New kids on the computing block

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: When Nokia and Sony log into the nascent netbook market, the computing world is bound to take notice. While the world’s largest mobile phone maker is touting a feature packed bundle of connectivity, consumer electronics giant Sony is promising to add a touch of style. After shying away from these small Web connected computers for long, both are promising to increase the decibel level in the already buzzing market.

PC bigwigs including Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Lenovo, Acer, ASUS, HCL and Zenith have already been pushing their netbook offerings since last year. The new high-profile launches are not only bringing the entire netbook category into limelight, but also morphing the basic characteristics of these compact Web connected computers.

Netbooks are gradually evolving from the stripped down compact cousins of notebooks to small power packed bundles of connectivity on the go. While price tags still tend to be lower than laptops, low prices are clearly not the sole selling point. “These gadgets have broadened the spectrum of the global PC market in a spectacular way mainly because of their favourable feature to cost ratio. Given the low PC penetration rate, we believe, there is huge potential for the netbook category in India,” says S Rajendran, CMO, Acer India.

Shipments in the second quarter almost doubled over the first quarter of 2009 in India, according to IDC’s latest numbers. Sale of about 42,000 netbooks last quarter might not sound all that impressive, but it is more than the total number sold in the entire year 2008.

“The mini notebook PC segment saw the emergence of new entrants like BenQ and Samsung, while existing players like Acer, Asus, and Lenovo have moved to consolidate their positions. With more vendors slated to enter this space and with the launch of Microsoft’s Windows 7 OS lined up for October 2009, the India mini notebook PC space could see a lot more traction in the forthcoming quarters,” says Sumanta Mukherjee, lead PC analyst, IDC India. As per IDC estimates, the worldwide mini notebook market is expected to grow from 11.6 million units in 2008 to over 50 million units by 2013.