Computer Notebooks Selling Big In Europe

EETimes.com reports that Central and Eastern Europe are buying massive amounts of computer notebooks as prices erode and first time buyers go straight for a mobile platform.

CEE shipments were up 26.7% in 2007, representing $8.3B in sales, according to IDC.

Though the market is almost four times less than the $31.3B Western European notebook market, CEE is seeing sustainable faster growth, said Stefania Lorenz, research director at IDC who looks at the region. This year, she expects a 20% increase in shipments for CEE.

Price will remain a key traffic and volume generator, particularly in retail, with large notebook promotion deals sold at spot prices. Last year, the low price point for a notebook PC in CEE, on average, was $1100, Lorenz said. This year, she expects it to be $1000.

Ultra-lowcost notebooks are entering Europe and attracting service providers hunting for new revenue streams. Germany's T-Mobile, for example, partnered with Asustek Computer of Taiwan to bundle broadband connectivity with its Eee PC, which debuted in 2007 for under 500 Euro ($765) and is now in a supply shortage.

This year, Europe will see the entry of the $300 (193 Euro) notebook PC for children. The laptop, developed by Intel initially for poor children, is a special basic machine for a specific segment. Nonetheless, it could increase downward pricing pressure on notebooks overall.

"It will revolutionize the notebook market but it is not a standard notebook as we know it," Lorenz said, adding that IDC is now assessing the potential market impact.

Notebook manufacturers in CEE include Dell Computer, which runs a $311M (200M Euro) factory in Lodz, Poland and Lenovo, which in January announced a $20M (13M Euro) plant in Lower Silesia, southwest Poland.

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