Consumers' portable PC choices are increasingly being limited, as diversified electronics companies gear up for a future in which notebooks are no longer a viable product offering; set to be replaced by more flexible tablet-like formats.
Competition in the local market has already been trimmed as Samsung has stopped bringing its notebooks into the country, a move preceded by Sony's ditching of the segment. While tablets are becoming an increasingly important part of the market, this does not mean notebooks will die out, as companies - like Lenovo - that focus solely on that market will still be around.
World Wide Worx MD Arthur Goldstuck says a major alignment of the PC market is under way, which will speed up market restructuring, with PCs and notebooks becoming a specialty area on the one side, while smartphones and tablets become commodity items on the other.
Shifting landscape
Goldstuck notes there is nothing wrong with the functionality of the form factor, but the shift to tablets means those companies - like Samsung and Sony - which are diversified, will continue to follow mobility trends.
Falling sales of notebooks opens up new markets for diverse manufacturers, which are moving further into flexible tablet formats, says Goldstuck. He notes, however, Lenovo has bucked the trend by increasing PC sales, and continuing to innovate in laptops. "Samsung's move out of notebooks will be good news for it and the likes of Acer, which is also not big in smartphones, and HP, which has little mobile presence at all."
Goldstuck adds demand for consumer technology products is at an all-time high, so for some it is a question of who can grab the most market share in the most attractive categories. "Outside the smartphone and tablet arena, there will be less choice in the local market, but also an easier decision-making process."
Sharpening focus
Craig Brunsden, AxizWorkgroup's executive for software and enterprise, says notebooks will continue to exist, despite pressure in the space. He notes Samsung and Sony have exited for different reasons.
Brunsden says these moves signal the need for manufacturers to sharpen their focus, and the growing importance of tablets and handheld devices. Despite the shift, no other manufacturers have announced similar moves, and are investing in notebooks, especially touch versions with Windows 8, he notes.
Mustek CEO and co-founder David Kan believes Samsung and Sony's market share - under 5% globally - will be absorbed by other brands. "Both notebook and desktop devices are here to stay, because there is no replacement for them. Tablets and smartphones serve as complementary products to notebooks and desktops."
At the bottom
According to International Data Corporation (IDC), PC shipments in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) dropped 1.1% in the first quarter of the year, to 21.8 million units. Desktop PC shipments increased 1.4%, while portable PCs continued to contract by 2.6%, it said.
Samsung has cited the IDC's latest research - showing the local PC marked dropped 18.8% year-on-year while tablets gained 107.1% - after it announced it would no longer bring notebooks into SA. Instead, the electronics company is shifting towards solutions that are aligned with the evolution of the technology market and the changing end-user demands.
Brunsden says the group's sales in the past quarter have "not been exciting in terms of growth" and AxizWorkgroup feels the market has bottomed, although there should be modest growth ahead.
Share