Microsoft Corp’s next-generation operating system and the lightweight Ultrabook laptops favored by chip-maker Intel Corp will not be enough to revive growth in the notebook computer sector, Citigroup Inc said yesterday.
Kevin Chang (張凱偉), a Taipei-based analyst for Citigroup, predicted that the annualized growth of notebooks would fall below 5 percent in the long term because tablet computers have eroded demand for notebooks, especially in the replacement market.
“We believe the notebook upgrade cycle is being prolonged due to the rise of tablet PCs,” Chang said at a forum as part of the Semicon Taiwan trade show. “The notebook replacement cycle will get much longer, maybe five years, as hybrid tablets start to replace some consumer notebooks.”
Chang forecast that tablet PC shipments would overtake notebook shipments in developed markets as early as 2014 and no later than 2015.
Speaking on the anticipated release of Windows 8 next month, Chang did not expect consumers to delay purchases of notebooks ahead of the major launch of the touch-friendly operating system.
According to a Citigroup survey, more than 75 percent of consumers have no idea when the Window 8-based notebooks will be available in the market, while only 6 percent said they were holding off on purchasing a notebook in anticipation of the Windows 8 release.
Chang was also skeptical that Ultrabooks would help boost notebook sales because consumers are spending less time at home using notebooks or desktop PCs.
Instead, Windows 8 tablets — with a keyboard docking function — would likely become more attractive to consumers over low-priced Ultrabooks as people prefer using tablets for entertainment, he said.
COMPETITION: AMD, Intel and Qualcomm are unveiling new laptop and desktop parts in Las Vegas, arguing their technologies provide the best performance for AI workloads Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD), the second-biggest maker of computer processors, said its chips are to be used by Dell Technologies Inc for the first time in PCs sold to businesses. The chipmaker unveiled new processors it says would make AMD-based PCs the best at running artificial intelligence (AI) software. Dell has decided to use the chips in some of its computers aimed at business customers, AMD executives said at CES in Las Vegas on Monday. Dell’s embrace of AMD for corporate PCs — it already uses the chipmaker for consumer devices — is another blow for Intel Corp as the company
STIMULUS PLANS: An official said that China would increase funding from special treasury bonds and expand another program focused on key strategic sectors China is to sharply increase funding from ultra-long treasury bonds this year to spur business investment and consumer-boosting initiatives, a state planner official told a news conference yesterday, as Beijing cranks up fiscal stimulus to revitalize its faltering economy. Special treasury bonds would be used to fund large-scale equipment upgrades and consumer goods trade-ins, said Yuan Da (袁達), deputy secretary-general of the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission. “The size of ultra-long special government bond funds will be sharply increased this year to intensify and expand the implementation of the two new initiatives,” Yuan said. Under the program launched last year, consumers can
Citigroup Inc and Bank of America Corp said they are leaving a global climate-banking group, becoming the latest Wall Street lenders to exit the coalition in the past month. In a statement, Citigroup said while it remains committed to achieving net zero emissions, it is exiting the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA). Bank of America said separately on Tuesday that it is also leaving NZBA, adding that it would continue to work with clients on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The banks’ departure from NZBA follows Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Wells Fargo & Co. The largest US financial institutions are under increasing pressure
FUTURE TECH: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang would give the keynote speech at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, which is also expected to highlight autonomous vehicles Gadgets, robots and vehicles imbued with artificial intelligence (AI) would once again vie for attention at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this week, as vendors behind the scenes would seek ways to deal with tariffs threatened by US president-elect Donald Trump. The annual Consumer Electronics Show opens formally in Las Vegas tomorrow, but preceding days are packed with product announcements. AI would be a major theme of the show, along with autonomous vehicles ranging from tractors and boats to lawn mowers and golf club trollies. “Everybody is going to be talking about AI,” Creative Strategies Inc analyst Carolina Milanesi said. “From fridges to ovens
RSS