The Quarterly Notebook PC Shipment and Forecast Report from DisplaySearch, an NPD Group (News - Alert) Company, shows that in Q2'09, the total notebook PC market posted strong Q/Q and Y/Y growth, particularly driven by the demand for mini-note PCs (netbooks).

 

In Q2'09, total notebook PC units sold surged past the 38 million mark, says DisplaySearch. The mini-notebook market displayed 40 percent Q/Q growth, contributing for 22.2 percent share to the portable computer market in Q2 09. Larger notebook PCs, on the other hand, grew 22 percent Q/Q.

 

The low-cost factor is mainly driving the mini-note penetration in Latin America and Greater China, finds the research. Many first-time PC buyers opt for the mini PCs as they do not require all high-end features offered by larger mainstream notebook PCs. The cost-factor of mini-notes also makes owning a secondary computer viable for many consumers.

Mini-note PCs have become an attractive promotional offer for telecom providers in several countries. This trend has propelled the growth of such PCs significantly. In Western Europe, a number of providers are subsidizing 100 percent of the price of the mini-note when the customer signs a two-year data plan contract.

 

While these incentives have been found quite successful in Europe, they have been picking up momentum in North America as a number of telecom providers in North America are aggressively marketing mini-notes with a two-year data plan contract, and some cable providers are offering heavily discounted mini-notes as an incentive to sign a contract for cable TV, Internet and phone service.