14 DAY TRIAL // PC brands, like vendors of pretty much anything else, usually restock on a regular basis, but vendors decided to push back the orders they were supposed to make this month (July 2012).
Considering Intel's financial report just now, we are tempted to consider that the second quarter of the year was good all around the PC market.
This opinion, however, is either wrong or has no bearing on the decision that notebook brand vendors have reportedly taken.
According to Digitimes, laptop vendors are unimpressed with how things are going in the United States and on the European market.
That is to say, sales either slipped in Q2 or fell between then and now enough that restocking poses greater risk than most are willing to take.
Meanwhile, some component makers have received short-term orders, which is not exactly a breath of fresh air. Short-term orders is just another term of orders that have to be met in a very brief amount of time, and labor shortages in China aren't helping.
The problem is compounded by how this delay in demand, from July to August, could lead to even more rush orders, adding even more pressure on component makers and laptop manufacturers.
2012 will be a very troublesome year for everyone, apparently. After mixed Q3 results and ambivalent Q3 forecasts, the back-to-school season isn't bound to cause as high a sales rush as in previous years.
It doesn't help that Microsoft will only release Windows 8 in October, after this back-to-school season has blown over. Granted, the OS will act as an incentive for new PC purchases and upgrades, not to mention tablet acquisitions, but it will be a deterrent in the meantime, as everyone holds off on buying anything new.
At least this gives Intel more time to experiment with the best way to add 3D and higher-resolution panels to ultrabooks.