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ChipConnoisseur
I don't think ultrabooks will help the PC market recover. The decline will be ...
joshxdr
Well said. I can remember thinking that it sure would be nice to view content on ...
Ultrabooks to the rescue?
Dylan McGrath
2/20/2013 3:08 PM EST
Second half looks better
Lin said consumers remain wary as uncertainties linger in the global economy. Slowing in the markets of Europe, China and the U.S. is further depressing sales, he said.
“However, an expected increase in demand for Ultrabooks and other ultra-thins will help reignite notebook PC shipments from ODMs to their client OEMs in the second half,” Lin said
IHS said it expects the ODM market to recover, starting in the second half of the year. At the close of 2013, notebook shipments from ODMs to client OEMs will rise 5 percent from their 2012 level of 156.9 million units, IHS estimates.
The top 5 ODMs—all based in Taiwan—are employed by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), which use them on an outsourced or contract manufacturing basis to make computers that are then branded by the OEM and sold.
Among OEMs, Hewlett-Packard Co. last year outsourced its notebook PCs to Taiwanese-based ODMs like Quanta Computer, Compal, Wistron, Inventec, Pegatron and Hon Hai, according to IHS. Lenovo did the same, contracting out to Quanta, Compal, Wistron and Pegatron, IHS said.
Meanwhile, the ODM Quanta had its hands full with orders from computer makers such as HP, Lenovo, Dell, Acer, Asus, Toshiba, Apple, Sony and Fujitsu, IHS said.
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Lin said consumers remain wary as uncertainties linger in the global economy. Slowing in the markets of Europe, China and the U.S. is further depressing sales, he said.
“However, an expected increase in demand for Ultrabooks and other ultra-thins will help reignite notebook PC shipments from ODMs to their client OEMs in the second half,” Lin said
IHS said it expects the ODM market to recover, starting in the second half of the year. At the close of 2013, notebook shipments from ODMs to client OEMs will rise 5 percent from their 2012 level of 156.9 million units, IHS estimates.
The top 5 ODMs—all based in Taiwan—are employed by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), which use them on an outsourced or contract manufacturing basis to make computers that are then branded by the OEM and sold.
Among OEMs, Hewlett-Packard Co. last year outsourced its notebook PCs to Taiwanese-based ODMs like Quanta Computer, Compal, Wistron, Inventec, Pegatron and Hon Hai, according to IHS. Lenovo did the same, contracting out to Quanta, Compal, Wistron and Pegatron, IHS said.
Meanwhile, the ODM Quanta had its hands full with orders from computer makers such as HP, Lenovo, Dell, Acer, Asus, Toshiba, Apple, Sony and Fujitsu, IHS said.
Related stories:
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Bert22306
2/20/2013 3:58 PM EST
I'd like to see what success the Surface Pro will have. Too bad that its $900 price tag seems simply too high.
Cheap(er) tablets will of course outsell more useful appliances, such as laptops and notebooks. I don't know why the trade press hasn't understood this yet. They are a different animal. Tablets are more a replacement for printed media, books, magazines, newspapers, than they are a functional replacement for notebooks or laptops.
The fact that many people had no choice but to use laptops to do "information consumption" previously does not change this reality, I don't think.
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GQQSER2
2/20/2013 5:59 PM EST
Several factors from my point of view. 1. The advancement of software we witnessed in the past that limited a computer's efficiency has seemed to slow down to the point where PC's and laptops live much longer - why upgrade? 2. Pricing for ultrabooks when there are much cheaper brand names running Intel i5 or i7 processors that consumers are very comfortable with at the moment. 3. How robust is the mechanical interface between screen and laptop body - how many cycles before my kids break it is seriously on my mind for a $1,000 device. 4. Alternatives -$300 for a standard laptop plus a $199 tablet (let's say Google Nexus 7) and I have spent half the money for an ultrabook. 5. As Bert mentioned, many mainstream, general public consumers are looking for devices for "information consumption" in a mobile way. And why wouldn't they be - they've been conditioned for this with smart phones. Unless there is some game changing feature, I am not interested in an expensive Ultrabook, unless, of course, my employer buys me one.
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DrQuine
2/20/2013 7:10 PM EST
The product price pyramid has been up-ended. No longer is there a simple continuum from big and cheap desktop computers to small and expensive laptops. SmartPhones, iPads, Ultrabooks, Notebooks and tablets have divided the market into many niches. The value proposition of a Ultrabook is no longer clear.
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joshxdr
2/21/2013 12:47 PM EST
Well said. I can remember thinking that it sure would be nice to view content on the internet without being perched at my desk in front of my PC. Then wireless LAN came around, and I was surfing with my bulky, noisy, hot laptop while lying in bed. Then tablets came around and they were exactly what I had been looking for all along. I still use my old PC for composing sending mail, doing taxes, and other "active" work. An ultrabook seems to be trying to fill both niches: passive consumption with the keyboard off, and active work with the keyboard on.
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ChipConnoisseur
2/21/2013 1:27 PM EST
I don't think ultrabooks will help the PC market recover. The decline will be much faster than even the slow growth ultrabooks may get. But ultrabooks will remain a niche market. Most consumers don't want $1000 devices, whether they are laptops are "tablets". And the latest stats show that with an average price of Windows PC's of only $450.
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