Ultrabook demand soars Stateside
But they're still a tiny percentage of the market
That Ultrabooks have grabbed almost 11 per cent of the $700-and-up Windows notebook market in the US during the first five months of the year sounds impressive, until you realise how small that market segment is.
The statistic above comes from US retail market watcher NPD. It said Ultrabooks' share of the $700-plus segment has risen month on month through 2012, from around 6.5 per cent in January to just over 15 per cent in May.
But the $700-plus segment accounts for just 14 per cent of laptop sales in the States, boosted a couple of percentage point this year by the Ultrabook sales, from 12 per cent in 2011.
Ultrabooks' share of the US $700-plus Windows laptop market
Data source: NPD
In other words, 86 per cent of the laptops sold in the US this year so far cost a lot less than Ultrabooks do. And since - taking May's figures - Ultrabooks account for just 15 per cent of that 14 per cent of the total notebook market, that means Ultrabooks' share of the overall US laptop arena is a mere 2.1 per cent.
This is pretty much what we're seeing in the UK too.
Still, while sales of lower-priced machines are falling sharply - the laptop market as a whole is currently down 17 per cent, NPD said - the decline of pricier machines is less steep: the $700-plus segment fell just three per cent.
And the market for laptops costing $900 or more was up 39 per cent. No surprise, that - most Ultrabooks actually cost at least $900. Indeed, their average selling price is $927, NPD said. The monthly average only dropped below $900 in May, to $885.
The average price of a laptop in the states is $510, according to NPD.
The researcher reckons Ultrabooks - well, cheaper, sub-$700 ones, at any rate - will become a "hot form-factor" as autumn approaches and kids go back to school. Microsoft's Windows 8 roll out in Q4 will push them further.
But Ultrabooks will have to sell in sigincifantly greater numbers if they're to reverse or even halt the laptop market's decline. ®
COMMENTS
Re: Wow
"ultraflops" "inhell" - You're conforming perfectly to a certain stereotype so far.
Here's a test - name the company that publishes Visio.
Of course, I don't doubt that you can name it, I'm just testing which of the "downs syndrome facsimile of funny" spellings you use.
The thing is that it's not that people aren't using less pcs and laptops, it's just that we hit a point when things became powerful enough and people aren't needing to replace them.
Re: The PC market will disappear in a few years
Why should we fear what you say, rather than just thinking it's nonsense :)
Re: Wow
"with added Bribe money from InHell"
bruised by the "Hell", are we?
As for the "Bribe", that is for the consumers to understand and keep in mind when they shop for products from companies that are fined both in US and in EU for "anti-competitive practices". If consumers watch adverts (on TV and radio) by computer stores for laptops (and desktops) and always hear jingle from just one processor company tagged along with those advert, then they should ask: "why, why is it that you see name on only that one company and not its competitor(s)? Surely the computer stores have laptops and desktops with other company's processors, then why only one company is mentioned during the advert?" That is a great puzzle to solve!
Re: The PC market will disappear in a few years
The graphic is just silly. It's like when fanboys brag about how they own the "over $1000" market. Of course they do because the vast majority of the market is at lower price points. An Ultrabook is like a netbook but with a bigger price tag. Ditch the minaturization and you can get a lot more bang for your buck.
So there is a lot less need to pay that much for your laptop unless you are trying to press the light and thin aspect to the exclusion of all else.
$700? I am not sure I would pay that much for a PC laptop. Just like a $1000 PC.
