Here's a good reason why IBM should start using Winchip to build low cost computers to make up for the poor showing of the APtiva line and fend off Dell.
Sunday October 26 3:37 PM EST
Third-quarter PC sales jump 16 percent, led by Compaq
By Kourosh Karimkhany
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 26 (Reuters) - Worldwide third-quarter personal computer
sales jumped 16 percent amid steady demand from consumers, strong spending
by businesses and falling prices that made the machines more affordable, two
market research firms said Sunday.
PC powerhouses Compaq Computer Corp. (CPQ) and Dell Computer Corp. (DELL)
continued to gain market share during the quarter at the expense of
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) and smaller manufacturers,
market researchers Dataquest and International Data Corp. said in their
quarterly reports.
''The war between Compaq and Dell is creating many casualties,'' said
Dataquest senior analyst Charles Smulders. ''Their individual gains are at
the expense of most of the other PC manufacturers.''
Worldwide, PC shipments in the third quarter rose to 19.55 million from
16.91 million the year before, according to IDC. In the United States,
shipments jumped 20 percent to 8.38 million from 6.98 million, IDC said.
Unit shipments for Compaq, the world's biggest PC maker, rose 56 percent in
the third quarter to 2.77 million PCs, giving the Houston-based company 13.7
percent of the worldwide market, according to Dataquest. In the United
States, one in five PCs sold was a Compaq machine.
Dell, the No. 3 vendor behind Compaq and IBM, saw its shipments rise 60
percent to 1.22 million, giving it 6 percent of the worldwide market.
IBM's shipments rose a modest 11 percent to 1.66 million for an 8.2 percent
market share. IBM's corporate PCs, portables and servers -- network
computers -- sold well, but its consumer Aptiva line was overpriced compared
with the rest of the market, dragging down total growth, IDC said.
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HWP) had the biggest shipment increase. Worldwide
shipments jumped 68 percent to 1.18 million, giving H-P the No. 4 spot with
5.8 percent of the market, Dataquest said.
Closely held Packard Bell NEC Inc. was the fifth-biggest vendor worldwide.
Its shipments declined 7.6 percent to 940,000, giving the company a 4.6
percent share of the market, Dataquest said.
Geographically, Europe, paced by France and Italy, and Southeast Asia had
strong demand, IDC said. But worldwide growth was hampered by Japan, where a
wobbly economy and high prices led to a 12 percent unit shipment decrease,
IDC said. |
