The laptop computer market will account for nearly 40 percent of the total Chinese personal computer market in 2009, one or two years earlier than previously forecast, research firms said on Monday.

In the third quarter, notebook shipments in the United States market surpassed desktop PC shipments for the first time in the industry's history, according to International Data Corp, a US-based IT research firm.

The laptop became more and more popular just as the entry-level netbook (mini-notebook) sold well through the year, analysts said. Research also showed the phenomenon of multi-PCs-per-user and a surging demand for second and third computers in families.

"The accelerating growth in notebook sales in 2008 will, in the long term, surpass the sales of desktop PCs in China. The emergence of mini-notebooks has contributed to the increase of the notebook market share," said Antonio Wang, research manager of IDC's China Personal System Research.

All major players in the industry have launched netbook models, including ASUS, Acer, Hewlett-Packard, Dell and Lenovo.

IDC did not give detailed laptop sales in the third quarter but it expected laptop sales would account for 40 percent of the total PC sales in China.

China's laptop sales reached 2.19 million units, jumping 34.5 percent year on year, according to the Beijing-based CCID Consulting.

Before that, China's laptop sales were expected to contribute to 40 percent of the total market until 2010 or 2011, according to CCID and chip giant Intel.

The share of notebooks shipped in the US market in the third quarter stood at 55.2 percent. Sales hit 9.5 million units, representing a more than 18-percent growth from a year ago, according to IDC.

(Shanghai Daily December 23, 2008)