Shipments of ultra-mobile devices, which encompass ultra-mobile PCs, netbooks and Mobile Internet Devices, are expected to exceed 200 million units in 2013, according to a recent study from ABI Research.
Netbooks account for about 90% of the UMD market today, but the segment will fall to a distant second by 2013, behind MIDs, which are expected to garner nearly 68% of the market. Ultra-mobile PCs will hold a niche market.
“As this market enters its rapid growth phase and starts to evolve, we will see considerable experimentation with different distribution channels: some will sell direct from the manufacturer, some via retail outlets, and some through mobile operators who will subsidize them to encourage new data plan subscriptions,” noted Solis.
200M UMDs to ship in 2013
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