Media Tablets, already cannibalizing netbooks and smartbooks, will impact hard disk drive (HDD) sales as units contain solid state drives (SSDs) instead of HDDs, according to The Information Network.
More than 54 million tablets will sell in 2011, each containing a SSD instead of a HDD, said the research firm. The HDD market, already reeling from more than 17 million tablets sold in 2010, will be impacted by the displacement of HDD-based notebooks by tablets.
Robert Castellano, president of The Information Network, was cited in an August 2010 release saying a drop in HDD demand in the second quarter of 2010 could signal a slowdown in the rampant growth of the PC market in the second half of the year.
"New data this week has shown that indeed we were correct, as PC shipments dropped nearly 5% in Q4 in the US, the primary market for media tablets such as the iPad with about 37% of global sales," Castellano said.
In 2011, tablets are expected to penetrate the entire global community, thereby impacting PC sales and hence HDDs sales in other geographic regions, according to The Information Network. In 2014, the Asia-Pacific region will account for more than 50% of media tablet sales.
The HDD market is on track to record a growth of 20% in unit shipments to 672 million units in 2010, The Information Network said.