China’s netbook market offers high margins that no PC or CE vendor wants to miss. However, the market is not as big as it first seems, due to a few factors, according to In-Stat. First, 3G network capacity for data access remains limited. Second, Intel wants to limit market development in order to protect its notebook market. The chipmaker has also launched its latest ultra-low voltage (ULV) platform, which will further overlap the netbook market space.
“Future market trends for netbooks in China remain unclear,” says Ashley Liu, In-Stat analyst. “The result may be that the netbook ends up being a transitional product.”
Netbooks are smaller laptop computers, usually with an 8- to 12-inch screen, and are designed for wireless communications and Internet access.
Recent research by In-Stat found the following:
- In-Stat estimates that TD-SCDMA subscribers will number less than five million by 2011, indicating limited space for end-device market growth.
- A total of 2.46 million netbooks will be shipped in China this year, more than half via telco channels.
- China Mobile is offering 3 levels of promotional netbook price subsidies. However, In-Stat expects operators to decrease operator subsidies over the next three years.
- Vendors including Samsung and Freescale, have introduced ARM-based solutions targeting Shanzhai (cloned) netbook vendors who have been unable to get Atom chipsets from Intel.
In-Stat
