PC and notebook sales dropped yet again in December, falling 11% from November, which had already seen a 12% drop from October. These drops during the holiday quarter show just how aggressively tablets are now eating into PC sales. There is, however, one small segment of the notebook market that saw remarkable growth during the holiday months.
Chromebooks led the notebook segment during 2013. The smaller, less-expensive notebooks are proving a hit with consumers that are looking for mobility above much else in their tech products.
A new DigiTimes report today predicts that brand-name notebook manufacturers have begun to take note, and that a flood of new Chromebook models will be headed to store shelves in 2014. According to the report’s unnamed “industry sources,” Samsung, HP, Asus, Acer, and Toshiba all have new Chromebooks in the works and will unveil them this year. Asus in particular is said to have two Chromebook models in the works, an 11.6-inch one and a 13.3-inch one. Both will be priced competitively with tablets, being below $350.
According to DigiTimes, the Chromebook market thus far has been led by consumers who use the devices for simple tasks such as web browsing or documents. The devices now make up a quarter of the sub-$300 notebook segment. Looking toward the future, DigiTimes’ sources have pointed out that manufacturers are seeing increased Chromebook orders from enterprise customers, a trend that could put even more pressure on Microsoft’s Windows 8 as consumers shift away from Windows XP.
