Strong growth in Chromebook shipments could be a “temporary fad similar to the netbook” but it could also point to a long-term trend for “a niche that is gaining traction among consumers,” said a report from ABI Research (http://bit.ly/1ygEF5h) released Tuesday. Chromebook shipments jumped by 67 percent quarter to quarter in Q2 2014 and are forecast to double for first half year over year, it said. “Consumers are hungry for a product that is cost effective but also provides the versatility and functionality of a laptop,” said analyst Stephanie Van Vactor. “The growth of the Chromebook market demonstrates a niche that is gaining traction among consumers,” she said. Acer led the market during first half 2014, followed by Samsung and HP, with the three accounting for three-fourths of shipments. Those positions are expected to hold through the rest of the year. ABI attributed Chromebooks’ slow start to a “questionable need” by consumers that was negated by demand in vertical markets including elementary education, now a “driving force,” along with overseas markets. Chromebook sales are strong in emerging markets, particularly Asia-Pacific and Eastern Europe, where business purchases are 75 percent of Chromebook sales, ABI said. But North America projects to be 78 percent of Chromebook sales this year, it said. Chromebooks came to market in 2013 when notebook sales were declining and tablet sales were on the rise, said Van Vactor, but in first half 2014, tablet sales growth slowed amid a “revival” of the notebook PC. The Chromebook’s form factor and low price tags could give them “more of a place in the market than originally anticipated, especially as more vendors jump on board and sales continue to grow,” she said.

While some mobile banking users claimed to have no major concerns about mobile banking, more than 56 percent said they have fears when accessing their bank information on smartphones, a GOBankingRates study found. About 37 percent of smartphone users polled cited identity theft as a major concern, and almost 9 percent were worried about technical errors, GOBankingRates said Tuesday (http://bit.ly/1nmcjp1). Women were 65 percent more likely than men to worry about technical errors resulting in missing funds, it said. Men were 85 percent more likely than women to be worried about lack of paper statements, and 37 percent more likely to be concerned with misuse of information, it said. “Respondents in the Northeast and South were more concerned with identity theft than those in the West and Midwest.” To obtain the information, GOBankingRates surveyed 790 Americans, it said.