It seems that while people prefer netbooks to tablets like the iPad, manufacturers are slowly drifting away from netbooks. Is there something I'm missing here? Manufacturing-wise, netbooks are not as sophisticated as your average joe's notebook. While it is cheap to make, margins are pretty slim on the sales end so firms don't get as much moolah when offering netbooks.
HP and Dell seem to think so. The former is moving its focus to larger screened devices due to lower-than-expected sales for the new Pine Trail devices. Dell is moving the same way even with their Minis making headway in the market. Other manufacturers based in Taiwan like Acer and Asus are still in the game though.
The former model netbooks are still very much capable of doing the work of the newer models which is probably why netbook sales haven't been good for HP and Dell. Netbooks aren't really upgrade fodder like notebooks since there's only so much you can cram in it (and just so much profit you can squeeze out of it). Tablets also are starting to show up with the Joojoo and iPad shipping out these coming weeks.
source Digitimes
A post from the Asus Eee PC blog.
HP and Dell easing out of the netbook market?
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