Third quarter sales for notebooks in SA grew more than 80% overall, compared to the same period last year, according to figures released by research company BMI-TechKnowledge.
BMI-T says in a new report that Acer was the significant mover in the market, surpassing Mecer and Dell to become the second largest notebook distributor in terms of sales. Proline was the only company to report a decrease in sales, dropping 12.4% to 920 units sold.
HP remained the dominant company in the market, obtaining year-on-year growth of 96% and unit sales totalling 13 505. While the gap between HP and Acer is considerable in terms of units, with Acer only having sold 8 417, Acer`s growth rate was the higher at 213.4%.
The top five notebook companies accounted for 80.1% of the total market share, with the last five in the top 10 sharing only 11.1%.
The reasons for this strong growth are varied. Tarsus Technologies director Guy Whitcroft says: "The price of notebooks has come down significantly, and costs are now similar to those of a desktop."
The upgrade in notebook performance, which has coincided with the price drop, has further increased the demand, adds Whitcroft.
BMI-T also attributes the notebook sales boom to the stronger rand as well as the removal of ad valorem tax on PCs. The research company estimates the SA notebook market owns a 20.5% share of the total South African PC market - up from 13.9% a year ago. These gains have had repercussions for the desktop industry, which has lost around 8% of its South African market share, and now stands at 78%, says BMI-T.
The increased demand for notebooks has come somewhat unexpectedly. "Sales have been so good worldwide that there is a shortage of TFT screens," says Whitcroft.
BMI-T forecasts that notebook sales are expected to continue to be strong in the next quarter, but will drop off in 2004 as market saturation begins to set in.
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