Tablet computers will outsell netbooks in the United States by 2012, according to a report issued last month, which also predicted that nearly one in four personal computers sold to US consumers will be tablets by 2015.
The report echoes earlier projections from other leading research firms, which have suggested that sales are beginning to slow for netbooks, also known as mini-notebooks or mini-notes.
Meanwhile, Apple has reported selling 2 million iPads in the first two months since the product was introduced.
Hewlett-Packard, Dell and other leading computer-makers are all rushing to introduce their own iPad-style tablets, which some in the industry refer to as "slate" computers.
HP had planned to launch a Windows-based tablet this northern summer, but has recently emphasised plans to use software from Palm, the smartphone maker that HP is in the process of acquiring.
"It appears the momentum is shifting from mini-note PCs to slates," said a report issued last week by NPD Group.
As more computer makers begin to introduce their own tablets in the coming months, the NPD report predicted consumers will increasingly turn away from netbooks.
Lower-priced netbooks, which have smaller screens and keyboards than traditional laptop computers, have been extremely popular since their introduction in 2008.
The Gartner research firm reported more than 32 million netbooks were sold worldwide last year.
Analysts say the strong demand for netbooks helped major PC makers maintain their sales volume through the economic downturn - when some customers shied away from buying higher-priced desktop and laptop models - although some of the netbooks provided a lower profit margin than full-size models.
But netbooks generally offered less processing power and other features that come with traditional notebook computers.
Netbook sales have started to show signs of slowing in some regions, "as consumers begin to understand the limitations of mini-notebooks, especially in the face of aggressive price cuts of regular notebooks", Gartner researcher Mikako Kitagawa said in a report last month.
Tablet computers, meanwhile, offer consumers a different model for computing, according to NPD.
Instead of a scaled-down netbook that attempts to mimic the complete operation of a traditional laptop or desktop computer, NPD's John Jacobs noted that tablets based on Apple or Android operating systems allow consumers to choose from an a la carte menu of software applications, designed to perform specific functions with ease.
Forrester's Sarah Rotman Epps estimates about 3.5 million tablet devices will be sold in the US this year, but her report predicts that number will skyrocket to 20.4 million by 2015.
The report estimates US consumers will buy just over 15 million netbooks in 2015.
