Chromebook: The saviour of the laptop?

Amid a holiday, leaving We Are Social, and starting my new job at Pitch, I managed to miss the quite startling news that Chromebooks now lay claim to nearly 25% of the <$300 laptop market in the US over the last eight months.

According to NPD Group Inc., Chromebooks are defying the global trend of a shrinking laptop market, and indeed shrinking PC market (predicted to fall 7.8% in 2013). This is quite startling, and impressive from Google/Chromebook OEMs. The key in this drive is Samsung's Chromebook which, at just $249, is a bargain given its specs. Also important, is Google's continued success with Chrome.

I previously queried the mass appeal for Chromebooks at this point in time, but could definitely foresee the shift taking place in the future. It appears this shift has occurred far quicker than I expected, and the niche that Google was bound to find with the Chromebook, is greater than first thought. It seems Caesar Sengupta, head of product development for Chromebooks, is surprised as well:

“We’re seeing tremendous growth, without a doubt -- massive, massive growth,”

Now, before we read too much into this report, Chromebooks still only accounted for 5% of total shipped laptops and netbooks in Q1 2013, but this was up from 1% in 2012 showing that the interest is certainly there. According to DigiTimes, Google is looking to maximise this interest by pushing further Chromebooks in the lead up to Christmas.

"Because of weak demand for Windows 8, Google has been trying to use the chance to expand into the PC industry and with Intel’s aggressive R&D supports as well as AMD’s entrance to the Chromebook market, many brand vendors such as Asustek Computer are reportedly considering to develop related models to counter Microsoft’s dominance."

Are you get to be sold on the Chromebook revolution? Do you see this growth continuing into 2014?