The overall 8 percent decline in notebook sales volume in Taiwan did not affect the fast rising popularity of gaming models as well as the 2-in-1 devices in the first six months of 2014 when compared with the same time period a year ago, according to research firm GfK.
Cindy Li, Managing Director for GfK in Taiwan, said GfK insights revealed Taiwan’s notebook market size sliding in the single digit range for two consecutive years since 2012, and urgently needing a ‘spark’ to reignite the market, but the two segments, each with its own unique features, have been successful in injecting some excitement and managed to outperform the overall market.
In the first half year of 2014, consumers in Taiwan spent USD21 million on nearly 50,000 units of 2-in1 notebooks, reflecting an exponential spike in sales volume over threefold compared to the first half of last year.
Around 85 percent of all 2-in-1s sold were priced less than USD500. At its peak around end of last year and beginning of this year, 2-in-1’s made up 13 percent of all notebooks.
“2-in-1 devices are sought after for their combined advantages of productivity and entertainment, as well as its ability to integrate different operating systems (Android and Windows) into one device,” said Li. “They are also good for entry level users seeking substitutes for netbooks, which have already been phased out from the market.”
The share of high end notebook market, defined as models priced over USD1,000 has also grown significantly from 17 percent to 23 percent comparing sales volume of the first six months of this year with the same timeframe in 2013. More than 85,000 units of high end notebooks were sold in the first half of this year, driven mostly by gaming notebooks and devices with GTX graphics card.
“Gaming notebook’s excellence hardware performance together with its high level of mobility make it an attractive package for discerning users and serious gamers,” said Li.