Earlier this year we noted concerns about netbooks cannabilizing the traditional notebook market in Will Netbooks Cannibalize Notebooks? and Impact of Low Cost PCs . Yesterday Simon Lin, the Chairman of Wistron, said netbooks are not a threat to the traditional markets. Digitimes reports:
Wistron chairman Simon Lin has reiterated his conservative outlook for netbook growth, saying that the position of traditional notebooks will not be affected by the rising role of netbooks over the next two years.
Acer and Asustek Computer might have over estimated the potential of the netbook market as margins from netbook production are still lower than traditional notebooks, said Lin. Netbooks are still uncompetitive in terms of their smaller keyboards and panels, and are therefore still a niche device, he added.
First, I personally think in the short term netbooks may have a chance of stealing short term market share. The current state of the economy and people's traditional concerns about money at times like this will make them more inclined to buy the cheaper substitute, and netbooks are substitutes. Given a decent economy and reduced economic concerns, I would say people would be more willing to buy the more expensive models.
Additionally, I think I said it before somewhere on this blog, I would think demand for more expensive notebooks is probably more price inelastic than say the cheaper models. I would think demand for US2,000 or above notebooks would not be threatened by a smaller US500 model. However, I do think the cheaper notebooks positioned at entry level users (US1,000) may face a bigger challenge.
Digitimes: Netbooks will not affect traditional notebook sales in the near term, says Wistron chairman
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