“Netbooks have become a major category for most computer makers. The sole holdout among the major PC makers not offering a netbook continues to be Apple. Consumers have flocked to netbooks for many reasons; one of the most significant being price,” Shane McGlaun reports for DailyTech.
McGlaun reports, “Many analysts and reports claim that netbooks are cannibalizing sales of more expensive notebooks that are on the market. EWeek reports that HP CEO Mark Hurd talked about the cannibalization of higher-end notebook sales by offering low cost netbook computers.”
McGlaun reports, “Hurd said, ‘I’ve seen in print, from people who claim expertise, that 80 percent of netbooks is new [sales] and 20 percent is cannibalization of the bottom part of the notebook market.’ Hurd also says that HP has ‘some time’ before they can offer a usable metric regarding cannibalization of sales caused by netbooks.”
“The reason for this is that HP is relatively new in the netbook market. Hurd does say, ‘It’s not the move to netbooks that’s cannibalizing. What you have is someone buying a more thickly configured notebook, who’s now buying a more thinly configured notebook, and that’s what’s adjusting the ASP [average selling price],'” McGlaun reports. “This accounts for one of the reasons shipments are up for many computer makers, yet revenues are down.”
Full article here.
