Netbooks Doomed: Small Laptop Computers In The Brink Of Extinction By 2015?

Netbooks are doomed to extinction by 2015, a report says.

Netbooks doomed to oblivion in 3 years?

For some period of time the hottest computer product that sold in tens of millions of units each year, netbook computers, are now marking the last of their days, with tablets rapidly conquering the computer industry causing their shipments to go down to virtually none after next year, according to an IHS iSuppli Compute Electronics Market Tracker Report from information and analytics provider IHS.
   
Statistics shows shipments of netbooks this year are forecast to amount to just 3.97 million units, a great decline of 72 percent from 14.13 million units in 2012. The market for the small, lightweight and inexpensive laptops had made a steady climb to the top for three years from the time they were first introduced in 2007, made its peak in 2010 when shipments hit as high as 32.14 million units. But since Apple’s iPad, however, the netbooks' fame had collapsed and gone into rapid decline.

According to the report, next year will be the last blow for netbooks on the market, with shipments amounting to a mere 264,000 units. By 2015, netbook shipments will be down to zero.

"Netbooks shot to popularity immediately after launch because they were optimized for low cost, delivering what many consumers believed as acceptable computer performance,” said Craig Stice, Senior Principal Analyst for computer platforms at IHS. "Initially intended for light productivity tasks such as web browsing and email, netbooks eventually became more powerful, taking advantage of a mature PC technology that allowed cost-effective implementation of various functionalities. And though never equaling the performance of full-fledged notebooks and lacking full laptop features like an optical drive, netbooks at one point began taking market share away from their more powerful cousins. However, netbooks began their descent to oblivion with the introduction in 2010 of Apple’s iPad."

The tablet market has boomed at a rate that has astounded even the industry analysts. Last year, its shipments conveniently surpassed industry estimates and this year, analysts believe that the market will record its best year ever as tablets unceasingly continue to take sales away not only from netbooks, but also from more powerful notebooks and desktop computer models.

"The iPad and other tablets came in a new form factor that excited consumers while also offering improved computing capabilities, leading to a massive loss of interest in netbooks," noted Stice.

The major manufacturers and suppliers of notebooks will have already ended netbook production at this point. Whatever production is left is expected to be limited, or manufacturers will simply be shipping last-time builds to fulfill contractual obligations to customers.