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Intel maintains microprocessor momentum in Q3

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CIOL Bureau
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  USA: Intel Corp. gained market share in the worldwide microprocessor business in the third quarter of 2008, on both a sequential and a year-over-year basis, padding its lead in the industry, according to iSuppli Corp.

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In the third quarter of 2008, Intel accounted for 80.4 percent of global microprocessor revenue, up 0.3 percentage points from 80.1 percent in the second quarter of 2008.

Intel extended this gain on the year-over-year comparison, growing its share by 1.7 percentage points from the 78.7 percent it held in the third quarter of 2007.

The picture was slightly different at rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD), with the company losing share on a year-over-year basis. In the third quarter of 2008, AMD accounted for 12.1 percent of global microprocessor revenue, a decrease of 1.8 percentage points from the 13.9 percent it held in the third quarter of 2007.

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However, on a sequential basis, AMD’s short-term position improved, with the company’s share rising 0.1 of a percentage point from the 12 percent it held in the second quarter.

Intel’s growth is largely due to the strength of its product portfolio in the notebook segment,” observed Matthew Wilkins, principal analyst, compute platforms, for iSuppli. “In the third quarter, Intel achieved a double-positive, producing share growth on both a sequential and year-over basis, while main rival AMD grew in the short term only.”

Due to the sequential decrease in share of the “others” category, Intel and AMD’s share growth in the third quarter came largely at the expense of smaller suppliers. iSuppli believes the increasingly competitive environment resulting from the global financial crisis is the key reason for this.

Q3 not as bad as feared

While there were some signs that PC demand weakened in the third quarter, iSuppli’s early estimates indicate that PC shipments actually reported healthy growth over the third quarter of 2007, up in the region of 12 to 14 percent.

The notebook segment retained its strength and momentum, and continued to be a key growth driver for the PC industry in the third quarter. iSuppli’s current PC forecast calls for unit growth of 12.5 percent in 2008.

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