Netbooks are proving to be a category worthy of attention. They have proven that miniaturisation does not have to cost a fortune as unique new designs and features are starting to be introduced as top vendors in the Gulf strive to differentiate from the competition.
The only segment among the Gulf's personal computer industry to witness a robust growth this year amid recession will be netbooks, also known as mini notebooks or second PC.
This year total netbook sales is expected to touch 474,082 units, a whopping 105.76 per cent increase compared to 230,399 units in 2008 with a market value of $215.16 million, according to IDC. Totally 230,399 units were sold in 2008 for a value of $104.23 million.
"Netbooks priced under $500 were identified as a fast-growing category. For users who do not need top-end processing or visualisation capabilities they fit the bill perfectly," said Madhav Narayan, General Manager, IT division at Samsung Gulf Electronics.
"The netbook demand is continuing to grow and the pace of the growth is well ahead of the overall PC growth. Netbooks will continue to grow and attract new customers in the future. After a few years of rapid growth we will see the netbook market mature and evolve year-on-year as new form factors and communication advancements are introduced.
"The advantages that netbook brings like form factor, battery life, communication and PC like performance will continue to attract customers and this is sure to continue for the foreseeable future," Mark Prosser, Product Marketing Manager for Mobility Products, Acer Computer, said.
"With the economy in its current state, a lot of people who are looking to buy PCs are increasingly turning to cheap, low-power mini-notebooks and as a result we are seeing strong pick up in this product segment.
"Much like Apple did with iTunes and iPod, the real opportunity for a netbook lies not in the hardware or applications that run directly on it, but in the services to which the device connects. This is where we will see the influence of netbooks - cloud-based applications," Narayan said.
Felix Baretto, Business Manager, Notebook PC, LG Electronics Gulf, said the netbook market will be divided to two parallel businesses. One, the operator will have stronger influence to netbook business. The reason is sharp demand of data. The market is full of external 3G modem and also 3G modem embedded systems.
What it reflects are from the big bang of the Internet, human life cannot be divided from digital date world. The operator is eager to gain control of the open market and profit from services. Two, the conventional market will grow as it is. Customers will be on the line to choose between conventional notebook and netbook. In the current situation, the hand to conventional notebook is high but the netbook technology is also evolving, the choice of the customer will shift more to emotional aspects than current practical aspects.
The only segment among the Gulf's personal computer industry to witness a robust growth this year amid recession will be netbooks, also known as mini notebooks or second PC.
This year total netbook sales is expected to touch 474,082 units, a whopping 105.76 per cent increase compared to 230,399 units in 2008 with a market value of $215.16 million, according to IDC. Totally 230,399 units were sold in 2008 for a value of $104.23 million.
"Netbooks priced under $500 were identified as a fast-growing category. For users who do not need top-end processing or visualisation capabilities they fit the bill perfectly," said Madhav Narayan, General Manager, IT division at Samsung Gulf Electronics.
"The netbook demand is continuing to grow and the pace of the growth is well ahead of the overall PC growth. Netbooks will continue to grow and attract new customers in the future. After a few years of rapid growth we will see the netbook market mature and evolve year-on-year as new form factors and communication advancements are introduced.
"The advantages that netbook brings like form factor, battery life, communication and PC like performance will continue to attract customers and this is sure to continue for the foreseeable future," Mark Prosser, Product Marketing Manager for Mobility Products, Acer Computer, said.
"With the economy in its current state, a lot of people who are looking to buy PCs are increasingly turning to cheap, low-power mini-notebooks and as a result we are seeing strong pick up in this product segment.
"Much like Apple did with iTunes and iPod, the real opportunity for a netbook lies not in the hardware or applications that run directly on it, but in the services to which the device connects. This is where we will see the influence of netbooks - cloud-based applications," Narayan said.
Felix Baretto, Business Manager, Notebook PC, LG Electronics Gulf, said the netbook market will be divided to two parallel businesses. One, the operator will have stronger influence to netbook business. The reason is sharp demand of data. The market is full of external 3G modem and also 3G modem embedded systems.
What it reflects are from the big bang of the Internet, human life cannot be divided from digital date world. The operator is eager to gain control of the open market and profit from services. Two, the conventional market will grow as it is. Customers will be on the line to choose between conventional notebook and netbook. In the current situation, the hand to conventional notebook is high but the netbook technology is also evolving, the choice of the customer will shift more to emotional aspects than current practical aspects.