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Netbooks enjoy 'explosive' growth in 2008, says IDC

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18th Feb 2009
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Market analyst IDC has confirmed that a major sales boom in super-small "netbooks" from the likes of Acer and Asus injected life into an otherwise sluggish European PC market in late 2008.

IDC's figures show that thanks to consumer demand in the run up to Christmas, 3.6m "mini notebooks" were sold fourth quarter of 2008, representing 20% of all PCs sold.

Q4 2008 netbook sales
  1. Acer 30.3%
  2. Asus 28.0%
  3. HP 7%
  4. Samsung 6.4%
  5. Dell 4.3%
  6. Others 23.9%

Source: IDC PC Tracker Q408

"Mini-notebooks were one of the most sought-after items in the Christmas season, particularly in Western Europe, which represented over 80% of volumes,'' said Eszter Morvay, research manager at IDC's EMEA personal computing group. ''Driven by strong vendor and channel push, consumers benefited from the plethora of new models appearing on the shelves from October onwards."

While Asus led the way with its Eee PC range, there are now more than 50 suppliers offering similar products in Europe, she added.

Mobile phone operators have become a key channel in the netbook market, and are attracted by the lower size and costs of machines they can offer as inducements for 3G broadband contracts. Acer worked this sector well to achieve a 30% share of mini-notebook sales during the quarter.

Boasting the "largest and most complete product portfolio", Asus sustained its influential position with a 28% share of unit sales. With the launch of machines such as the HP Mini 700, Samsung NC-10 and Dell Inpiron Mini, the big manufacturers are now setting their sights on this thriving sector.

IDC predicted that netbooks will continue to drive PC sales with double-digit growth rates in 2009. Manufacturers will continue to expand their portfolios with larger, more powerful 10-inch machines and touchscreen devices designed to work with Windows 7. While nini-notebooks would expand the market for portable PCs in Europe, they will "continue to shake the industry from both a go-to-market and a pricing perspective", IDC said.

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