Tech geeks may already be looking ahead to the next big thing in computing, but netbooks are still cornering more and more of the market.
DisplaySearch's latest quarterly report says the mini-notebooks took 22.2 percent of the portable computer market in Q2, compared to 17.8 percent in Q1, CNet reports. Accordingly, full-sized notebooks lost 4.4 percent of the market, dropping to 77.8 percent in market share.
In the second quarter last year, netbooks had just 5.6 percent of the market, with the rest going to notebooks. Both segments are still growing by leaps and bounds, but netbooks are blossoming faster, shipping an additional 40 percent last quarter compared to notebooks' 22 percent.
Not surprisingly, netbook pioneer Asus is losing market share as other companies such as Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo and Toshiba try to get in on the trend. More recently, Sony joined the netbook craze -- albeit with some reluctance -- and Nokia announced its first steps into computing with the upcoming Booklet 3G.
Subsidies from wireless carriers are a big driver for netbook demand, DisplaySearch says, particularly in Western Europe, where many carriers pay the computer's entire price tag in exchange for a two-year service contract. We've seen some temporary deals in the United States that approach a full subsidy, but nothing that truly rivals the deals available in Europe.
With that in mind, it'll be interesting to see what happens to netbook market share as computer makers begin rolling out inexpensive, ultrathin computers, dubbed "Consumer Ultra Low Voltage" PCs, in the months ahead. Acer just launched the $450 Aspire 1410 in the United States, and though it's only a bit larger than most netbooks at 11.6 inches, it's at least capable of playing a video without chopping up.
DisplaySearch says there's not enough data on U.S. netbook subsidies to know if they're successful. My suspicion is that people in the United States are just looking for a small, capable laptop for under $500, rather than a fully-mobile netbook complete with monthly data charges. If I'm right, CULV PCs could help notebooks get their market share back before long.
