Are Tablet PCs Killing The Netbook?
This time last year, netbook sales were up nearly 900% from the same quarter a year earlier. No one really expected that growth rate to continue, but no one really expected netbook sales to fall off of a cliff, either. But while we’re on the subject, no one really expected Tablet PCs to explode in the way they have, with Apple’s iPad already selling over one million units and tons of competitors just around the corner. It made sense when netbooks began to eat into conventional notebook sales somewhat, but they didn’t really put a huge dent in things. Many people purchased netbooks as “second notebooks,” meaning that they simply went from owning one mobile PC to two. But this whole netbook/tablet debate is something different. According to Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty, growth of U.S. netbook sales have been slipping since January. Katy contends that this has a lot to do with Apple’s huge marketing push surrounding the iPad launch, and sales dipped further in April when the iPad s
