The global notebook market will continue to contract next year, although at a much gentler pace, Taipei-based market intelligence firm WitsView forecast on Wednesday.
Notebook shipments are projected to fall by 10 percent annually to 167 million units this year due to the stagnant global economy and the slowing pace of touchscreen product adoption, a WitsView report released on Wednesday said.
Global shipments are expected to decline by just 1 to 2 percent next year, and are to return to growth in 2015, when they are to rise 2.8 percent, followed by 3.6 percent the next year, WitsView predicted.
“Consumers will remain hesitant next year on whether they should buy a tablet-notebook hybrid device or a traditional notebook plus a tablet,” it said in the report.
It remains to be seen if Microsoft Corp or Intel Corp will launch new subsidy strategies for their manufacturing partners to help lower touchscreen notebooks prices.
Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) benefited from such a strategy when Microsoft launched its 10.1-inch Transformer Book T100 for as low as US$349, WitsView said.
Next year will be a critical year for Acer Inc (宏碁) because the Taiwanese company is lagging behind its rivals in the tablet and smartphone markets, it added.
WitsView said Acer’s notebook shipments are to fall 27 to 30 percent annually to between 17 million and 18 million units next year, unseating it as the world’s third-largest PC maker by market share.
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