iPad Puts The Smack Down On Netbooks?

Apple is putting the smack down on the netbook and eReader market with the new iPad, at least that's what some analysts would have you believe. The iPad is selling very well for the company despite prediction form many in the industry that the iPad could be Apple's biggest failure ever.

So far the iPad has sold a million units since it has been on the market. According to a reports from CNN Money the iPad is really hurting sales of netbooks. A chart was published this week by an analyst from Morgan Stanley named Katy Huberty shows the extent that the iPad has eroded the netbook market.

The chart shows that so far in 2010 netbooks sales are plummeting compared to their high last summer. At the peak of netbook sales, the small and cheap machines had grown 641% year over year in July of 2009. The year over year growth in netbook sales in April 2010 compared to the same month of 2009 is listed at 5%. A survey conducted in March claimed that 44% of consumers were planning to get an iPad instead of a netbook. It's worth noting that I see no mention of other factors that could be contributing to the slowing in netbook sales like more consumers buying full notebooks. I'm not sure that we can point to the iPad as the sole reason netbooks sales are slowing.