Driven by the rapid spread of mobile Internet services, falling prices and consumer taste, the market for laptops is growing sharply, according to a new market research report.

 

More and more aging desktop computers are being replaced by the portable models, and developing areas of the Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Eastern Europe regions will drive more and more notebook PC sales, according to the report from Global Industry Analysts, Inc., or GIA.

 

The San Jose, California-based firm’s 100-page report, “Personal Computers: A Global Outlook,” costs $950, according to GIA’s Web site.

 

“Rapid technological advancements including powerful microprocessors, high bandwidth connectivity and sophisticated software have contributed to the evolution of smaller devices such as palm-size computers, Web-enabled cell phones, auto PCs and smart televisions,” company officials say. “Apart from allowing users to accomplish complicated tasks, these improvements render PCs with enhanced reliability, power, and simplicity of use.”

 

Interestingly, officials with the firm say the PC market is seeing a “tectonic shift,” as cheaper models replace conventional PCs.

 

Those cheaper models eventually will be “replaced by advanced devices such as smart phones, WebTVs, and WebPads,” the firm says.

 

Certainly, Apple Inc.’s roll-out in July of its widely anticipated iPhone (News - Alert) has been viewed by experts as a watershed moment in the history of mobile Internet delivery via a smart phone.

 

TMC President and Group Editor-in-Chief Rich Tehrani recently (finally) got a hold of one of the devices, as reported on his blog, and now has what’s known as the “Blackberry sandwich” – a favorite among tekkies, who carry both the new iPhone and the RIM device.

 

Yet, for Tehrani, the iPhone has some problems, even though its OS is “light years” ahead of other wireless phones.

 

The on-screen keyboard is one problem, according to Tehrani.

 

“In addition, it was a bit of a hassle to get it to work with my Exchange server,” he writes. “Nothing insurmountable but I did receive a certificate error which threw me. Once working though, my contacts and appointments came in very smoothly – perhaps more smoothly than on a Windows Mobile device.”

 

The iPhone also has no cut-and-paste tool, to exchange data among applications, Tehrani writes.

 

“This would be quite useful if you are looking to blog and you want to point readers to a URL,” he says.

 

Nevertheless, according to GIA, the development of more powerful microprocessors, high-bandwidth connectivity and better software have spurred the evolution of palm-size computers, Web-ready cell phones and auto PCs.

 

“Apart from allowing users to accomplish complicated tasks, these improvements render PCs with enhanced reliability, power, and simplicity of use,” the firm says.