In its newest report, Juniper Research forecasts that shipments of mobile computing devices like tablets, ultrabooks and other notebooks will more than double over the next five years. Driving this growth will be tablets and ultrabooks, two categories that will make up for 73% of the total market by that time.
At the heart of the user experience are technologies like SSD which, along with other hardware and software enhancements, provide features such as instant-on and thinner designs. The problem, however, is that SSD storage also comes at cost, prompting vendors to explore other options such as cloud storage and hybrid solutions to make these products competitive.
Some other findings from the report include:
- Ultrabook shipments will reach 178 million by 2016 – growing at three times the rate of tablets. Tablet shipments will still be higher, reaching 253 million annually.
- Windows 8 will play a pivotal role in driving Ultrabook adoption, with extended battery life, always-on-always-connected and other functionalities coming with Microsoft’s next OS.
- Netbooks shipments will comprise just a third of today’s volumes by 2016, with tablets and low-cost performance notebooks cannibalizing this short-lived segment.
And as usual, you can get additional information about Juniper’s report from their website.