The NPD Group has released some sales numbers and analysis for computing devices sold in the commercial channel for Jan. – Nov. 2013 that show a changing landscape led by demand for Android and Chromebook devices. According to NPD, sales of computing devices – desktops, notebooks, and tablets – increased 25.4 percent compared to the same period for 2012. NPD notes that Chromebooks and Android tablets “collectively had the biggest impact on sales growth” for the year so far. Perhaps the most stunning number to come out of their analysis is the fact that Chromebooks now account for 21 percent of all notebook sales in this channel. With one out of every five notebooks being deployed to business and institutional buyers being a Chromebook, we should probably expect to see that start to influence the retail consumer market as well.
Although desktop and notebook sales have been declining in the individual consumer market, commercial buyers snapped up 8.5 percent more desktops and 28.9 percent more notebooks during 2013. Windows based PCs made some gains in the desktop segment while notebook share remained flat. That was better than Apple which saw its combined sales drop off by 7 percent for desktops and notebooks. Both HP and Lenovo maintained top positions in terms of manufacturers, but their positions eroded mainly due to their lack of presence in the tablet markets.
Apple continued to ride the success of their iPad and iPad Mini devices when it comes to tablet devices where they continue to be the dominant player, although their position is weakening. Android tablets, led by Samsung, grew by more than 160 percent. Stephen Baker with NPD notes that “new products like Chromebooks, and reimagined items like Windows tablets, are now supplementing the revitalization that iPads started in personal computing devices.” Further, he notes “as businesses upgrade from older machines and operating systems in the year ahead, the long-term trend is clearly towards greater hardware diversity, which all manufacturers will need to embrace in order to continue to grow.” In general, buyers are moving away from traditional clamshell notebooks and into tablets. This is an area where Samsung had great success in capturing a significant share of the market and may explain why they are so focused on the tablet market going into 2014.
source: NPD Group
via: Phandroid
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