NEW YORK—Computer chip shipments rose in the second quarter of 2010 compared to the first quarter, a sign that computer makers are anticipating greater demand for PCs in the second half of the year.
According to a study by market research firm IDC, worldwide PC microprocessor deliveries increased 6.2 percent in monetary terms, and 3.6 percent in the number of units compared to the first quarter in 2010.
“Such a sequential increase in PC processor shipments alone would have been enough to conclude that the first half was strong for the market,” said Shane Rau, IDC’s director of semiconductors research in a statement.
“However, a modest rise in revenues, too, points directly to a rise in average selling prices. System makers bought more and higher-priced PC processors in 2Q10 than in 1Q10,” he said.
Chip giant Intel Inc. retained its first place, with 80.7 percent market share in the second quarter. Rival Advanced Micro Devices had a market share of 19 percent.
The IDC data showed that demand for processors of laptops and other mobile computer devices—such as tablet computers—continues to grow. “Digging a little deeper into the numbers shows that they bought more mobile processors and more server processors, while desktop processors remained flat,” Rau said.
Tablets Eating Into Laptop Sales
Many computer makers are getting into the tablet computer market—as much a defensive measure against sagging laptop sales as a prediction of growth of tablet computers.
Industry leader Hewlett Packard Co. last Friday in a conference call with Wall Street analysts admitted that the increasing popularity of tablet computers—such as Apple Inc.’s iPad—may have cut into notebook computer sales.
HP’s Todd Bradley, who oversees the company’s consumer PC business, said that part of the reason HP bought Palm Inc. was due to its advanced mobile computing operating system software—which would boost the prospects for HP’s upcoming tablet computer series.
The company is likely to release a Windows 7-based tablet prior to the holiday shopping season, and a Palm WebOS-based device will debut in early 2011, HP predicted.
According to a study by market research firm IDC, worldwide PC microprocessor deliveries increased 6.2 percent in monetary terms, and 3.6 percent in the number of units compared to the first quarter in 2010.
“Such a sequential increase in PC processor shipments alone would have been enough to conclude that the first half was strong for the market,” said Shane Rau, IDC’s director of semiconductors research in a statement.
“However, a modest rise in revenues, too, points directly to a rise in average selling prices. System makers bought more and higher-priced PC processors in 2Q10 than in 1Q10,” he said.
Chip giant Intel Inc. retained its first place, with 80.7 percent market share in the second quarter. Rival Advanced Micro Devices had a market share of 19 percent.
The IDC data showed that demand for processors of laptops and other mobile computer devices—such as tablet computers—continues to grow. “Digging a little deeper into the numbers shows that they bought more mobile processors and more server processors, while desktop processors remained flat,” Rau said.
Tablets Eating Into Laptop Sales
Many computer makers are getting into the tablet computer market—as much a defensive measure against sagging laptop sales as a prediction of growth of tablet computers.
Industry leader Hewlett Packard Co. last Friday in a conference call with Wall Street analysts admitted that the increasing popularity of tablet computers—such as Apple Inc.’s iPad—may have cut into notebook computer sales.
HP’s Todd Bradley, who oversees the company’s consumer PC business, said that part of the reason HP bought Palm Inc. was due to its advanced mobile computing operating system software—which would boost the prospects for HP’s upcoming tablet computer series.
The company is likely to release a Windows 7-based tablet prior to the holiday shopping season, and a Palm WebOS-based device will debut in early 2011, HP predicted.
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