Vista sends Quanta laptop sales to new high
106669
InfoWorld - The world&#39;s largest contract laptop computer maker shipped over 2 million notebook computers in the month of January, an all-time high for a single month, due to strong orders ahead of the launch of&#160;Microsoft Windows Vista, the company&#39;s president said Friday.
616628
(InfoWorld) - The chairman of Acer, the world's fourth largest PC vendor, forecast the company's PC shipments will grow by as much as 50 percent year-on-year in the first quarter and 40 percent for all of 2007, the company confirmed on Tuesday. Acer Chairman J.T. Wang made the prediction on Monday at a Lunar New Year celebration, according to a company spokesman. The story was first reported in the Chinese-language Economic Daily News, which said the reasons for strong growth included stronger than expected shipments of PCs armed withÂ Microsoft's new Vista OSÂ and lower PC prices resulting from aÂ price warÂ on central processing units, the brains of a PC, between Intel and Advanced Micro Devices. The spokesman could not immediately confirm the reasons for stronger shipments, but said Acer is seeing brisk growth in emerging markets. The report that Vista is a major cause of Acer's strong PC shipment growth in the first quarter is important because it may be an early sign the new OS is taking off, at least in some markets. Microsoft launched the consumer version of Vista in 70 countries on Jan. 30, and since then its main comment on sales of the OS has been to warn analysts that their forecasts might be too aggressive. Other technology companies have given the OS a mixed review. Quanta Computer, the world's largest contract laptop PC maker,Â credited VistaÂ with record-breaking notebook shipments in January. But Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.Â (TSMC), the world's largest contract chip maker, said VistaÂ won't have much impactÂ on PC sales growth this year. The company is considered an IT industry bellwether due to the wide variety of chips it manufactures. The microprocessor price war between Intel and AMD has been going on for several months, and is a key to creating great bargains for users by lowering overall PC costs. The processor is the most expensive component in a PC. On Jan. 21, Intel released a new price list, slashing the price of some desktop CPUs as much as 69 percent compared to its previous price list, published in late December. AMD published a new price list on Feb. 20, also showing lower prices for certain processors aimed at desktop PCs, including dual-core Athlons, compared to its Jan. 22 price list. The price lists for both companies can be found on their respective Web sites, and all prices are for lots of 1,000 processors. The top global market for Acer products is Europe, while Asia ranks second for the company. In recent years, the company has put a new focus on China and the U.S. Â
49519
Microsoft Corp. MSFT.O announced on   Tuesday U.S. prices for Windows Vista, the long-awaited new   version of the operating system that sits on more than 90   percent of the world's PCs.
20976
Windows Vista, Microsoft's new operating system, goes on sale to business customers.
366503
(InfoWorld) - Worldwide semiconductor sales surged to a record high $20.5 billion in August,Â led by memory chips, particularly DRAM (dynamic RAM) and NAND flash, the Semiconductor Industry Association said Tuesday. Strong PC sales helped boost both DRAM and microprocessor sales, the SIA said. And in a good sign for users, average selling prices for microprocessors fell 18 percent compared to last year due to stiff competition between makers such as Intel and Advanced Micro Devices. Chips used in consumer electronics devices showed strong growth as producers began stocking up ahead of the important holiday season. The sharp decline in gasoline prices has also been an aid, the SIA noted, since consumers can spend their fuel savings on electronic devices instead. The global chip industry derives over half of its revenue from consumer products such as mobile phones, MP3 players, and digital cameras. The August sales record was an increase of 10.5 percent over the same time last year, and 2.1 percent better than July, when chip sales totaled $20.1 billion. The previous record for one-month worldwide chip sales was $20.4 billion, set in November of last year.
444904
(InfoWorld) - Windows Vista's share of online users has increased every month this year, while rival Mac OS X -- to which Vista has often been compared -- has shown little, if any, growth, a metrics company reports. According to Net Applications, Windows Vista accounted for 4.52 percent of all systems that browsed the Web in June, up from January's 0.18 percent. Vista has grown its usage share each month since its release to consumers Jan. 30, hitting 0.93 percent in February, 2.04 percent in March, 3.02 percent in April and 3.74 percent in May. Apple's Mac OS X, meanwhile, accounted for 6.22 percent in January and hit its high point of 6.46 percent in May, but it slipped back to 6 percent in June. If Vista's uptake trend continues, it should pass Mac OS X in Web usage share by the end of August. Shifts from the Mac OS X running on older PowerPC processors to the edition running on Intel CPUs have been constant, but according to Net Applications' data, the computer maker is not making new Mac converts. In January, for example, the PowerPC version of Mac OS X was reported by 4.34 percent of the machines Net Applications tracked, while the Intel version accounted for just 1.88 percent. June's numbers showed that the PowerPC edition of the operating system still held the lead, but the gap had narrowed considerably: Older versions were pegged at 3.52 percent and Intel editions at 2.48 percent. Likewise, Vista's increases have come at the expense of Windows XP and Windows 2000, both of which have dropped in usage since January. Windows XP, for instance, accounted for 85.02 percent of all machines that month but was down to 81.94 percent in June. Windows overall total has remained flat, ranging between 90.01 percent and 90.46 percent through the first six months of the year. Net Applications' 6 percent share for Mac OS X jibes with recent IDC sales estimates, which put Apple's portion at 5.6 percent of all personal computer sales in the U.S. during the second quarter. Apple's next major upgrade to Mac OS X, dubbed Leopard, is scheduled to ship in October.
649002
(InfoWorld) - Shares of Asian PC makers are finally shaking off their summer doldrums as back-to-school sales give them a boost and the upcoming launch of Microsoft's new Vista OS improves their longer term prospects. A buying binge on stock of Taiwanese PC maker Acer started early this week after it was upgraded by Merrill Lynch & Co.Â and a few other large investment banks. The firms noted that after sluggish sales in the first half of the year,Â demand for PCs is on the rise. TheÂ microprocessor price warÂ between Intel and Advanced Micro DevicesÂ (AMD) saw the price on some desktop chips halved, lifting PC demand, analysts say. Microsoft's new OS is expected to come out on time and give the PC market an additional long term boost. "The PC replacement cycle should take place gradually following Microsoftâs launch of its new operating system, Vista, in the first half of 2007," said Daniel Chang, computer industry analyst at Macquarie Research Equities, in a report on Thursday. Acer's shares were also boosted this week after it reported a better-than-expected 36 percent increase in second quarter net profit to NT$3.08 billion (US$93.59 million). It's shares ended up 25 percent for the week, at NT$53.5, on the Taiwan Stock Exchange. Acer's main rival in Asia, Lenovo Group, also saw its stock rise. The company'sÂ U.S.-listed shares increasedÂ 11.2 percent to US$8.45 for this week, as of its close on Thursday. By comparison, Dell and Hewlett-Packard have been laggards. Dell shares are up 3.9 percent so far this week to end at US$22.60 on Thursday, while HP had gained 3.8 percent to US$36.56 over the same time. One reason for the difference in share performance is that Acer and Lenovo stock fell further this year than their U.S. rivals due to PC market concerns andÂ company-specific issues, analysts say, so it's no surprise the rebound has lifted them higher. Another reason Dell and HP have underperformed their Asian peers recently is because U.S. investors are concerned about the economy, including consumer demand and the likelihood of further interest rate increases. Although very little conclusive data is out for U.S. PC sales right now, analysts say demand in Asia is strong, and Europe is heating up. Henry King, executive director of technology research for Goldman Sachs (Asia), noted in a report on Wednesday that strong PC component demand in Europe over the past few weeks should help allay concerns over possible U.S. weakness. "Besides, we expect more Europeans to come back from summer vacations in the next few weeks, so sell thru data is likely to continue to trend up in September," King said. Another factor hurting shares of PC makers this year has been cutthroat price competition. But stronger market demand should ease price competition, analysts say, as should lower costs for microprocessors. In short, the seasonal demand from back-to-school and back-from-vacation sales going on now should extend for quite a while as users continue buying when Vista launches. The strong, steady demand should allow PC makers to charge reasonable prices, increasing their profit margins and making investors happy.
521319
Laptop PC shipments by two of the world's largest contract makers surged in June, rebounding from a Santa Rosa lull.
10710
Strong Q2 software sales pushed Oracle's total revenue up 28 percent to $5.3 billion.
97381
Microsoft's profits for the key Christmas trading quarter soar 79%, driven by strong computer sales.
303444
(InfoWorld) - PCs running Microsoft'sÂ new Windows Vista operating systemÂ got a cool response from consumers in Japan during their first month on sale, according to data published Tuesday. Sales of desktop and laptop computers from brand-name makers in February were 1.2 percent higher than the same month in 2006, said BCN. The company came up with its figure after analyzing point-of-sales system data from about 560 specialist PC and electronics shops that are part of 12 retail chains. The entire market was up 6 percent thanks to better demand for white-box PCs made by computer stores and for motherboards. The jump in the brand-market was smaller than expected by market watchers, who thought the launch of the long-awaited operating system on Jan. 30 would give the PC market more of a kick. Better sales had been expected in part because consumers had shown a lack of interest in new PCs in the months prior to Vista's launch. In October, sales were down 21 percent compared to the previous year. In November, they were 22 percent lower, in December 19 percent down and in January 14 percent below the same month in 2006. The little strength there was in the brand-name market came from increased sales of laptops, sales of which were up 9.3 percent on a unit basis for the month, said BCN. The desktop sector was down 13.8 percent on the year. Despite the apparently lackluster response from Japanese consumers, Microsoft and two major PC makers have in the last 24 hours given the Vista launch votes of confidence. "We're actually pretty happy with how the launch has gone so far," said Darren Huston, president and CEO of Microsoft's Japan unit, at a news conference on Monday. The same day Walt Mayo, corporate director of Dell Japan's home and business sales division, said in an interview that the Vista launch has been "good overall." On Tuesday Richard Walker, head of Hewlett Packard's consumer PC division, said sales of Vista PCs were "strong" in the global market. He didn't have any data specific to the Japanese market. "We're definitely ahead of our plan as far as Vista is concerned," he said. Among Vista sales demand for the premium versions has been greater than anticipated, said Microsoft's Huston. "That was actually a good, positive surprise for us," he said.
160014
The increase resulted from a sharp rise in sales in its business software unit, the company said.
137338
Amid strong PC demand from consumers and businesses, Microsoft reported on Thursday quarterly revenue and earnings that topped the company&#39;s earlier expectations.
411138
Microsoft Corp. MSFT.O announced on   Tuesday U.S. prices for Windows Vista, the long-awaited new   version of the operating system that sits on more than 90   percent of the world's personal computers.
178909
TechWeb - Apple is reported to have turned to longtime manufacturer Quanta Computer to ramp up production.
424019
Get your desktop computer for just Â£9,999 Vista only hit the shelves yesterday, but Microsoft's new operating system has already sent shockwaves through the PC retail industry.â¦
173079
Microsoft reported Thursday that first-quarter net income rose 11% and revenue 12%, due to strong server-software demand and steady sales of PCs that run its products.