Tablets to outsell netbooks by 2012?

Jake Widman
Friday, 18 June 2010 11:07

Your IT - Home IT

According to a new report from Forrester Research, tablet computers will account for nearly a quarter of the computers sold in the U.S. by 2015.

The new report, The US Consumer PC Market In 2015, examines changes in the market for desktops, notebooks, netbooks, and tablet computers over the next five years.

The research firm expects the entire consumer PC market to keep growing robustly, with sales in 2015 52 percent higher than they are now.

That growth won't be evenly distributed across form factors, though. For one, Forrester predicts that while desktop PCs will still be the most popular type or consumer computer, fewer will be sold in 2015 than this year.

Laptop sales will continue to increase, the report says, but the real dramatic growth will come in tablets (at the expense of netbooks).

Starting in 2012, Forrester predicts, tablets (including the iPad) will outsell netbooks. And by 2015, 23% of all PCs sold to U.S. consumers will be tablets.

The full report is available for US$1749 here.