iPads may be nifty, but netbooks still rule

iPads will top the publicity charts this week when they launch, but netbooks will still top the sales charts, and far outsell iPads into the foreseeable future. The iPad will remain an expensive, niche device compared to all-purpose netbooks.

You don't need to believe me about it; just look at the numbers. A recent IDC report shows netbook and notebook sales will dwarf sales of the iPad. According to the EETimes, even by 2011, after the iPad has a well-established presence, its sales will lag far behind that of netbooks. IDC estimates that 47 million netbooks will ship that year, compared to 15 million tablets, and that's tablets of all types, not just iPads. And notebook sales, meanwhile, will far outsell both, at 260 million.

A big part of the Apple pitch for the iPad is as an e-book reader, but Bob O'Donnell, vice president of clients and displays at International Data Corp, isn't convinced it will eat into sales of the Kindle or other e-book readers. According to the EETimes:

Despite the fact the iPad includes an e-book reader, many people will prefer dedicated devices using E-Ink displays rather than the LCDs on consumer tablets. "I don't care whose LCD it is, it's a lamp and people don't want to stare into lamps," he quipped.

I'm not sure that I agree with O'Donnell on this one; I think that one of the iPad's most important uses will be for reading e-books and publications. Even so, though, when it comes to the marketplace, netbooks will sales still far outstrip those of the iPad.