15" Notebooks Set to Take 50% of Global Market in Q4


Digitimes reports that 15" notebooks will account for more than half the global portables market in Q4, with negligible price differences between 14" and 15" panels accounting for the shift.

Apple recently launched its new 1GHz and 1.25GHz aluminium PowerBook G4, which employs a widescreen 15.2" display. Dell also offers 15" notebooks, but its 14" range does not offer a 15" screen option. Digitimes says Dell is due to offer this option in the near future.

Other PC manufacturers also report the shift in consumer preferences from 14" to 15" panels. Taiwanese giant Acer's ratio of 14' to 15" models is currently around 3:7. Other manufacturers already have a product breakdown of 80-90% 15" notebooks.

Analysis: An optional 15" screen could be possible for a high-end iBook, as the 14.1" model, originally deemed ungainly by 12.1" iBook users, has proven very popular, even in Japan, land of the subnotebook. But would Mac users want a 15" iBook?