Wide-screen flat panel displays are getting more common, and IDC estimates widescreen displays will ship on the majority of notebook computers in 2006.
IDC has releasd a new technology forecast, Worldwide Portables by Screen Size 2004-2009 Forecast and Analysis: The Future is Bright and Wide, in which it notes the popularity of widescreen LCD displays in portable computers and devices has skyrocketed, so much so that it anticipates widescreen displays will be present in the majority of notebook computers shipped in 2006, outstripping screens with (formerly?) standard aspect ratios.
The IDC forecast tracks eighteen screen size categories by their growth rates and the number of units shipped, projected out to 2009. The forecast also track and forecasts aspect ratios, and predicts that the popularity of widescreen aspect ratios will rapidly move from the consumer marketplace to the corporate and enterprise buyers as computer operating systems require greater resolution and detail to use efficiently.
IDC attributes the attraction of widescreen formats to growing consumer comfort and familiarity, primarily from experience with DVD players, where widescreen formats are commonplace
