Intel May See Stronger Second-Half '06
Scott Reeves, 08.25.06, 8:52 AM ET
Intel's product transition held back demand in the first half of the year, but the company appears poised to benefit from a strong second half, a Caris & Co. analyst believes.
Intel is working closely with Microsoft to assure the best hardware match for the software giant's new Vista operating system, according to Caris.
"Now that Vista is on the way, a strong, and perhaps stronger than typical business and consumer spending up-cycle is underway," Caris analyst Rick Whittington said in a research report.
"We well recognize that this has not spread -- yet -- to all items of electronic equipment, indeed our recent 'concerns' over cell phone momentum, but his is typical and quite frequently computing leads the way as occurred in each of the previous major 'bit' transitions in computing."
In the 1980s and 1990s, the switch to 16-bit and 32-bit chips set off a round of upgrades.
"Why 64-bits should prove any different is a proposition frequented by the bears, but without accompanying evidence," Whittington said. "History presents compelling evidence that 2007-2009 could prove well above trend line growth."
Inexpensive broadband and wireless have sparked a similar round of spending in connectivity and affordable handheld devices.
(forbes.com) |
