It's been a hot year for Netbooks, but not so much for the rest of the portable PC market.
Netbook sales are likely to hit $11.4 billion this year, a 72 percent rise from last year, thanks to a 103 percent leap in shipments, according to a new report from DisplaySearch. But notebook revenue overall will be down around 7 percent from last year.
The latest DisplaySearch Quarterly Notebook PC Shipment and Forecast Report, released Tuesday, found that the surge in Netbook (mini-notebook) sales was not enough to offset declines for ultra-portables and larger laptops. Aside from Netbooks, annual revenue will likely be down in every portable PC category.
Though notebook shipments are expected to grow 5 percent for the year, average selling prices (ASPs) will show a 20 percent drop as vendors have slashed prices throughout the year, DisplaySearch has forecasted . Average prices for Netbooks and 13-inch to 16-inch notebooks will probably be down 15 percent for the year, a significant cut as these two categories make up 85 percent of the overall notebook market.
(Credit:
DisplaySearch)
For 2010, notebook shipments will rise by 16 percent, predicts DisplaySearch, thanks to better than average gains in Netbooks and ultra-portables. The CULV (Consumer Ultra-Low Voltage) market will drive growth with an array of new 11.6-inch and 12-inch portables sporting prices under $500. However, sales next year will likely be flat or down for most portable segments, except desktop replacement, which should enjoy growth of 21 percent over 2009.
The popularity of Netbooks may start to fade next year, DisplaySearch said. Shipments could rise 20 percent, but sales will flatten, and then drop in 2011 as prices come down and performance goes up for ultra-portables and larger notebooks.
(Credit:
DisplaySearch)
"Our long-term outlook is that the mini-note share of the notebook PC market has stabilized, and will remain at approximately 20 percent through 2011 before starting to erode," said John F. Jacobs, DisplaySearch director of Notebook Market Research, in a statement. "While mini-notes offer lower ASPs and are thinner and lighter than notebook PCs, the performance of larger notebook PCs continues to improve while prices continue to steadily decline, increasing the performance gap while narrowing the price gap."
While it's now easy to get a desktop with a terabyte or more of storage, it's still pretty hard to find a laptop with even 300GB. That's why I am very impressed with the Portege R600-ST4203 laptop that Toshiba announced Thursday.
The Portege R600-ST4203 is one of world's first laptops with 512GB of storage and it's definitely the first with that much storage in the form of a solid-state drive (SSD). Until now, most SSDs for laptops have remained in the 32GB to 128GB capacity range.
A Protege R600 laptop from Toshiba.
(Credit: CNET)The Portege R600-ST4203 is the newest model in Toshiba's Portege R600 ultraportable series. It weighs just 2.4 pounds and is only 0.77 inch thin, which is about as thin as the Macbook Air. It has a durable, shock-absorbing chassis, and a 12.1-inch wide-screen LED display. The laptop includes Windows Vista Business and is powered by Intel's Ultra Low Voltage Core 2 Duo SU94005 processor.
The SSD used in the Portege R600-ST4203 is Toshiba's newest second-generation SSD, which features SATA standard and multilevel cell (MLC) NAND flash memory technology. The MLC NAND technology helps increase the density of the SSD, thus allowing more storage space. However, this means it is not the fastest SSD you can find. High-speed SSDs normally use single-level cell NANDs, like the Intel X-25E Extreme does. Nonetheless, Toshiba's 512GB SSD will likely be faster than traditional 5400rpm hard drives found in most notebooks.
Toshiba expects the new machine to provide customers with an enhanced level of protection, portability, reliability, and fast data access. The company claims that the adoption of this 512GB solid-state technology enables the user to enjoy shorter boot times, faster application loading, and access times that are 300 percent faster than 128GB or smaller SSDs.
While those claims still need to be verified, one thing is for sure: the new laptop isn't cheap. It's going to be available for purchase early next month exclusively on Toshiba's Web site for an estimated $3,500.
(Credit:
Gigabyte)
Though better known for making mainboards than consumer electronics, Gigabyte's first foray into the UMPC market--the U60--was surprisingly competent and incorporated a few innovative features such as split keyboard and GPS/TV tuner expansion slots.
The changes in the new Gigabyte M704 are mostly cosmetic, though the VIA processor has been bumped up to 1.2GHz and its screen has grown from 6.5 to 7 inches, obviating the need to scroll sideways on some Web sites designed for viewing in 1,024-pixel resolution. Despite the larger display and faster processor, the battery life remains similar to the U60 at around three hours--that's rather mediocre considering models like the Everun and Kohjinsha SA1 can go on for a couple more hours.
We're waiting to hear word on its availability but, in the meantime, here are other features from the company's product page:
- 1.2GHz VIA processor
- 768MB RAM
- 40GB or 60GB HDD
- 7-inch LED-backlit screen
- 2 x USB 2.0; VGA output; SD/MMC card reader
- Built-in Webcam
- 780g weight
(Source: Crave Asia)
When the Kohjinsha SA1 was released outside Japan, it made waves as the first UMPC priced as low as $658. Though the coming of the cheaper ASUS Eee PC has stolen the former's thunder, we were still excited to see the SA1's successor as it could well be the cheapest Vista UMPC in the market (ASUS is based on Linux).
(Credit:
Crave Asia)
We played around with the new Kohjinsha SH6 display unit and were impressed that the Japanese company actually listened to consumer feedback. The keyboard is now head and shoulders above the SA1. The screen can be rotated with a touch of a button, while a Webcam sits above the display. The memory card slot is now SDHC as well as Memory Stick compatible.
However, the fact that the screen has been bumped up to 1,240x600 resolution is a mixed bag. On the one hand, Web sites can now be fully viewed without any side scrolling. On the other, reading the 7-inch screen is now a lot more eye-straining. Priced at $921, it is currently being distributed in Singapore by PA Mart and also cheaper than the Fujitsu LifeBook U1010, which runs on Windows Vista Home Basic Edition as well.
We will be getting our hands on a test unit soon so watch out for our full review.
(Source: Crave Asia)
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