Thin is In When it Comes to Laptops

According to iSuppli, a market research firm, 2010 will be all about netbooks and ultra-thin laptops. As a matter of fact, even though the market experienced a 19% increase in sales last year (up from 2008), numbers for this year are expected to be even higher. They also expect this trend to carry on for the next four years, into 2014.

Laptops, Ultra-thin laptops, and Netbooks

In 2010, over 34.5 million netbooks are expected to ship (an increase of 30%) and in 2014, those numbers are expected to reach 58.3 million units sold. When it comes to the newer ultra-thin laptops, 14.5 million units are expected to ship this year, which is a 93% increase from the 7.5 million units shipped in 2009. As for standard laptops, they still dominate the market (160.5 million units are expected to ship in 2010), but growth is only about 21%. It's expected that notebooks will continue to dominate the market over the next few years, but thinner versions are definitely on their way up.

Acer is Number One

When it comes to computer-makers, Acer remains number one. The company, based in Taiwan, was at the top in 2008 and 2009, and iSuppli expects that to be the case in 2010. 37% of all laptops shipped last year came from Acer, which drives sales with competitive pricing, strong channel distribution, and quick production to market time. Asustek Computer came in at number, while Hewlett Packard, Samsung, and Dell rounded out the top five. However, the number two spot will potentially see Samsung or HP taking over. Those five companies alone make up 90% of the laptop market.

Another reason for Acer's popularity is it's creation ultra-thin laptops in 2009, something other companies hadn't yet started making. The company shipped around five million ultra-thin laptops in 2009. Asustek shipped about 700,000 ultra-thin unites, and together with Acer, dominated the market. Companies such as HP, Dell, and Toshiba didn't get into the ultra-thin game until late in the year, but they are expected to do so in 2010, which means lots of changes and competition to be number one.

Total Numbers

If iSupply's data is any indication, laptop popularity, as a whole, will continue to grow and dominate the computer market, with more and more people trading in their powerful standard laptops for netbooks and ultra-thing models. Rumor has it some companies, such as Toshiba, will be working to make thinner laptops more powerful.

In 2009, 166.9 laptops were sold. This year, 209.5 unites are expected to sell, with 371.5 units being sold in 2014.

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Sony VAIO X Series Ultra Thin Laptops

It seems, in the computer world, that thin is the way to go theses days. When the MacBook Air was released by Apple, many of us thought that we couldn't get any thinner. well we were wrong. Sony's VAIO X Series of laptops has proved to be smaller, thinner and lighter than the MacBook Air. While looking at this laptop, you may notice the Intel Atom processor and compare it to be the same as other netbooks. However, this machine is something different completely.

How is this netbook so thin you may ask? Well for starters, the motherboard has all of its components soldiered onto one side of it. In addition to that, all the components are stuffed into the back of the motherboard leaving the front half to house the battery. This interesting choice of design has resulted in the thinnest machine on the market coming in at 16mm throughout. If you want to plug in an Ethernet cord, then you are going to have to the drop-down legs at the back of the netbook because the Ethernet connection is thicker than the actual laptop.

The keyboard has nice spacing, allowing you to easily type at speed. However, the keys only move a fraction when under pressure and don't have much space for travel which will not suit all users. The touchpad is tiny but responsive allowing precise control and the accompanying buttons are somewhat big and do not offer much movement. The X Series comes with an 11.1inch display which is expected for a mid-range laptop although this is better than nearly any one currently on the market. It has amazing color reproduction and comes with a 1366x768 pixel resolution.

Just like the VAIO P Series, the X Series has an Intel Atom Processor and came in at 2GHz offering enough power for most of your office tasks. It also comes with a 256GB solid state drive but only only has 2GB of memory. The X Series chassis is made out of carbon fiber which helps keep it light at a 775g. But this light weight comes at a price. The body flexes heavily under light pressure. But the carbon finish and glossy lid makes the device feel like a premium product.

The X Series is limited on ports having only two USB ports located on the left side of the device and one VGA and one Ethernet on the right side. Support for SD cards can be accessed on the front as well as a place for Sony's memory stick formats. The X Series has 802.11n Wi-Fi as well as Gigabit Ethernet and range topping models get 3G/HSDPA with the SIM card sliding in behind the battery. As soon as you see this thing your first reaction is going to be "whoa". It literally is that small. If you are a business man who values tiny dimensions as well as the lowest weight possible then the VAIO X Series is the exact laptop for you.