webcam with stereo mic. I want a full form keyboard, not a miniaturized crammed together one.

Sony predicted a "race to the bottom" and I really hope that doesn't become the case. Performance and value will always come before price.

[DBinSD @ Oct 19th 2008 3:26PM]

If that's what you want, buy one. But you aren't the only consumer in the world, and the fact that netbooks are selling like crazy is probably evidence that your personal preferences aren't the same as everyone else's.

[Adnan @ Oct 21st 2008 12:01PM]

if you knew the purpose of netbooks, you wouldn't call them garbage ngamer007. they're meant as second computers when you don't need a heavy and powerful notebook to do light work. but that doesn't mean sony's prediction is right. there is always going to be a need for innovated notebooks/desktops since they will always be used as PRIMARY computers and netbooks will never take that spot.

[lifepundit @ Oct 18th 2008 9:40PM]

I find these intriguing and if I had money for toys I'd get one, but when I tried typing on one at Best Buy I couldn't seem to adapt to the keyboard. I'm a lightning fast typist and writer and I would have to re-learn where the keys are to be happy with one of these.

Still, if other people aren't having that problem, maybe I could adapt. I'm still interested. It would beat typing with my thumbs on my Palm Treo.

[Horologium @ Oct 19th 2008 8:12AM]

Adnan has already responded (below), but let me expand upon his comments.

I have a laptop, a very good one, with a 15" 1920x1200 display, 2GB of memory, a DVD burner, and plenty of other bells and whistles. It also was about $3000 and weighs about eight pounds.

As a college student, I lug around about 10-15 pounds of textbooks every day. There is no way that I would add another eight pounds for a laptop, but a netbook which weighs less than 2 pounds is certainly feasible. For other college students (whose budgets are usually tight) a full-price notebook is not always affordable, but a $500 netbook (with internet connectivity and software compatability) is a great thing.

[Horologium @ Oct 19th 2008 9:07AM]

Ugh, the above post was intended as a reply to ngamer007's 10:55 post.