Netbook shipments to rise

Get set for the rise of the Netbook. According to new research, shipments of the “mini-laptops” will rise by 400% over the next four years.

ABI Research says shipments of the laptops with screens less than 10 inches will rise by 35 million units this year as the devices grow in popularity due to their size, price and functionality.

“In recent years, the industry still expected the smartphones to be more than they turned out to be, and most recently, mobile internet devices were thought to be the next big mobile devices segment, but an unclear usage model continues to confuse the market,” ABI analyst Kevin Burden said in a statement.

“So today, netbooks’ time has come, and ABI Research expects them to enjoy very strong market growth.”

But the firm also warns Netbooks may take a longer time to settle into the market, with consumers sometimes holding unrealistic performance expectations for the devices.