Taiwan-based supply chain makers say that global chromebook shipments for 2014 are likely to climb to 4 to 5 million units because not many people are into cloud based storage and secondly 4G access is not up to par with the manufactured devices.
"Hewlett-Packard (HP), Dell, Acer, Asustek Computer and Samsung Electronics have all been aggressively promoting their Chromebook products with some prices already reaching US$199," according to Digitimes.
Although Microsoft is moving ahead swiftly with its new OS and PC repertoire, the Google Chromebook is still to be taken seriously. The statistics say ABI Research calculated Chromebooks shipped in 2013 topped 2.1 million, and most of them were bought in North America.
ABI also sees Chromebook sales adding 11 million in a mere 5 years. This may be because the Chromebook offers convenience in its size, a low price advantage and pretty much everything you can do on a mobile device. Unlike a laptop, the chromebook is handy, so it could even replace a mobile device.
Some analysts report that Chromebooks hold 10% of notebook sales.
Research firm NPD reported Chromebook sales were up 300 percent in 2013.
A stagnation of sales for the chromebook this year is because the demand for smartphones are still very strong and the mobile device can still do a lot of computing. So, in effect, chromebooks will not be as popular netbooks were at one time because there are so many options for cheap, portable and convenient technology for computing.
Dan Ackerman of CNET says that the challenge for chromebook makers is to add as many rich features as possible while keeping the prices down. And this will presumably give chromebooks a chance to survive unlike the eventual fate of the netbook.
Samsung's response to this challenge is the Chromebook 2. A couple of new models come in 11.6 inch and 13-inch versions and these have some tweaks inside and outside that adds to their appeal.
The 11.6-inch Chromebook 2 will run consumers $319 and the 13-inch full-HD model will be around $399. Both models are scheduled for release in April.
