Yes, I said laptop demand. As in, not just netbooks – everything.
Laptop demand has been fairly strong in the past year, which was surprising considering the state of the world economy. Laptops are not inexpensive, and I rather expected a plunge. Instead, market research groups showed that laptop shipments were on the rise. Part of that rise was netbooks, but even with netbooks discounted, laptop shipments rose 43.4 percent in the first quarter of 2010, and worldwide growth of the PC market was expected to rise by as much as 22 percent throughout 2010.
But alas, it appears some storm clouds are gathering. According to Digitimes, motherboard makers are starting to cut their performance forecasts for late 2010 because of a reduction in orders. Because all computers require motherboards, a reduction in motherboard orders directly translates to a reduction in the number of PCs which are going to be shipped.
How bad will the damage be? Hard to say. We’ll have to see how this one plays out world-wide. While American returns back to school soon, and millions of students prepare to buy laptops, Europe continues to flirt with economic disaster. The later, I’d wager, has far more effect on global notebook demand than the former.
Source: Digitimes
You must log in to post a comment.