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According to a forecast by IHS iSuppli, netbooks are in their final days and will be extinct by 2015, thanks to the popularity of tablets.
For 2013, netbook shipments are expected to fall to 3.97 million units, down 72 per cent from 2012.
“The market for the small, inexpensive notebooks had steadily climbed for three years from the time the devices were first introduced in 2007, peaking in 2010 when shipments hit a high of 32.14 million units. Since then, however, the netbook space has imploded and gone into decline – fast,” noted IHS iSuppli.
The researcher seems to point the finger at Apple’s iPad when trying to explain the downfall of the netbook.
As netbooks hit their peak of 32.14 million in 2010, along came the iPad and it’s at that point sales started to dip. Just one year later and there were over ten million less netbooks being sold.
"Initially intended for light productivity tasks such as web browsing and email, netbooks eventually became more powerful, taking advantage of a mature PC technology that allowed cost-effective implementation of various functionalities. And though never equaling the performance of full-fledged notebooks and lacking full notebook features like an optical drive, netbooks at one point began taking market share away from their more powerful cousins.
“However, netbooks began their descent to oblivion with the introduction in 2010 of Apple’s iPad."
Skeleton laptop image via ShutterStock.com
