Netbook Market: Is Microsoft Winning?
While Microsoft blogger Brandon LeBlanc is celebrating his employer as winner in the netbook market, opportunities are opening up in the Asian market for the netbook's even smaller relative, the so-called mobile internet device.
Microsoft blogger Brandon LeBlanc quoted as a source for his Microsoft success story some statistics from the NPD Retail Tracking Service. The NPD study found that his company had made significant retail market advances in the netbook sector over 2008. LeBlanc:"We've seen Windows share on these PCs in the U.S. go from under 10% of unit sales during the first half of 2008 to 96% as of February 2009." His explanation: "Initially, some in the industry viewed low-cost netbook PCs as a new challenge for Microsoft and an opportunity for Linux to make inroads in the consumer market. Some believed consumers wouldn't want or need their netbook PC to be a full-featured PC. In fact, the exact opposite turned out to be true." He felt that this "full-featured PC" argument made a Microsoft victory unavoidable and even cited further evidence that the Linux device return rate was "four times higher" than Windows.
Microsoft had been putting timely pressure on netbook hardware producers, while also offering Windows XP at competitive prices, apparently with huge success. Linux providers such as Linpus out of Taiwan are meanwhile considering counterstrategies. It is especially the Asian-Pacific market that is showing evidence of a trend reversal: mobile internet devices (MIDs), or handhelds for short, seem to be gaining a Linux market.
From an interview with the Asia-Pacific media, analyst Ian Lao of the In-Stat market research firm forecasts future successes for the open platform running on MIDs. MIDs first of all distinguish themselves by definition from netbooks in that they have no keyboards and are four to seven inches in size. Because Asian character-based languages are easier to enter via touchpads, MIDs are gaining popularity in that part of the world, according to Lao. He goes further: "MIDs, as more passive, 'content-consumption devices', fit Linux's role so far on the consumer side, where it has successfully run systems for users looking to consume media, but not create." One proof of concept is Ubuntu's "full desktop experience" on the energy efficient ARM processors. Chinese hardware provider SmartQ will also soon release to the marketplace a super-affordable SmartQ 5 MID based on Ubuntu. Lao: "Linux definitely has a growth path with MIDs."
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
![Learn More](https://www.linux-magazine.com/var/linux_magazin/storage/images/media/linux-magazine-eng-us/images/misc/learn-more/834592-1-eng-US/Learn-More_medium.png)
News
-
Kernel 6.10 Available for General Usage
Linus Torvalds has released the 6.10 kernel and it includes significant performance increases for Intel Core hybrid systems and more.
-
TUXEDO Computers Releases InfinityBook Pro 14 Gen9 Laptop
Sporting either AMD or Intel CPUs, the TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro 14 is an extremely compact, lightweight, sturdy powerhouse.
-
Google Extends Support for Linux Kernels Used for Android
Because the LTS Linux kernel releases are so important to Android, Google has decided to extend the support period beyond that offered by the kernel development team.
-
Linux Mint 22 Stable Delayed
If you're anxious about getting your hands on the stable release of Linux Mint 22, it looks as if you're going to have to wait a bit longer.
-
Nitrux 3.5.1 Available for Install
The latest version of the immutable, systemd-free distribution includes an updated kernel and NVIDIA driver.
-
Debian 12.6 Released with Plenty of Bug Fixes and Updates
The sixth update to Debian "Bookworm" is all about security mitigations and making adjustments for some "serious problems."
-
Canonical Offers 12-Year LTS for Open Source Docker Images
Canonical is expanding its LTS offering to reach beyond the DEB packages with a new distro-less Docker image.
-
Plasma Desktop 6.1 Released with Several Enhancements
If you're a fan of Plasma Desktop, you should be excited about this new point release.
-
SUSE Offers CentOS 7 Support with Liberty Linux Lite
SUSE's Liberty Linux support offering now includes CentOS 7, which means businesses won't be forced to migrate those servers for some time.
-
Ubuntu's App Center Finally Supports Local Installs Again
If you regularly download .deb files and would prefer a GUI method of installing, Ubuntu has your back.