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Netbooks reshape the PC industry
- Telcos across EMEA and APAC rush to sell 3G netbooks
Palo Alto (US), Singapore and Reading (UK) – Thursday, 10
September
2009
For immediate release
- 13.5 million netbooks were sold worldwide in H1 2009
- More than 50 telcos have begun selling netbooks
- HP has the most telco deals overall, but Samsung has risen
quickly with the NC10
- Many established PC vendors have moved too slowly, including
Sony, Toshiba, Fujitsu and Lenovo
- Netbooks are three times as likely as notebooks to be used
in public places
- €100-€199 is the sweet spot for subsidy-driven netbooks
H1 2009 research highlights
The PC industry is undergoing a more dramatic transformation than
seen at any time in the last 15 years. The netbook category was
invented as recently as 18 months ago by the likes of Asus and Acer
and is the only PC segment enjoying growth this year. The impact of
netbooks has been profound. It has forced Microsoft to fend off a
threat from Linux by reducing its operating system prices and to
continue promoting its aging XP brand. Netbooks have dramatically
lowered industry price points, attracting new categories of consumer
buyers. Furthermore, hard-pressed PC vendors have been forced to cut
their operating costs to have any chance of turning a profit. The
biggest change of all has been the success the telcos have had in
selling subsidised 3G netbooks, emulating the mobile phone business
model. The market shares of PC vendors are changing rapidly on the
back of their willingness to commit to the netbook category and
their agility in chasing these new, substantial telco deals.
Tim Coulling, Canalys research analyst, said, “Our latest research
reveals that, in August, across Europe, the four PC vendors with the
most telco deals were Samsung, Asus, HP and Acer. The real surprise
has been how quickly the Korean vendors have moved to leverage their
mobile phone businesses, selling netbooks to telcos – LG’s netbooks
have become prominent in the major countries too. Samsung has
achieved great reviews for its NC10 netbook, primarily because of
its keyboard and extended battery life. Suddenly, Samsung is a force
to be reckoned with in the PC industry – it already has deals with
more than half of the telcos currently selling netbooks. Meanwhile,
traditional notebook category leaders – including Lenovo, Fujitsu,
Sony and Toshiba – have been slow to recognise how quickly the
market is changing around them and as a group they have signed fewer
than 10 operators.”
As well as being an important sales channel, the operators are
playing a pivotal marketing role for the netbook. The telcos have
massive retail and marketing coverage, so suddenly netbooks are
being promoted in newspapers, billboards and storefronts with a
prominence never before given to PCs. Vendors that are not present
in the telco channel are missing out on valuable promotional
opportunities. Netbooks and smart phones are finally justifying the
telcos’ massive infrastructure investments in mobile broadband. They
are seeing data revenues rise quickly to offset falling prices for
their voice services, and the business case for investments in LTE
are starting to look more promising.
Canalys research suggests that many netbooks are being sold as
additional devices, rather than as replacements for notebook PCs. A
Canalys survey of over 3,000 European consumers during August 2009
revealed that netbooks were three times as likely as notebooks to be
used in cafés, public parks or on trains. More than 45% of netbook
owners said that they took the device on vacation with them.
Daryl Chiam, senior analyst, continued, “The telco channel took
around six months longer to develop in APAC than in EMEA, but
activity has accelerated, especially in North Asia. We observed more
than double the number of netbook deals in telcos in August as we
did in June. The local vendors are moving fast in their home
countries, so Asus and Acer lead in Taiwan, Samsung and LG have the
deals in Korea, while Lenovo, Haier and Tsinghua Tongfang are active
in China. Sony, Toshiba and Sharp have all arranged deals in Japan.
HP’s superior coverage gives it the most deals overall across the
APAC region. We expect to see a rush of new deals across South East
Asia and Oceania toward the end of this year.”
In August, in both EMEA and APAC, the preferred range for subsidised
netbook prices was €100-€199 ($145-$290). Monthly contracts are more
common in Europe, whereas in APAC pre-pay is preferred, both through
embedded 3G and dongle options. Consequently, the subsidies on offer
from the telcos are around €60 ($97) higher in Europe than in Asia.
Apple has resisted the temptation to follow other PC vendors into
the telcos, despite the fact that its phenomenally successful iPhone
has given it these relationships. Its selling proposition and price
points for the Mac fit better with its own Apple retail stores, its
stores-within-stores, and its Premium Resellers and other partners.
Nokia, the smart phone leader, has, on the other hand, moved quickly
to launch its Windows-based Booklet. It has the best telco coverage
of any vendor, but it will be a surprise if it can succeed with
price points that are substantially higher than the competition.
Microsoft’s launch of Windows 7 next month is likely to provide a
further boost to the PC market, the consumer side of which has held
up surprisingly well during the summer months. Expect the
distinctions between smart phones, netbooks and notebooks to become
increasingly unclear over the next year as the screen sizes and
performance of netbooks increase while new operating systems and
processors are launched. Mobile devices, in all their different
forms, have been the bright points within the technology industry in
this difficult year. The competition and opportunities created
between these platforms will be discussed at the Canalys Mobility
Forum, taking place on November 17, near London’s Heathrow. Full details are available at
canalysmobilityforum.com.
About the services
The shipment estimates and research results discussed in this
release come from the Canalys Netbook Analysis and Consumer Mobility
Analysis services. Canalys offers services looking
at the markets by country in Asia Pacific, North and Latin America
and EMEA, as well as providing global market overviews and
survey-based analysis of consumer and enterprise attitudes and
preferences toward mobile applications, devices and services.
About Canalys
Canalys specialises in delivering high quality market data,
analysis and advice to the world’s leading technology vendors. It is
recognised as a key provider of continuous advisory services and
confidential custom projects for marketing managers and strategists
within blue-chip IT, telecoms, navigation and consumer electronics
companies. It has unrivalled expertise in routes to market for all
kinds of high technology products and services in the consumer, SMB
and large enterprise segments, and provides worldwide market data
and trends analysis.
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