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| Samsung Electronics' Notebook Pen convertible notebook / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics |
By Baek Byung-yeul
The laptop market here has been experiencing sluggish sales due to the rise of tablets and smartphones, but convertible laptops, which can be converted from a laptop to a tablet, have been attracting consumers looking for something more powerful than a tablet and more multifunctional than a laptop, industry analysts said Wednesday.
Samsung Electronics has led the convertible notebook market here, selling more than 110,000 products as of November. To catch up with the market leader, Samsung's archrival LG Electronics is also scheduled to unveil its convertible laptops at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January 2019.
Samsung rolled out its Notebook Pen convertible laptop in the market in December 2017. The Pen series features a design allowing for the display to be rotated 360 degrees. It also offers an S Pen, which makes it easier to use the convertible laptop for various tasks such as professional or educational purposes.
"Among the entire notebook market, convertible notebooks account for a small share, but thanks to the products' multifunctional features, we are creating new avenues in the market," said a Samsung official.
According to data by Korea IDC, about 1.87 notebooks were shipped out in the market here until September 2018, a 7.2 percent decrease year-on-year. While traditional laptops are getting less popular, convertible notebooks have experienced rapid growth from 26,000 in 2017 to 116,000 in 2018.
Samsung said it will introduce an upgraded version of its convertible notebooks at the CES exhibition. "Traditionally, we have announced the latest edition of our computing products at the CES every year and we will bring new ones there as well," said the Samsung official.
Forecasting the future scope of the laptop market here, an analyst said convertible notebooks will keep attracting consumers' attention along with slim notebooks and gaming PCs.
"In 2019, convertible notebooks are expected to increase their portion in the notebook market here together with thin notebooks less than 18 millimeters thick and PCs specialized in offering enhanced gaming experiences," said Kwon Sang-jun, a senior research manager of IDC Korea.
Samsung has led the country's notebook market with a share of 44 percent, according to data from Korea IDC, while LG has been running after Samsung with a share of 27 percent.
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| Seen is an LG Electronics' Gram 2-in-1 convertible notebook, which was leaked by Best Buy. / Captured from Tom's Hardware |
LG said Wednesday it will introduce its convertible laptop LG Gram 2-in-1 at the CES. The company said its new product will feature a 360-degree hinge for converting it from a laptop to a tablet and also come with a pen made by Wacom.
The Gram 2-in-1 became known to consumers as its photo was recently leaked by the U.S. retailer Best Buy. Since the leakage, LG officially confirmed that it will unveil the convertible laptop and the Gram 17, which will have a 17-inch IPS display.
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