Best Buy are hinting that the Apple iPad is killing the notebook market, cutting sales by as much as 50 percent.
Best Buy announced earlier this week that all 1,093 of their stores in the US would be stocking the iPad later this month. They have also announced a 61 percent increase in profit as sales are shifting towards gadgets and consumer devices and away from PCs and big screen televisions. This is a more profitable market for Best Buy. The iPad is contributing significantly to the increased profit margins.
Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn said “People are willing to disproportionately spend for these devices because they are becoming so important to their lives.” He also described the iPad as a “magnificent shining light” and added that the iPad ‘had cannibalised sales from laptop PCs by as much as 50%”.
With 1,093 Best Buy stores stocking the iPad over the holiday season and into the winter we can only assume that this figure will rise even more. Latest rumors in also suggest that Apple are planning a 7 inch iPad release with a faster processor – this may be the death blow for the netbook market.
KitGuru says: Should notebook manufacturers be worried or will sales die down and return to normal?
it makes sense to me that the ipad would kill sales. people buy a netbook for price and portability. even though the ipad is more expensive than any netbook (apart from sonys models) it is the right size and offers great battery life. Other laptop makers need to get into this market like Samsung are. Apple always lead the way, whether you like them or not.