iPad, the Netbook Killer?

[Jeff Campbell]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://theappleblog.com/2010/05/06/ipad-slayer-of-netbook-sales/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+TheAppleBlog+(TheAppleBlog)' target='_blank'>http://theappleblog.com/2010/05/06/...+(TheAppleBlog)</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"The iPad may be partially or even primarily responsible for the slow demise of netbook sales, according to Morgan Stanley market (via Fortune) analyst Katy Huberty. In a report released Thursday for Morgan Stanley clients, the impact of the iPad is causally linked to the rapid decline of the netbook sales growth curve."</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/at/auto/1273193534.usr105634.jpg" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></p><p>They point to a couple of issues to defend their premise. The first is that graph above, that shows the drop off in sales starting in December of last year and continuing through January when the iPad was introduced. The other is a March survey that said 44% of potential netbook purchasers were instead holding off to buy an iPad. Something is causing the drop off, and these sound logical, what are your thoughts?</p>

[eugarps]

Sounds spot on to me. I think the iPad is the simple device folks have been wanting to carry and Windows based machine producers gave them, essentially a small notebook. My Thinkpad X40 is just like a netbook only with a slightly larger screen.

My thoughts,

Bill

[doogald]

It could also be natural market saturation - everyone who wanted a Netbook has already bought one.

[Sven Johannsen]

Certainly could be related. It is a device that may appear to be a netbook substitute and suck people in for that reason. Not sure how a device with a base price higher than most netbooks should be taking sales from them, especially when it clearly does less. Not to say it doesn't do everything most (many?) want to do, just that it does it at greater cost, and doesn't do more. I notice the chart is of growth, not of sales, so netbook sales is actually still growing, though very slowly. I'm like doogald, could be that everyone that was itching for a netbook has one. Even those that have had one for a while can really refresh their machine by throwing Windows 7 on it.

You can make statistics say pretty much what you want, and justify any conclusion with statistics, but I have to be pretty leary of a conclusion that iPads are killing netbooks by a guy whose closing paragraph begins, "Will the iPad kill the netbook? I hope so,".

[Jason Dunn]

It could also be natural market saturation - everyone who wanted a Netbook has already bought one.

Bing. Netbooks aren't nearly the big deal they were even 12 months ago, so I'm not at all surprised to see sales dropping off. I've sold a couple of netbooks via Kijiji (think Craigslist) lately, and while they sold quickly, I think that people who want a netbook know there are a lot on the used market now. Plus, netbook technology has stayed virtually stagnant over the past while - other than Windows 7 on netbooks, there's not a lot new with them.

The iPad certainly did not kill the netbook.