Digital Lifescapes

Semiconductors are the heart of information technology and telecommunications systems. Worldwide semiconductor revenue totaled $343.5 billion in 2016 -- that's a 2.6 percent increase from 2015 revenue of $334.9 billion, according to the latest global market study by Gartner. The top 25 semiconductor vendors' combined revenue increased 10.5 percent, a significantly better performance than the overall industry's growth. However, most of the reported growth resulted from vendor merger and acquisition (M&A) activity. Semiconductor Sector Market Development "The semiconductor industry rebounded in 2016, with a weak start to the year, characterized by inventory correction, giving way to strengthening demand and an improving pricing environment in the second half," said James Hines research director at Gartner . Worldwide semiconductor revenue growth was supported by increasing production in many electronic equipment segments, improving NAND flash memory pric...

Personal computer (PC) demand is still a major concern. Worldwide PC shipments totaled 60.6 million units in the first quarter of 2016 (1Q16) -- that's a year-on-year decline of 11.5 percent, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). IDC also anticipated slow progress during the first half of 2016, as Microsoft Windows 10 enterprise upgrades largely remained in a pilot deployment phase. IDC believes that the global volatility in stocks, commodities and currencies has depressed PC shipments. Moreover, the outlook remains a problem. Inventory reductions in the channel now seem to be over. A rebound in economic conditions could support both commercial and consumer activity going forward. Nevertheless, channels, vendors, and users remain cautious about new PC purchases. Overall, Asia-Pacific and EMEA performed slightly better than forecast, while the Americas pulled down worldwide results. Overcoming Market Development Stagnation "In the...

If there's a 'new-rule' the consumer electronics and PC industry learned from the successful rise of low-cost Chromebooks in the global marketplace, it's that less product capabilities can equate to significant new upside market opportunity. With the recent introduction of the compute stick form-factor -- such as ASUS Chromebit, Intel Compute Stick, and Lenovo Ideacentre Stick 300 -- key players in the PC sector have uncovered yet another gap in which existing devices are sub-optimal for specific use cases. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, compute stick shipments are forecast to top 5 million units by 2021. Truly, this would be a meaningful accomplishment, when you consider the other potential growth alternatives. "With 2015 concluding compute stick's first full year of shipments, we anticipate the devices to show an impressive CAGR of 49 percent between 2015 and 2021 as the ecosystem continues to grow," said Jeff Orr, ...

The Personal Computer (PC) market has been very volatile for several years. Meanwhile, each new year an industry analyst predicts a small recovery, but the forecast results fail to materialize. We've seen this cycle of refutal over and over again. Case in point: worldwide PC shipments totaled 71.9 million units in the fourth quarter of 2015 (4Q15), reaching a year-on-year decline of -10.6 percent, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC ). Although total shipments were similar to analyst expectations, 2015 still ended as the first year below 300 million units since 2008. The holiday quarter achieved a small boost compared to the prior quarter, but the year-on-year decline in 2015 shipments was the largest in history -- surpassing the decline of -9.8 percent in 2013. The PC market continued to face persistent challenges from longer-PC lifecycles and competition from mobile phones and media tablets, despite the slowing growth in those markets...

While Microsoft and Intel were busy planning the introduction of a high-price Ultrabook PC concept -- that was focused on vendor needs for higher profit margins -- Google was working on developing a low-price Chromebook model that was targeted at an under-served market. What's the primary benefits of a Chromebook? They're cloud-centric, budget-friendly, fast-booting, battery-efficient, secure computing devices that are more functional than media tablets and less expensive than the typical notebook PC. Besides, the Chromebook is a forward-thinking device, enabled by a software platform that has already transformed server computing -- the operating system is based on open-source Linux. Built for the Mobile Cloud Era In 2014, Chromebooks gained more traction in the North America market, and are set to continue growing as online streaming devices become more popular among consumers and business buyers. According to the latest market study by ABI Research, Chromebooks exp...

Personal computer (PC) vendors have a complex market development challenge in 2015 -- learn how to embrace ongoing demand volatility. Worldwide PC shipments are expected to fall by -4.9 percent in 2015, while growth projections for 2016 and 2017 were raised slightly, according to the latest study by International Data Corporation (IDC). Fourth quarter 2014 (4Q14) results were 1.7 percent ahead of forecast, but economic and product changes will create more challenges in the short term. Total 2015 volume is projected at 293.1 million PCs, slipping a little further to 291.4 million in 2019. In value terms, the PC market reached $201 billion in 2014 -- that's a decline of -0.8 percent, and is expected to fall another -6.9 percent in 2015 with potentially smaller declines in subsequent years bringing the total to $175 billion by 2019. Furthermore, while recent processor updates have generated some positive momentum, more significant product refreshes -- such as Intel Skylake and M...

Back in April of 2012, a key trend had emerged -- people were choosing lower-cost notebook PCs. The Wintel partnership was concerned. If the trend gained momentum, then profits would surely be impacted. Intel responded with the Ultrabook campaign , in an attempt to "correct" the market. The result of this huge marketing investment by Intel was " cinematic and epic " -- but clearly not in a way that was intended. The outcome from the campaign and the apparent lessons-learned are truly one of the most insightful marketing case studies of the decade. Why? This was an irrefutable example of how traditional mass-media marketing was no longer able to significantly influence buyer sentiment. Moreover, the size of an advertising and promotion budget won't translate into market development gains, if and when it rejects a compelling trend in the marketplace. The Reality: a New Era of Computing The Average Selling Price (ASP) of Ultrabooks and media tablets declin...

While few people may remember the anticlimax that followed the huge marketing campaign for the launch of Intel-based high-cost Ultrabook PCs, industry analysts can't help but reflect upon that event as they review the impact of low-cost notebooks on the personal computing market today. Following a second consecutive quarter of softer than expected demand, International Data Corporation (IDC) has once again lowered its worldwide media tablet plus 2-in-1 forecast for 2014 to 233.1 million units. Based upon their latest market study, they now forecast a 6.5 percent year-over-year growth rate -- which is well below the 12.1 percent growth rate previously forecast. "When we look at the global picture, it would be easy to say that the tablet market is slowing down," said Jean Philippe Bouchard, research director at IDC . "But, when we start digging into the regional dynamics, we realize that there is still a good appetite for this product category." While matu...

Truly, few (if any) analysts expected the PC market to show signs of a recovery in America, but that's what happened. The U.S. market showed strong 6.9 percent year-on-year growth in the second quarter of 2014. Continuing upgrades of Windows XP systems boosted shipments in commercial portables and desktops, helping the commercial segment of the market. At the same time, retail acceptance of emerging product categories helped the consumer segment to somewhat stabilize. Global Quarterly Results and Industry Outlook  Worldwide PC shipments totaled 74.4 million units in the second quarter of 2014 (2Q14), a year-on-year decline of -1.7 percent, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC). The results reflect the smallest decline in global PC shipments since the second quarter of 2012 when declining shipments of mini notebooks combined with a surge in media tablet sales to disrupt the PC market. Buoyed by both continued business PC replacements and returning consumer in...

Worldwide PC shipments are expected to fall by -6.0 percent in 2014, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). Mature regions did benefit primarily from a recovery surge in Western Europe while other mature regions performed modestly above expectations in the first quarter of 2014 (1Q14). Emerging regions continued to see weak demand and difficult conditions, although the economic environment in Latin America had the largest impact. The impact to emerging regions – a cornerstone of long-term market stability – outweighed the short-term boost seen in mature regions. As a result, longer-term growth was lowered slightly (by less than a percent for 2015-2017), with 2015 at -1.6 percent year on year with subsequent years still between 0 and -1 percent growth. "2014 represents an important shift for the PC market in emerging regions," said Jay Chou, senior research analyst at IDC . "Shipments in these parts of the world are expected to...

Given the recent announcement that Intel will support the launch of new high-performance low-cost Google Chrome devices, perhaps Chromebooks and associated cloud services will become the new high-growth segment of the consumer electronics industry. Meanwhile, sales of media tablets have apparently peaked. Worldwide media tablet plus 2-in-1 device shipments slipped to 50.4 million units in the first calendar quarter of 2014 (1Q14) according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). The total represents a sequential decline of -35.7 percent from the high-volume holiday quarter and just 3.9 percent growth over the same period a year ago. The slowdown was felt across all tablet operating systems and screen sizes and likely points to an even more challenging year ahead for the product category. "The rise of large-screen phones and consumers who are holding on to their existing tablets for ever longer periods of time were both contributing factors to...

Low-cost mobile devices, cloud computing and open-source software continue to reshape the Technology, Media and Telecommunication ( TMT ) sectors of the global economy. The impact from the transformation is far reaching, as growth stalls in some of the more traditional product and service categories. A case in point; worldwide personal computer (PC) shipments totaled 73.4 million units in the first quarter of 2014 (1Q14) -- that's a decline of -4.4 percent year-on-year, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). Although still in a downward spiral -- and with continuing weakness in consumer and emerging market segments -- the preliminary results are actually slightly better than a projected decline of -5.3 percent. Similar to the latter part of 2013, the upside in the first quarter arose primarily from demand in mature commercial markets. Commercial refresh projects, which had already been protracted, received a last push from the impending ...

Global personal computer sales continue to be weak in a marketplace that favors other devices -- such as smartphones and media tablets. Worldwide PC shipments totaled 76.6 million units in the first quarter of 2014 -- that's a 1.7 percent decline from the first quarter of 2013, according to the latest market study by Gartner. "The end of XP support by Microsoft on April 8 has played a role in the easing decline of PC shipments," said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner . Among key countries, Japan was greatly affected by the end of XP support, registering a 35 percent year-over-year increase in PC shipments. The growth was also boosted by sales tax change. The PC market continued to be tough for many vendors. Economies of scale matter tremendously in this high-volume, low-profit market, which is forcing some vendors -- such as Sony -- out of the market. Lenovo experienced the strongest growth among the top five vendors. Its shipments grew 10.9 percent, a...

According to the latest market study by Juniper Research , recent findings reveal that vendors of Tablet Hybrid devices will ship nearly 50 million units by 2018, rising from an estimated 9.5 million in 2013. Tablet hybrids, also known as 2-in-1 devices, are designed to achieve additional or improved tablet functionality through the use of accessories, or can be in the form of an Ultrabook that can have the screen removed to perform as a slate. As hybrid devices are relatively young, there is a distinct lack of industry standardization for what it actually constitutes -- when a media tablet or notebook PC becomes a hybrid. Also, due to the lack of demand for these devices, the shipment figures released by vendors do not granulate to the required level. As mentioned recently on Digital Lifescapes, Microsoft and Intel are likely to invest a significant amount of their 2014 marketing budget to motivate their channel partners to introduce and promote these high-cost devices in the m...

In the recent past, Apple iOS and Google Android have delivered a windfall for both vendors. Moreover, this is a pivotal year for media tablets as the traditional markets leading computing and consumer electronics (CE) deployments reach a tipping point and give way to growth regions. The most mature worldwide markets -- including North America, Western Europe, Japan and South Korea -- are yielding to other growth regions -- such as Latin America, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa -- where the connectivity infrastructure and distribution channels are coming of age. According to the latest market study by ABI Research, they forecast 200 million branded tablet shipments this year -- that's a 20 percent gain year-over-year from the 166 million shipments in 2013. With more choices than ever for mobile computing, consumers and businesses will weigh the role of tablets along with ultrabook PCs and large screen smartphones -- the so-called phablets -- to satisfy their communicat...

While much of the prior demand for media tablets was for personal use at home, usage is now increasing rapidly in the workplace -- threatening to disrupt the traditional players. Other changes in the marketplace, such as the disappointing results for Ultrabook PC sales, are forcing Microsoft and Intel to rethink their market development strategy. The two legacy PC market players have chosen to promote 2-in-1 devices -- a Windows 8 tablet with detachable keyboard -- in the hope that they gain traction in the workplace. They will likely target these devices at CIOs and IT managers that are at odds with their employee's Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy demands. Both companies have briefed industry analysts about their new strategy, with the expectation that their forecasts of 2-in-1 demand and adoption could eventually result in meaningful new sales for these expensive Windows 8 devices. Only time will tell if this approach will produce the desired outcome for Microsoft and Int...

The last few years have been very instructive for high-tech industry analysts, as we've observed the slow and consistent decline of the Wintel personal computer empire that had symbolized the supreme reign of Microsoft and Intel over this prolific business sector, once upon a time. But now, as the final chapter of this story comes to an end, the lessons learned will likely become yet one more case study for business school MBA students to review and dissect. Perhaps they'll also wonder -- how could they not have anticipated this transition and take corrective action? Meanwhile, here's one more chilling quarterly assessment of the same downward spiral. Clearly, dreams of a miraculous Ultrabook-fueled market recovery were without merit. Replacement custodial CEOs with good intentions simply can't erase the strategic mistakes of the past. It is what it is. Enough said. Update on the Global PC Market Outlook Worldwide PC shipments fell by -9.8 percent in 2013, sligh...

As previously reported, the prior global adoption of ultrabook PCs has been underwhelming. Regardless, there is some residual demand for these expensive devices. An estimated 12.3 percent (22.5 million devices) of the notebook PC shipments in 2013 (182.7 million) fit into the ultra-portable segment, according to the latest market study by ABI Research. In total, the year-on-year growth of ultra-portable PCs reached 100 percent from 2012 to 2013. But that's still a relatively small part of the overall worldwide personal computer marketplace. "Across 24 countries tracked in November 2013, we found average ultra-portable PC selling prices ranging from $940 to $1540 with the majority of models offered above $1200 in each country," says Jeff Orr, senior practice director at ABI Research . The average selling prices (ASP) suggest ultra-portables -- including the convertible and detachable 2-in-1 configurations -- remained at the high-end of the notebook PC category exitin...

Media tablets have already been adopted by millions of new users during the course of this year. Worldwide tablet shipments are expected to reach 221.3 million units by the end of 2013, that's down slightly from a previous forecast of 227.4 million but still 53.5 percent above 2012 levels, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). However, new growth will slow in the coming years, as some key markets approach the saturation point. Shipment growth is forecast at 22.2 percent year-over-year in 2014, for a total of 270.5 million units. By 2017, annual market growth will slow to single-digit percentages and shipments will peak at 386.3 million units, that's down from the previous forecast of 407 million units. One key factor to watch is the mix of small vs. large media tablet sales. The market has trended toward small tablets over the last 24 months, but the rise of large smartphones could attract people back toward larger tablets as the diff...

Worldwide PC shipments totaled 75.6 million units in the second quarter of 2013 (2Q13) -- that's down -11.4% compared to the same quarter in 2012, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). Total global shipments were effectively right on forecast, although Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) and Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan)(APeJ) were a few points below expectations with the difference made up in the United States. The recent performance reflect a market that is still struggling with the transition to touch-based systems running the Windows 8 OS -- as well as justifying Ultrabook very high prices in the face of economic pressures and competition from low-price media tablets. PC vendors seemed to be focused on inventory reduction during the second quarter, which could reflect planned launches of new models -- as well as plans to reduce any remaining unsold inventory going into the second half of the year. However, it also suggests som...