Portables, Laptops and PDAs - UK

Mintel's Market Intelligence series currently consists of 120 reports annually, divided into two UK-focused sectors:

• Food & Drink
• Non-food (Essentials)

These two complementary sectors combine to give you ultimate flexibility in your researching, whether you want an industry-focused base of information, or a complete picture covering a wide range of consumer-based markets.

For each sector, every report provides a thorough analysis of the market, looking at:

• Market Drivers
• Market Size and Trends
• Market Segmentation
• The Supply Structure
• Advertising and Promotion
• Distribution
• The Consumer
• The Future
• Forecast

Issues in the Market

Definitions

Major themes of the report

Abbreviations

Market in Brief

Laptops and PDAs market booms

New products boost PDA market

Flexibility the appeal

Laptops increasingly for leisure purposes…

…rather than business purposes

PDAs more limited in appeal

But what role for the desktop?

Market future promising

Growing Wi-Fi penetration will help

Internal Market Environment

Key points:

Quest for work/life balance

More self-employed, taking work home

Greater demands on laptops

Figure 1: Self-employed and homeworking, 2002-06

Legislation to promote work/life balance

Quality of life a priority

Convergence - Opportunities or challenges?

Laptops for leisure

Convergence also a threat

TV or not TV?

Early adopters keen

TV doubts

Mobile phones

Many 'smartphones' not PDAs

Greater hunger for bandwidth

Upgrades stimulated

Figure 2: Broadband Internet connection, 2003-06

Laptops and wireless routers

Cutting loose at home….

…allows for the growth of laptops

Figure 3: Technology usage of digital A/V devices, by gender, age, socio-economic group and working status, July 2006

Broader Market Environment

Key points:

AB socio-economic status growing

Information management

Figure 4: Changes in socio-economic status, by gender, 2001-06

Polarisation of the age profile

Digital divide

Figure 5: Changes in the UK demographic profile, by gender and age, 2001-06

Consumers are more mobile…

…using the train more

Other economic factors

Personal disposable income

Figure 6: UK personal disposable income, at current and constant prices, 2001-06

The technology environment

On the move

Airline ban to end?

Train restrictions

Spread of Wi-Fi

To 3G and beyond

Rapid rollout

3.5G for laptops

Technology developing

Competitive Context

Key points:

Desktop sales cannibalised

Desktop PCs

Figure 7: Estimated UK retail sales of desktop PCs, by volume and value, 2001-06

Strengths and Weaknesses in the Market

Strengths

Weaknesses

Market Value and Forecast

Key points:

Falling prices, improved specifications

Improved specifications

Figure 8: UK retail sales of laptops and PDAs, by volume and value, 2001-06

The future

PDAs highly connected

Price falls for laptops

Forecast

Growth in the laptop market will slow

Figure 9: Market size, volume and forecast of the laptop market, at current and 2006 prices, 2001-11

PDAs on the rise

Figure 10: Market size, volume and forecast of the PDA market, at current and 2006 prices, 2001-11

Value of the PDA market will grow

Innovations Influencing Laptops

“All in one features” will assist PDA growth

Factors incorporated in the forecast

Factors used

Segment Performance

Figure 11: UK retail sales of laptops and PDAs, by sector and value, 2002-06

Laptops see consumer boom

PDA phone market takes off with convergence of usage

Conventional devices decline sharply

Market Segmentation

Key points:

Laptop PCs

Laptop volumes boom

Figure 12: Estimated UK retail sales of laptop PCs, by volume and value, 2001-06

But pricing pressures constrain value growth

Format sales shifts

Figure 13: Estimated UK retail sales of laptop PCs, by type and value, 2002-06

Ultra-portables see a recovery

New consumers enter market

Lower prices allow consumers to increase specifications

Processors: Intel leads the way

Figure 14: Estimated UK retail sales of laptop PCs, by processor type, 2004 and 2006

New processors

Core Duo launch

PDAs

PDA phones boost the market

Figure 15: Estimated UK retail sales of PDAs, by volume and value, 2001-06

New capabilities

PDAs see Wi-Fi benefits

Windows Mobile on the rise

Figure 16: Estimated UK retail sales of PDAs, by operating system and volume, 2004 and 2006

New devices

Palm declines

Conventional PDAs

Unconnected PDAs are phased out

Figure 17: Estimated UK retail sales of conventional PDAs, by volume and value, 2001-06

Value and volume fall

Wireless handheld/PDA phones

2006 a lift-off year for PDA phones and wireless handhelds

Figure 18: Estimated UK retail sales of wireless handheld/PDA phones, by volume and value, 2001-06

Taking on the Blackberry

Integrated Wi-Fi

Market Share

Key points:

Manufacturer market share

Competition is intense

Figure 19: Estimated manufacturer shares in the UK laptop PC market, by volume, -2004 and 2006

Acer gains in popularity

HP has successful 2006

PDAs

Figure 20: Estimated brand shares in the UK PDAs market, 2004 - 2006

Lack of new product

Companies and Products

Key points:

Hewlett-Packard

Fujitsu Siemens

Packard Bell

Toshiba

Dell

Sony

Palm

Research in Motion

O2

HTC

Apple

Acer

Brand Communication and Promotion

Key points:

Overall spending as a percentage of total sales has declined

Figure 31: Main monitored media spend, 2002-06

Lenovo tops laptop spend

Sony pitches for female and fashion consumers

Figure 32: Main monitored media spend, major spenders, laptop PCs, 2006

BlackBerry gives UK some juice

O2 boosts own-label

Figure 33: Main monitored media spend, handheld units, 2003-06

Channels to Market

Key points:

Laptop PCs

Figure 34: Estimated retailer value shares for UK total* home PC market, by type of outlet, 2002-06

Conventional retailers suffer…

…as Internet and supermarkets grab share

PDAs

Figure 35: UK retail value sales of PDAs, by type of outlet, 2002-06

Specialists under pressure

The Consumer - Laptop Ownership

Key points:

Laptops owned

Figure 36: Number of laptops in households, October 2006

Most Internet users have laptops

Opportunities for second and further laptops

Older consumers are technophobes…

...younger upmarket consumers are the most likely to own laptops…

…and to own more than one laptop

Figure 37: Number of laptops owned, by gender, age and socio-economic group, October 2006

Other key points to highlight

Repertoire ownership

Desktops and laptops

Figure 38: Ownership of laptops and laptops and desktops, October 2006

Internet users most likely to own at least one desktop

Less than 10% of all laptop owners do not own a desktop

The Consumer - Laptops - Attitudes and Motivations

Key points:

Motivations for purchasing laptops

Figure 39: Motivations for purchasing a laptop, by the number of laptops owned, October 2006

‘Freedom to roam’ is top reason

Price reductions

Replacement purchasing

Demographics analysis

Men buy to replace/upgrade

Men run own business from home

Women are keener on freedom around the home

Southern consumers work while travelling

Tapping into the growing issue of carbon footprint when travelling

Ability to work on the move is a strong motivation for purchase

Attitudes towards laptops

Figure 40: Attitudes towards laptops, by the number of laptops owned, October 2006

Multiple ownership: a lifestyle choice

Laptop as 'new best friend'

Wealthier consumers use laptops in home offices

Leisure uses help drive usage outside of the home office

Non-users - reasons for not owning laptops

Figure 41: Reasons for not owning a laptop, October 2006

Happiness is a desktop PC

Needs versus wants

Older, female consumers are happiest with their desktops

Figure 42: Agreement with statement ‘I am happy with/prefer my desktop’, by gender and age, October 2006

Price is a major practical objection

Notably for ABC1 consumers

Multiple desktop owners more open to laptops

They don’t see them as more expensive

Figure 43: Barriers to laptop ownership by number of desktop owned, October 2006

Appendix

Internal Market Environment

Figure 48: Broadband Internet connection, by gender, age, socio-economic group, presence of children, marital status, working status, household size, region, lifestage and Mintel’s Special Groups, 2006

Brand Communication and Promotion

Figure 49: Main spenders in the computer - portables market, 2003-06

Figure 50: Main monitored spend on handheld PCs, 2003-06

The Consumer - Detailed demographics

PDAs - Usage

Figure 51: Usage of electronic personal organisers, smartphones, and palmtop computers eg BlackBerry, by gender, age, socio-economic group, region, working status, household income, household size, commercial TV viewing, Internet usage, homeworking, presence of children, newspaper readership and supermarket usage, October 2006

Reasons for not owning a PDAs

Figure 52: Non-usage of PDAs, by gender, age, socio-economic group, region, working status, household income, household size, homeworking, presence of children, newspaper readership and supermarket usage, October 2006

Figure 53: Non-usage of PDAs, by gender, age, socio-economic group, region, working status, household income, household size, homeworking, presence of children, newspaper readership and supermarket usage, October 2006

Ownership - Number of laptops owned

Figure 54: Number of laptops owned, by region, woprking status, household income, household size, commercial TV viewing, Internet usage, homeworking, presence of children, newspaper readership and supermarket usage, October 2006

Motivations for purchasing

Figure 55: Motivations for purchasing a laptop, by gender, age, socio-economic group, region, working status, household income, household size, homeworking, presence of children, newspaper readership and supermarket usage, October 2006

Figure 56: Attitudes towards laptops, by gender, age, socio-economic group, region, working status, household income, household size, homeworking, presence of children, newspaper readership and supermarket usage, October 2006

Non-users - reasons for not owning laptops

Figure 57: Reasons for not owning a laptop, by gender, age, socio-economic group, region, working status, household income, household size, homeworking and supermarket usage, October 2006