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Notebook Sales Outpace Desktop Sales

Posted by Soulskill on from the year-of-laptop-on-the-desktop dept.

mikesd81 writes "Eweek reports that notebook sales have surpassed desktop sales for the first time in history. 'In the third quarter of 2008, notebook PC shipments rose almost 40 percent compared with the same period of 2007 to reach 38.6 million units. Conversely, desktop PC shipments declined by 1.3 percent for the same period to 38.5 million units. "Momentum has been building in the notebook market for some time, so it's not a complete surprise that shipments have surpassed those of desktops," said iSuppli principal analyst for computer platforms Matthew Wilkins. "However, this marks a major event in the PC market because it marks the start of the age of the notebook." ... The FBI's National Crime Information Center reported that the number of reported laptop thefts increased almost 48 percent over the last two years, to nearly 109,000 from 73,700.'"

39 of 207 comments (clear)

  1. That's good, but. . . by wsidegangstarr · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Now just to get some more standards. . .and user-replaceable parts.

    1. Re:That's good, but. . . by morgan_greywolf · · Score: 4, Informative

      Many parts in a laptop are user-replaceable/upradeable. The parts that matter, at least, such as the HDD and memory, for instance. Graphics cards and such often are not, however. PCMCIA was supposed to address this whole problem, but even that has its limitations.

      --
      My blog
    2. Re:That's good, but. . . by nevesis · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Intel tried to correct that.

      The ODMs (ASUS, Quanta, Compal) who manufacture the notebooks were quite interested. It could significantly reduce manufacturing costs.

      Alas, the OEMs (Dell, HP, Gateway) who sell the notebooks wanted none of it. Their replacement parts have a very high profit margin.

    3. Re:That's good, but. . . by wsidegangstarr · · Score: 3, Interesting

      True, there are *some* standard parts, but have you ever tried to replace a bad motherboard with an off the shelf model or ordered an upgraded 15.4" LCD from Newegg? I think not. This is where a set of standards is needed.

    4. Re:That's good, but. . . by nevesis · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You're overlooking the case and all panels, the keyboard, the touchpad, the LCD, the optical drive, the battery, the AC/DC adapter, the AC/DC powerjack (mounted to motherboards), and so on and so forth.

      The sad truth is that the oligopoly of notebook OEMs aren't interested in losing their repair and replacement profit.

    5. Re:That's good, but. . . by nabsltd · · Score: 5, Interesting

      And, the lack of replaceable parts is one other reason why laptop sales are "higher" than desktop sales.

      Although businesses most likely purchase pre-built systems that get counted in these sorts of surveys, there are many desktop sales that wouldn't get counted: any machine that is built from parts. No "whitebox" sales from local computer stores would get counted, and obviously people like me (who have purchased a pre-built desktop in 15 years) would also not be represented at all.

      Laptops won't have this counting error, as there really aren't any options that allow someone to build their own.

    6. Re:That's good, but. . . by ShadowBlasko · · Score: 4, Interesting

      (read "Drove a sword through it to keep me from trying to repair it again and wasting my time")

      There has to be an interesting story behind this. Or, at least, a good youtube video...

      The story is basically the fact that I knew that if I kept the thing around, I would keep working on it.

      The unit would operate fine for about an hour or so, then random errors would occur, and finally it would become unusable. After I recovered all the data from the drives, I replaced every "decently educated user serviceable" part inside. Several re-image, re-assemblies, and frustrated screams later I discovered the burned out chassis fan.

      The fan was embedded in the magnesium chassis of the machine, and is not replaceable without heroic effort and some extensive modifications.

      Since there were many more pressing things to fix, I knew that I would have to make sure the machine could NOT be fixed, or I would keep trying to fix it every time I looked at it.

      So I took all the hardware out, broke out my stage combat rapier, and put the damned thing out of my misery forever(p)

      Sorry for the lack of video.

      --
      There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order- Ed Howdershelt Via Tass
    7. Re:That's good, but. . . by cencithomas · · Score: 2, Insightful

      My almost-5-year-old Dell Inspiron 5100 says [citation needed].

      --
      ...'tis easier to blame than to improve.
    8. Re:That's good, but. . . by Ihmhi · · Score: 2, Funny

      There's a joke about blade servers in there somewhere, but so many come to mind and I can't quite decide.

      --
      Random Thoughts From A Diseased Mind (Not For Dummies)
  2. Wrong Decision by nevesis · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The sad part is that many of these people would be better off with desktops. Desktops have a much lower total cost of ownership. (Even for home users.)

    1. Re:Wrong Decision by rogermcdodger · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Notebooks enable a different computing experience that people are willing to pay the extra for. Not being tied to a single location is a big selling point even if the computer will never leave the home.

    2. Re:Wrong Decision by TheRaven64 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Desktops have a much lower total cost of ownership

      Really? Most laptops use a good $50-100/year less electricity than desktops, more if he desktop has a big screen. Spread that over three years, and you've got the cost of a cheap laptop, so unless your desktop costs nothing it's pretty hard to beat in terms of TCO. Now laptops are outselling desktops worldwide (they were in the US earlier in the year, and for Apple machines for about 3 years) the economies of scale that supported desktop parts are going to shift to laptops too.

      So, what are you factoring in to your TCO calculations other than the machine and electricity?

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
  3. Steve Jobs Quote. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    There are some customers which we chose not to serve. We don't know how to make a $500 computer that's not a piece of junk, and our DNA will not let us ship that.

    1. Re:Steve Jobs Quote. by RedK · · Score: 2, Informative

      They're almost there though : http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/family/mac_mini?mco=MTE3MDI

      --
      "Not to mention all the idiots who use words like boxen."
      Anonymous Coward on Monday August 04, @06:49PM
    2. Re:Steve Jobs Quote. by LordVader717 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Exactly. Apple charge a minimum of $600 for their pieces of junk.
      Seriously, is there anyone here who really believes Macs are something more than generic PC hardware which is allowed to play use their DRM'd OS? It may come in a shiny white case, but that really is just about it.

    3. Re:Steve Jobs Quote. by SoupIsGoodFood_42 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Even if Apple products were just as crappy as the cheaper competition, I'd still pay extra to get their "DRM'd" OS, because it's still a better over-all system for me. The moment some makes an open desktop OS that is as good as OS X, I may consider switching.

    4. Re:Steve Jobs Quote. by LeafOnTheWind · · Score: 2, Interesting

      My Macbook Pro is one of the most sturdy computers I have ever owned. White? No. However, it survived not one, not two, but 3 10 foot falls onto concrete. The case was beaten to hell. Looked as though id have to buy a new one - not so. After prying the twisted metal apart, I saw that every component in the thing was protected like a tank. There were individual aluminum housings and crumple zones all over. In fact, every part seemed fine.

      So I took out a pair of pliers, a screwdriver, and putty knife and bent the thing back into what looks like its original form. Screwed it back together - still works perfectly after 3 years. I no longer question Macbook Pro build quality.

  4. Last Week... by Anna+Merikin · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I decided to build a more up-to-date computer, for about the eighth time since 1989, when I got my first 8086 PC AT (used.) I priced the parts (mobo, case & psu, cpu, memory, hdd, optical drive) and added the cost of a new wide-screen LCD monitor -- and found I had about $500 worth of parts -- about the same price as a new notebook with similar specs (well, the hdd would be smaller, but I don't really need another terabyte of storage.)

    The prices on desktops at Fry's the night before Christmas eve were higher than desktops when a monitor was added. Why would I buy (or build) a bigger, heavier, noisier machine with similar performance and price?

    1. Re:Last Week... by wsidegangstarr · · Score: 2, Insightful

      That's a matter of what piece of hardware a retailer is trying to push. There's no legitimate reason why out of two equally as modern machines, the smaller one would be faster or cheaper. Now why would a retailer (especially an electronics vendor like Frye's) push something that has a very limited upgrade cycle? Profit, my friend.

    2. Re:Last Week... by GreatBunzinni · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Your experience has been the complete opposite of mine. After my laptop died I looked into the market and did the math, which lead me to the conclusion that a 15'' laptop being sold for 900 euros would ended up with the same specs of a 190 euro desktop. I could add to that the 160 euros for a brand new 19'' monitor and voilÃ: the desktop would end up costing nearly half as the equivalent laptop. The choice was obvious.

      But that's not all. My previous laptop, which costed me 1200 euros, died due to a burned out graphics card, a recurring problem that occurred twice and was repaired while the warranty lasted. After that the laptop was as good as garbage (thanks, acer). If that happened to my desktop then, even if I needed to purchase it all over, I would end up with a loss of less than 200 euros. Well, 200 euros is a heck of a lot less than 1200 euros.

      And let's not talk about upgrades. Desktops nail that advantage firmly, both in cost and in flexibility. You simply can't pop in a ATI HD4870 on a 450 euro laptop but you can easily add a couple of those to a desktop.

      --
      Slashdot, fix your code or at least hire someone who is competent at it to do it for you.
    3. Re:Last Week... by Anna+Merikin · · Score: 2, Informative

      I believe you're right about IBM's nomenclature, but as I was *building* machines or upgrading, the case size was "AT". The original box I bought was, indeed, an IBM PC II (8086) 8Mhz. IIRC. I upgraded it to a 386sx then a 486 from Cyrix/IBM before ditching the case as its form factor was enormous (you may remember them from museums...) and wouldn't mount a 3 1/2" drive without an adapter.

  5. Vista by javilon · · Score: 2, Insightful

    If we define notebooks as small laptops with processors in the Atom class, then Microsoft has a very big problem with there with Vista and even with XP I would say. It is not only the fact that Vista is too slow in that hardware. It is also that it gets slower with use. The registry gets full of garbage, and all kinds of crapware stick to windows systems. Given time this would bring to its knees any computer in that hardware class.

    And for those that say that next year Moore's law will fix it, I don't think this would be fixed in a year or two. Maybe three, maybe more. This is a very long time in this industry.

    I am curious about what this will mean for Linux on the desktop as there is also the cost issue. We have a clearly inferior (in that hardware) operating system that costs money against a free and Free operating system.

    --


    When his defense asked, "Which computer has Jon Johansen trespassed upon?" the answer was: "His own."
    1. Re:Vista by tepples · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I am curious about what this will mean for Linux on the desktop as there is also the cost issue. We have a clearly inferior (in that hardware) operating system that costs money against a free and Free operating system.

      Linux is free only if you already knew about it before you bought your computer. Otherwise, you run into unsupported or poorly supported hardware.

    2. Re:Vista by Roland+Piquepaille · · Score: 3, Informative

      Microsoft has one very big problem: they totally missed the low-power PC revolution. They have sunk insane amounts of money into their new OS that, as tradition has it, is slower and demands better hardware than the previous one, and released it when (1) XP had just started to mature enough for people to consider it good enough and (2) when the best selling PCs can't run it.

      What they should do now is split OS lines, i.e. support XP for small PCs, and Vista for big machines, instead of trying to kill off XP. But they'll never do that, they're much too stubborn.

      As for growing XP registry and general mess on the system, that's easy:

      - Disable automatic Windows update. Yes, get a decent AV, a decent non-Microsoft browser, a decent non-Microsoft firewall, behave rationally when you browse the web and you'll be just fine. Each new update of Windows seem to be worse than the previous one anyway; one could almost believe they're trying to make XP worse than Vista for some reason I can't fathom. [/sarcasm]

      - Disable prefetching for anything but boot programs. You'll recover many MANY megabytes of disk space, and you'll boot a ton faster.

      - Run things like ccleaner regularly

      - If you're really short of disk space, consider nLite

      (This post made on a EeePC 901 w/ XP)

    3. Re:Vista by Roland+Piquepaille · · Score: 3, Informative

      overgrown PDAs that still don't have enough pixels to do anything useful with.

      It's painfully obvious that you're talking out of your arse and you don't have a netbook.

      For what it's worth, I use SolidWorks 2008 on my EeePC 901 professionally. Sure the screen isn't as nice as a big desktop thing, but it's perfectly usable.

    4. Re:Vista by metlin · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Thank you. I wish more people would see this.

      Linux is only free if your time isn't money.

      Honestly, I would rather spend a couple of hundred bucks and use Windows on an OEM machine with standard hardware than jump through hoops to get Linux running.

      When I was younger (and poorer, with more time), I enjoyed playing around with Linux. But as I've grown older, my time is money and I have much better things to do with my time than trying to spend inordinate amounts of time getting my computer to run.

      Inferior and superior is such a whole boat load of crap to me, the end user. IMHO, my stuff works out of the box with Windows - and I will buy products that work well with it. Now, hardware manufacturers support Windows, and that is an advantage. And most of the software that I need and use are made by Microsoft anyway (Excel, Word, Powerpoint).

      To me, my OS is irrelevant. Whatever facilitates my task and makes my life easier is my choice hands down.

  6. Re:Forced obsolescence by threephaseboy · · Score: 2, Informative

    still next to impossible to find any cards for

    Huh? You can get serial ports, firewire,eSATA,parallel ,or a converter to PCMCIA

    --
    .
  7. I wonder how they count them by btharris · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I don't buy "a desktop", but I buy parts, often from different merchants. I doubt a user-assembled desktop counts for these numbers since it's not assembled by a big name OEM. For laptops, notebooks, etc., you have to buy the package deal and buy a machine with a name on it, so buying one would surely be counted as a notebook purchase. Since my desktop wasn't purchased as a whole machine, I wonder if it was counted.

    1. Re:I wonder how they count them by TheRaven64 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Do you really think self-built desktops account for more than 1% of the market? i.e. enough to be of statistical significance? The big corporate buyers all get them from OEMs, and most home buyers do as well.

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
  8. Notebooks fail Ergonomics by Dystopian+Rebel · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Notebooks have wretched ergonomics. People are asking for pain if they are going to spend all their computing time typing on a small, straight keyboard, clumsily pointing and clicking with a TouchPad or a TrackPoint, and looking downward at a small screen.

    To make a notebook ergonomically humane, the user must also purchase a docking station and connect a GoldTouch keyboard (for example), a monitor, and a humane pointing device. And a multi-port USB hub. He or she has to spend more than what would have been spent to build an mATX-based system (or buy new for $300 at current prices)... that would have been expandable, performed much better, and encouraged healthy posture and habits.

    But yes, I know that we don't really care about people's health.

    --
    Rich And Stupid is not so bad as Working For Rich And Stupid.
    1. Re:Notebooks fail Ergonomics by deraj123 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      It's not caring about peoples' health - it's people caring about their own health. Laptops make much more sense for people who have a computer to occasionally browse the internet and check email. I sit at a desk with good ergonomics when I'm working. However, when I'm just enjoying myself, I prefer to be on the couch, or at the kitchen table while my wife is cooking, or in bed, or...etc...lots of bad ergonomics, but that's not what it's really about. I'm not doing my hardcore computing on a laptop, and I suspect that most people who caused these numbers to go up are doing very little hardcore computing at all.

  9. Re:Girls and Gays by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Dude your penis must be massive!!!

  10. Maybe that's because portable devices wear faster by Animats · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Maybe that's because portable devices are used up faster. They get lost, damaged, stolen, and the batteries die. Desktops have none of those problems.

  11. Re:Desktops....The real sign of a true Geek. by TheRaven64 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The badge of a true geek is what you do with your computer, not what kind of computer it is. Adam Dunkels, who wrote a multitasking operating system for the C64 is more of a geek than any of us who write code for multicore processors.

    The idea of taking your storage with you is remarkably quaint though, I like it. I'm tempted to bookmark this post and refer you to it in ten years.

    --
    I am TheRaven on Soylent News
  12. Re:Girls and Gays by TheTyrannyOfForcedRe · · Score: 2, Informative

    Outside in the park? Out at the pub! With friends??? Lounging at a coffee shop!!! These people you speak of are NOT geeks.

    --
    "Liechtenstein is the world's largest producer of sausage casings, potassium storage units, and false teeth."
  13. Re:Girls and Gays by TheTyrannyOfForcedRe · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Everyone and everything is fair game for a harmless laugh. When you label certain things (aka homosexuality) as being off limits to some light humor you piss people off and make life a little less worth living. Seriously, what harm comes from poking some fun at the fact that gay guys like Macs? SERIOUSLY!

    Are redneck trailerpark jokes off limits too? Is REDNECKPHOBIA something that must be stamped out with nazi-like zeal as well? Somehow I think you wouldn't take the same stand for other groups.

    Get over yourself. Next thing you'll be telling me that holocaust jokes are a no-no.

    Oh, shit...

    --
    "Liechtenstein is the world's largest producer of sausage casings, potassium storage units, and false teeth."
  14. Re:Girls and Gays by yanos · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Dude! I think you are greatly exaggerating the geek stereotype here. Specs like that are for some very intensive stuff, like a rendering machine or something. The fact that you conveniently forgot to tell us what you are doing with this machine makes me believe that *you* are the supposed geek that just like to brag about their computer penis size^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hspecs.

    I'm a long time gentoo user and even I don't see the need to upgrade to a quad core, despite having to compile stuff all the time. It could go faster, but right now I think it's fast enough and so not worth the money to upgrade the mobo+RAM+CPU. I even do a bit of video compression and run some virtual machines. You know what? I'm still on a *single* core cpu! OMG I'm so un-l33t or whatever...

    And 9TB of drive space? What are you storing anyway? I have quite few video and music and I'm still below 2TB, backups included.

    I think you just made those up just to prove a point, dude. Laptops are just fine, save for the small screen and even then you can always hook your laptop to another one when at home.

    And please stop using the term gay in a derogative way, it's just so very immature.

  15. Re:Girls and Gays by RedK · · Score: 2, Interesting

    1920x1200 displays ? Real geeks use 80x24 terminals. You're talking about the neo-geeks, the ones that first used a computer with a graphical user interface.

    --
    "Not to mention all the idiots who use words like boxen."
    Anonymous Coward on Monday August 04, @06:49PM
  16. Re:Girls and Gays by ucblockhead · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Real geeks use 1920x1200 displays to make 20 xterm screens visible simultaneously.

    --
    The cake is a pie