Gartner just put out a study using the word Mobile which will confuse a few people.  The world of mobility is changing and I think that it’s time to hang up the notion that notebooks are mobile. No one wants to lug around a notebook when you have an smartphone.

This is what Gartner just put out.

Worldwide mobile PC shipments totaled 49.4 million units in the first quarter of 2010, a 43.4 percent increase from the first quarter of 2009, according to final results by Gartner, Inc. This year-over-year growth is the highest the mobile PC market has experienced in eight years and represents about $36 billion in end-user spending.

Shipments to the consumer segments continued to be the main growth driver, but there was an uptake in the professional segment. Gartner expects to see higher growth in the professional market toward the end of 2010 and into 2011 as part of a larger refresh cycle.

“Mini-notebook PCs were a big part of the bump in mobile PC shipments in the first quarter of 2010, with shipments growing 71 percent over the same period last year,” said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner. “However, mini-notebooks’ share slowed in some regions as consumers begin to understand the limitations of mini-notebooks, especially in the face of aggressive price cuts of regular notebooks.”

“The average selling price (ASP) of mobile PCs was $732 in the first quarter of 2010, a 15.7 percent decline from the first quarter of 2009, when the ASP was $868,” Ms. Kitagawa said. “The ASP for mobile PCs is expected to stabilize as sales into the professional market will grow, resulting in slightly higher ASPs compared to consumer mobile PCs.”

HP continued to be the No. 1 vendor in worldwide mobile PC shipments, as it accounted for 19.2 percent of shipments in the first quarter of 2010 (see Table 1). However, HP and Dell were the only vendors in the Top 5 to grow below the industry average. ASUS and Acer experienced the strongest growth rate among the top-tier vendors with shipment increases of 113 percent and 48.4 percent, respectively. Gartner analysts said this growth was driven by sales in the low-end consumer market.

My Angle
Ok here is my rub with this.  I love Gartner but have to speak up.  The word mobile should be reserved for smartphones only with maybe a pass on the iPad for now.

Gartner uses the word mobile PC in their study showing mobile PC shipments up this quarter.  I’m splitting hairs because mobile now means smartphone not PC Notebook.