Report claims 14.6 million netbooks shipped in 2008, further growth expected
By Donald Melanson 
posted Feb 2nd 2009 3:51PM
posted Feb 2nd 2009 3:51PM
While any number of total netbooks shipped or sold is bound to be a little suspect, given that many folks can't even agree on what a netbook is, this latest report from research firm DisplayBank at least gives us a decent impression, and confirms what many likely thought. According to the report, the total netbook shipments for 2008 reached an impressive 14.6 million, with Acer and ASUS leading the way with a 37.3% and 33.2% market share, respectively, and HP a distant third with 7.5%. Those numbers, however, represent just 11% of total laptop sales, although DisplayBank sees that share increasing to 18.9% by 2012. As you might have guessed, to arrive at the number, the folks from DisplayBank also offered up their own definition of a netbook, which they describe as "as having similar functions as NotePC, supports networking and have retail price lower than US$650. Especially, products are narrowed with screen size of 7 – 10.2 inch and with Linux or Microsoft Windows operating system equipped." Yeah, that'll settle things.
[Via China Times]
[Via China Times]
The weird thing is.. you never see anyone with them
Then you aren't looking hard enough. I see them everywhere. Planes, classes, lunch breaks, cafes, conventions, hotel lobbies, etc.
my boss ordered one and was all psyched about it. then it arrived and it was seen. the next day it disappeared and was never mentioned again. I think cousin oliver stole it.
yeah I never see anyone with them either.
I find them kinda pointless. but to each his own.
Depends on where you live. Seriously, what you see depends so much on where and how you live. Here's what I see:
NYU: Fairly common in classes and lounges.
Manhattan: Very common in Starbucks.
Hong Kong (Island/Kowloon): Very common, especially at PCC.
I have one and I've seen a few people in some of my classes with one. The ones that have never seen a netbook ask me if actually a computer...they're amazed.
I see them everywhere in college. They've become the new Dell Inspiron 15's (and MacBooks) that used to rule the roost in lecture halls and cafes.
You don't see them because they are only used by ninjas. (survey says, people like cheap and new, duh)
wow very cool
SPAM. Don't click.
with an alexa ranking of 1,093,615...apparently you "Are 'NOT' getting the best results from your web site"...and spamming these posts won't work either.
Can we just agree that the line between Netbook and Notebook doesn't fucking exist anymore?! A "Netbook." No, it's just a cheap laptop. In some cases, the only distinguishing feature from a "Netbook" and "Notebook" is the Atom processor! Since when did a slow processor create a whole new category of product!? I guess all those old Celeron laptops were netbooks!
Retarded.
The point of calling them netbook is because they are way smaller than your usual laptop (most of which are between 13 and 16") and these lack any kind of DVD drives (sure there are some that lack it as well at 13"...)
I actually like the idea that they are separated. Think of it this way. All netbooks are notebooks, but not all notebooks are netbooks (I forget what that is actually called xD)
I had a Dell Latitude X1. That had a 12 inch screen and a terrible 1.1ghz proc. That was a laptop? Or a netbook? Well, it existed before the marketing shitstorm of "netbook," so it was a normal laptop.
But your Latitude is ancient compared to these. It was decent at the time, but the netbooks are much smaller and should I say, underpowered? These are less than an average laptop in my view.
20 year old laptops had screens around 8-11 inches.
I beg to differ....
I had a 286 laptop with a 5" monochrome LCD. The small screen didn't affect overall size though, because it was the size of a typewriter and probably weighed 20 lbs. ;)
@Patriks7
you mean
netbooks is a subset of notebook
Blue Steel, Ferrari, Le Tigre?
They're the same face!
Doesn't anyone notice this?
I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!
I guess Apple was right....netbooks are doomed. Oh wait, they aren't. I guess they are doomed until Apple releases one.
Yeah... so if 15million of these have been sold, let's say Apple could have sold at least 1/4 to 1/3 of the market @ $600? That's roughly $2.5Billion.
Glad we're not in a recession, right, my dear Apple benefactors?
There is no such thing as a NETBOOK anymore. They're just notebooks with slow processors. Hell, with some of these netbooks, the only thing making it a "netbook" is an Atom CPU. Since then the fuck did a slow CPU shift a laptop into an ENTIRELY NEW category of electronics?! I guess all those old Celeron laptops were the first netbooks!
Retarded.
maybe when laptops became the size of a notebook instead of taking up my entire lap.
Yes you already made your point.
That's like saying why do they make 64 bit and 32 bit operating systems, the only difference is the amount of RAM you can use. Why label them different they do the same thing. It's just a different type of operating system. Same thing here, it's just a different type of PC, yeah it looks the same, works pretty much the same, but functions differently.
For fuck's sake, Engadget gives me a message "SENT AN E-MAIL! CONFIRM YOUR COMMENT!" So I say UGH and I write the whole thing again and get the same message. And now it's here twice. What the hell, hasn't Engadget been around for centuries? Let's fix the commenting.
One look?
One look? I don't think so!
woot!
netbooks FTW!
ii see them everywhere at school. i would guess 25% of students got them when i went to the library last week. no lie.
Couldn't you have made that chart just a LITTLE more eye-pleasing? lulz n00b
Due to the tough recession, engadget has resorted to using MS Paint for getting things done. Don't let the Excel look fool you.
They are ubiquitous at Starbucks. A netbook has a smaller keyboard as well as a beloved Atom.
That's a crap graph.
Very unclear.
Netbook Rulz !
anything that goes from 0.6% to 11% in one year is pretty impressive to me, go netbooks:)
The real question is: Which is more nascent - the netbook market or Steve Jobs' rationalizations.
Im still waiting for thar touch screen eeepc.
Netbooks are pure trash so far. Those Atom processors can't even open a big Word document... MacBook Air is the best laptop for the size and speed, I have 3 at our office and all run Windows XP on VM environments - without a hiccup. www.AtomicSub.net, don't miss it. Seriously...
Why didn't you waste your money elsewhere and just get some fuckin' Windows laptops instead? The MacBook Air is the slowest piece of shit for the money on the market. You complain about power and then cite the Air as your alternative? Stupid.
look at that trajectory. its decelerating. LOL.
Furthermore, how much PROFIT is happening on these things. Who cares about markethshare when you're making 5 cents a unit.
Again. iPod touch killers, these things are not!
how do you compare an ipod touch with a netbook? i piss on ipod touch's
of course its 'decelerating' you expect netbooks to take over the entire portable computer market? idiot
They actually expect that much growth in a recession that's sweeping multiple nations? Hah. All tech is going to take a dive.
Today after class, I sat in a common area and surfed the tubes on my laptop. After my session, I got up and saw a person with an EeePC behind me at another table.
I've played with demo units at the store before, but this thing is so ridiculously small that it even looks uncomfortable to use. Hence, I purchased a laptop instead of a netbook.
i think a refurbished macbook air is a deal at $999.00. i tried out a lenovo s10 at circuit city a few months back and was not impressed. keyboard is cramped, trackpad is laughable in size. perhaps that shouldn't be an overall impression of all netbooks, but i was disappointed. there are definitely flaws to the macbook air (no express card slot, one usb, etc), but i'd opt for that any day over a netbook. you get a full illuminated keyboard, a huge trackpad, multitouch, a nice bright screen, n draft. and no i'm not an apple fanboy, i own and use both pc's and macs.
Too bad you did not like the S-10.
I use one as my daily machine and cary it around. The touch pad area IS small, but, I use a Logitech wireless mouse with a tiny USB dongle, a V450, which stays in all the time. At first, the smaller keyboard felt, well, smaller. But, it was not that hard to get used to.
I was thinking of a Thinkpad X series (for $2K) The netbook really is a distinct category. The S-10 is the BEST netbook......
just waiting on: nvidia 9400M, a manufacturer, and a price ~$500: then we will see how has the greatest portable gaming after a little duck tape.
I mean comparatively to DS and PSP and maybe the GP2X Wiz
I KNEW the Vaio P wasn't a netbook, 900 dollars is just ridiculous. We finally have that settled.