SAN FRANCISCO - Google’s Chromebook was dismissed as a bare-bones laptop with limited appeal when it debuted two years ago. Now it’s defying skeptics and gaining share as the rest of the personal-computer market shrinks.
Chromebooks have, in just the past eight months, snagged 20 percent to 25 percent of the U.S. market for laptops that cost less than $300, according to NPD Group.
The surge marks Chromebooks as one of the few types of computers able to attract consumers while Dell and other traditional PC makers undergo a shakeout. The industry has already seen notebook-PC sales eroded by the popularity of smartphones and tablets. As a result of the shift, worldwide PC shipments fell 4 percent in 2012 and are forecast to decline 7.8 percent this year, according to researcher IDC.
The growth follows the unveiling of Chromebook models from Google’s hardware partners Acer and Samsung Electronics last October, at prices starting at $199, down from about $300 or more.
Chromebooks still remain a small portion of the total U.S. market for laptops and netbooks. The devices had about 4 percent to 5 percent share in the first quarter, though that was up from 1 percent to 2 percent in 2012, according to Mikako Kitagawa, an analyst at Gartner Inc.
Business, Pages 22 on 07/15/2013