14 DAY TRIAL // The market of desktop PCs and mobile computers is in a sort of bind, not too critical but also not the sort that can easily be escaped. By all accounts, everyone involved has been trying to do so constantly.
Their lack of success is obvious from all the financial reports and analyst surveys that have been published left and right.
Sure, some still say that the whole “post-PC Era” talk is just that, talk, but it is hard to share that opinion when PCs account for less than half of the DRAM market.
A report now says that, confirming previous speculations, notebook shipments have fallen, enough to imply that inventories will go past the comfortable levels in the fourth quarter of 2012.
In fact, it may all lead to price cuts down the line, particularly in Europe and China, as some brand vendors have begun to dump inventories from other markets.
The situation on the desktop front has led to a drop in motherboard demand, despite the upcoming holiday season in Europe and China's National Day.
Normally, these occasions visibly boost sales, but 2012 has decided to be an anomaly in this regard.
Motherboard makers have reduced their shipment forecasts and are fighting over the mid-range and entry-level segments. Again, pricing is most relevant.
The ones labeled the culprit are, once again, tablets. The Apple iPad is getting most of the blame, if it can even be called that, as it is the main representative of that market.
For those who want numbers, ASRock expects to ship 8 million motherboards this year, while Gigabyte foresees 19 million and ASUS 23.2 million.
On a related note, Intel and Microsoft are losing market share due to all this, and the TV market is doing poorly as well, not that anyone is surprised.