Market Research Shows Chromebooks Doing Very Well Indeed

As 2014 began, several prominent analysts were taking aim at recent media reports that have allegedly miscast how well Chromebooks--portable computers based on Google's Chrome OS platform--are doing in sales terms. "There has been a ton of misreporting as many lazy reporters and bloggers have characterized this as all sales, which it wasn't, or even consumer sales, which it most assuredly was not," Stephen Baker of the NPD Group, reportedly told Computerworld, for example.

However, ABI Research came out with its tally of Chromebook sales for 2013 this week, and reported: "An estimated 2.1 million Chromebooks shipped in 2013 with nearly 89 percent of total shipments reaching North America. As Chromebook shipments expand globally, ABI Research forecasts an increase of annual growth rate to 28 percent and reach 11 million shipments in 2019." That's nothing to shake a stick at.

Chromebooks are, according to numerous trusted sources, a fast growing subset of the portable computer market, especially in the low priced segment and for certain markets, including schools.  Windows 8 and RT devices are still ahead of  Chromebooks in terms of sales, but Chromebooks have found their place in the market. Over the holiday season, Amazon reported that two of its top selling portable computers were Chromebooks.

"ABI Research tracked Chromebooks across six regions and found the average selling price (ASP) to be US$338," reported analyst Stephanie Van Vactor, in a statement. "This truly budget-driven device is a disruptive force to the portable PC market."

As a matter of fact, we've had several OStatic readers report that they're attracted by the low prices for Chromebooks, and have bought them simply to put their favorite Linux distros on them.

As we've reported, Chromebooks are doing especially well in schools. Their low prices are attractive to many school systems. As reported by Mashable, noted Silicon Valley analyst Tim Bajarin said: "There are no governments or IT departments running out to buy these products — they would be underwhelmed. Instead, this growth is being driven by education."