Poor global economy weakens H2 notebook market forecast

According to Digitimes, the uncertain global economy has dragged the growth in the PC market and will remain weak until the launch of Windows 8. For 2012, global shipments of the devices will reach 207 million, a growth rate of only 2.1 percent from 2011. The breakdown in notebook shipments between H1 and H2 will be in a ratio of 47:53.

Notebooks with special form factors are still waiting for a breakthrough opportunity. For example, the penetration rate of ultrabooks is estimated to account for less than five percent of global notebook shipments in Q4, while notebooks with touchscreen control as well as models with a special form factor are both expected to account for less than one percent.

Notebooks that adopt a solid state drive (SSD) will account for 7.1 percent of total shipments in Q4, but about 70 percent of those shipments will be contributed by Apple products.

In 2H12, among notebook ODMs, only Quanta Computer and Compal Electronics will have a strong chance to achieve further growth. In terms of brand vendors, Lenovo, Asustek Computer, Apple and Samsung will all achieve a strong performance to help them gain market share, while HP and Dell will face a decline with Acer expected to maintain its ranking.