Ultra slim PCs to grow by 2015

BANGALORE, INDIA: According to the NPD DisplaySearch Quarterly Mobile PC Shipment and Forecast Report, by 2015, ultra slim PC shipments will represent 25 percent of the mobile PC market. In 2011, the ultra slim PC shipment was recorded at 34 lakh and by 2015, it is expected to reach 6.5 crore, says the report.

With consumers getting more inclined towards easy access to content and usage, the mobile PC market is becoming more convenience centric than being performance centric. The change in user's preference was driven by the increasing demand for tablet PCs. By 2016, tablet PC shipments are expected to exceed notebook PC shipment.

This fundamental change in preference is most noticeable in the slowing demand for notebook PCs and the increasing demand for tablet PCs. Tablet PC shipments are expected to exceed notebook PC shipment by 2016. Notebook PC players are responding by adopting the features of tablets that consumers have appreciated the most.

"Tablet PCs have offered consumers what they have been requesting from the notebook market for years, instant-on activation, long battery life, and sleeker designs. These attributes are the basis for enabling greater and easier accessibility to content and services. Ultra-slim PCs are the notebook market's response to tablets and aim to balance performance and convenience," said Richard Shim, senior analyst with NPD DisplaySearch.

Due to premium pricing and lack of differentiation from standard notebooks, there has been good adoption of ultra slim PCs. With the decreasing prices and new processors being introduced to drive more convenience oriented computing, adoption of ultra slim PCs is expected to ramp up in 2013.

As per the report, maturing ultra slim PC panel production processes will lower material costs and premium prices. With the combination of improvements in thinner glass manufacturing and handling and assembling of panels, the cost of the panels (one of the most expensive parts in an ultra slim PC) will be reduced.