Unsurprisingly, fewer U.S. consumers purchased desktops and notebooks in 2013 (compared to 2012), according to a report by market research group NPD.

Perhaps more unexpectedly, iPad sales were down, from 17.1 percent of the U.S. market to 15.8 percent, despite debuting the new iPad mini and the iPad Air, widely regarded as the top tablets on the market (and also some of the most expensive). Apple also saw a slight decline in notebooks, which now comprise 1.8 percent of the market instead of 2.6 percent.

Basically, Google products made up for declines across the board for almost every other major category and company (besides Windows tablets, which went from .8 percent to 2.2 percent). Chromebooks jumped from .2 percent to 9.6 percent; Android tablets upped their portion of the market share from 4.2 percent to 8.7 percent, according to the report.

Google's specialty laptops are so cheap (starting at $199), they're thriving despite a trend towards tablets; in fact, they've grown more than tablets, which as a whole went from just over 22 percent of the market in 2012 to 25.7 percent in 2013. Many companies are Chromebooks as a way to inexpensively outfit staff with new computers, according to Apple Insider.

"The market for personal computing devices in commercial markets continues to shift and change," said NPD's vice president of industry analysis Stephen Baker. "New products like Chromebooks, and reimagined items like Windows tablets, are now supplementing the revitalization that iPads started in personal computing devices. It is no accident that we are seeing the fruits of this change in the commercial markets as business and institutional buyers exploit the flexibility inherent in the new range of choices now open to them."

According to further analysis by Forbes, however, the "Scroogled" perception put forth by competitors may be taking some ground. Though physical sales are strong, the number of people using the Chrome OS platform aren't matching pace, indicating that consumers aren't using their Chromebooks as frequently as consumers who've purchased other computing devices. Perhaps, then, Google's inexpensive solution is only a trend.