A new survey commissioned by consumer electronics site Retrevo might not be welcome news to the netbook industry: according to the results, 78 percent of respondents considering buying an iPad or a netbook are leaning towards an iPad. The survey also found traditional notebook computers are cutting into netbooks sales as consumers look for something with a larger screen and more capability: of consumers torn between a netbook and a traditional notebook, 65 percent went with the notebook.
The survey also asked if they held off on purchasing a netbook after Apple initially announced the iPad back in January: 30 percent said they did put off purchases and wound up buying an iPad, while 40 percent went with the netbook instead. The remaining 30 percent said Apple’s iPad announcement did not alter their plans to purchase a netbook.
The results may be indicative of the market momentum Apple has generated with the iPad: the company has already sold more than one million units in the United States, and international sales begin in nine countries at the end of this week. Consumers have generally granted the iPad several advantages over netbooks, including improved portability, longer battery life, and Apple’s usual attention to detail in interface and applications. However, obviously, unlike netbooks, the iPad does not run Windows or Linux, and can’t tap into the plethora of software available for those platforms.
The results are part of the Retrevo Pulse Report, which conducted an online survey of more than 1,000 U.S. consumers.
