Taiwan, Jan 24 (Korea Newswire)-- According to market research firm DRAMeXchange, Global NB shipments in 4Q06 reached 23,271K, up 21.6% from the last quarter, lower than the 24.6% growth registered for the same period of last year. The NB shipment peaked in November again in 4Q06, where aggregated shipments reached 8,169K. From a quarterly shipment perspective, HP continued to be the No. 1 NB brand for Q406, where it overtook Dell in Q306. However, in terms of annual shipments, Dell still outpaced HP. Needless to say, the two are locked in a seemingly endless see-saw battle.

Dell…s first NB project with AMD inside, which is the catalyst of AMD…s 4Q growth, started shipping in 4Q06. It was only when Dell…s sales began to lag behind HP in 2H06 did the company begin to conduct a more evident change in their business models. The employment of AMD CPUs was one of Dell…s new strategies in expanding their market share. However, whether or not Dell can win back the No.1 title depends on several key factors----feasibility of Dell…s direct selling model in the emerging markets, its corporate culture, and relationship with its OEM and ODM partners.

Accompanied by Dell…s boost, AMD NB CPU shipments in 4Q06 were close to 3,660K. Based on DRAMeXchange…s latest research, this accounted for 15.7% of the NB market share, which was a new record high for AMD. In addition to AMD…s earlier foray in the 64 bit technology, the low price strategy was another reason for AMD…s market share expansion in 2006. Nevertheless, AMD still encounters upcoming challenges, such as capacity issues. Although AMD acquires a bigger share of the pie every time Intel has a strategic or technical issue, but once they are settled, AMD is faced with harsh challenges again.

In 2006, it can be summed up, that commercially, the AMD 64 bit technology outperformed Intel Duo Core in 1H, and Duo Core outperformed 64 bit technology in Q4. When Intel…s 32 bit Core Duo processors hit the market, they were much less favorable than the AMD Turion 64. However, after 2H06, Intel gradually turned the tables around, as the improved Core 2 Duo was both dual core and 64 bit. The introduction of the Core 2 Duo was a clear indication that Intel was aggressively fighting back. Furthermore, Intel…s Core Duo CPUs had already switched to the 65 nm manufacturing process in early 2006. AMD, on the other hand, did not begin the migration until late 2006. This created a big difference in the chip…s manufacturing costs and efficiency between the two rivals.

After unveiling the Core Duo (Yonah) processor for only two quarters, Intel introduced the new generation processor Core 2 Duo. Its release was a direct response to the rising influence from AMD over the past year. It was also a preparation stage for the next Centrino platform---Santa Rosa. Intel undoubtedly implemented measures in minimizing the impact to its Yonah sales. Although Merom…s official price was about the same as with Yonah, through shipment management and price discount strategies, the shipments of the Napa platform far exceeded that of its Merom counterpart. NB shipments with Merom inside were relatively low in 4Q06. Up until now, the inventory level of Napa and Napa Refresh in the market seems healthy, which will not become an obstacle to the upcoming Santa Rosa.

〃As long as Intel successfully introduces the Santa Rosa platform in 2Q07, followed with the low price CPU Celeron in 3Q07, and does not encounter any serious issues, AMD will be facing a difficult uphill battle with Intel in 2007.〃said DRAMeXchange.

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DRAMeXchange is a global primary provider of future intelligences, in-depth analysis reports and advisory services on DRAM and Flash memory industry with coverage including current business, spot trading prices, and market trends, capital spending and wafer capacity trends, the impact of DRAM/flash memory products on the market, and other relevant PC industry information.

Founded in 2000, DRAMeXchange serves more than 50,000 clients, including high level company officers, procurement salespersons as well as technology firms and investment community. DRAMeXchange supports IT industry executives, memory related companies, and the investment communities to make fact-based decisions on memory purchases and deploy business strategy. Information about DRAMeXchange and its researches can be found at www.DRAMeXchange.com.

News Source : DRAMeXchange

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