While notebook sales have been particularly brisk at retail, growing by 30 percent or more in February and March, sales to corporations -- which account for the largest portion of notebooks purchased -- were slow in 2001 and the first quarter of 2002. "There has been a greater shift in the notebook mix in the consumer market" than in corporate sales of late, said Alan Promisel, notebook analyst at IDC. One reason is that, especially during 2001's PC market slump, notebooks have come down in price. Notebooks with beefy hardware configurations, including 1GHz processors and 14-inch displays, are now available for prices as low as $999. Improvements in technology, including faster processors, crisper screens and more eye-popping graphics, have also combined with lower prices to encourage consumers to take the plunge and buy a notebook. And that's despite the fact that a portable machine still carries a price premium, usually about $400 to $500 more than a desktop. Looking forward, IDC predicts overall PC unit shipments will increase by about 3 percent in 2002, after falling about 5 percent in 2001. Notebooks' long-term prospects revolve around an economic recovery and companies beginning to upgrade their PCs again. Most PC makers expect corporations to start upgrading, after holding off through 2001 and part of 2002, in the second half of this year. But the exact date of that return and the strength of initial sales increases are still up in the air. Many companies looking to upgrade their PCs will choose mid-range notebooks this time around instead of desktop PCs, IDC's Promisel said. As a result, he said, "I think we're going to see a pretty steep incline in the mix in the 2003 time frame...because of commercial interest in portable computing."
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