“The research firm Current Analysis [recently reported] that notebooks had outsold desktop computers in May, the first time that has happened on a monthly basis,” Jason Lopez writes for Sci-Tech Today. “According to the research firm, computers made up 53.3 percent of the personal computer market, outpacing desktop PCs.”
“Apple saw little need to change its third-party chip vendor until mobile wireless computing started to catch on. Apple’s laptops have about 3 hours of battery life. Intel’s Pentium M, as part of the Centrino platform, exceeds Apple’s performance and has registered as much as 7 hours worth of battery power,” Lopez writes.
“With IBM lacking the organizational focus to keep up with Intel in the power-consumption arena, Apple might have had no choice but to migrate. ‘When you’re talking about mobile computing you’re talking about the sweet spot of the industry,’ said IDC’s Shane Rau. Rau foresees Apple adopting most of the Centrino package. ‘Yes, Apple will have Pentium M and therefore an Intel core logic solution, but the Wi-Fi? I’m not so sure.’ Apple is expected to go with best of breed while Intel is considered behind the curve in the move to the latest wireless standard of 802.11n,” Lopez writes.
Full article here.
Am I the only one surprised because 9 out of 10 computers best sellers on Amazon are Macs (updated hourly)? Where are the hard times everybody was foreseing for next year?
“Apple saw little need to change its third-party chip vendor until mobile wireless computing started to catch on.”
I hate it when analysts miss the facts. Who does this guy think was the first to put wifi into their laptops? And the first to move to 802.11g. I’ve been using wifi since 1999 on my iBooks.
This shift to Intel can be good for Intel as well as Apple. Since Apple is known for it’s forward thinking and cutting edge technologies, Intel will now have a customer for their latest and greatest.
All Dull is interested in is what is cheapest. We may see some great things come out of this new marriage!
Just what I have been saying all along. A lot of this switch was about laptops.
Stockpiling!
The reason why Macs fill up (almost) Amazon’s top 10 is that people are buying up G4 and G5 Macs now, to keep production humming through 2007. People are saying the wait for shipping products will harm interim sales. I declare the opposite. Plus add another year or two as we wait for the early adopters to test the waters and report limitations.
depending on what configurations each computer is set up with…the Centrino and the Mac respectively, battery times vary greatly. I’m not convinced that this articles 3hr and 7hr numbers are equitable.
With my G4 iBook at full performance, i do in fact get 3hrs, but when configured to save resources, i get 6. I would be very interested to see what the Centrino chip was configured to to get 7hrs.
All this being said…i can feel the perimeter wall still there and my defensiveness against Intel. (Note to Self: ‘Just let it go man…everything will be fine”)
Keeping an open mind…Resqsqd.
yeah, the battery life on my PB sucks. i guess it’s a compromise. i just hope they keep the aluminum shell.
“Stockpiling!…The reason why Macs fill up (almost) Amazon’s top 10 is that people are buying up G4 and G5 Macs now”
Are you serious? People stockpile goods whose value appreciates (such as gold, blue chip stocks, and fine art). As soon as you buy a new computer, the clock on its useful life starts counting down to obsolescence. Tying up your cash by stockpiling electronic equipment is a decision best left to folks with more money than sense. People are buying G4’s and G’5s because they need them now; they’re not doing it for an investment with little or no possibility of positive future returns on resale.
“The reason why Macs fill up (almost) Amazon’s top 10 is that people are buying up G4 and G5 Macs now, to keep production humming through 2007. People are saying the wait for shipping products will harm interim sales. I declare the opposite. Plus add another year or two as we wait for the early adopters to test the waters and report limitations.”
No, the reason people are buying is because many were waiting to see if new hardware would be unveiled at WWDC. As there is nothing new, people are pulling the trigger and buying for current needs
“According to the research firm, computers made up 53.3 percent of the personal computer market…”
Strange. I would have thought computers made up 100 percent of the personal computer market.
The rest are dumb terminals showing airline schedules at airports, and cash registers. They count toward the myth of 95% of users are on Windows.
I only read MDN’s piece above and see Intel as behind the curve on WiFi. That might night be the case – Intel are preparing the next generation which is WiMax. Another reason for Apple to go with Intel I’d guess.
The reality for me:
I need a computer now, and my friends need to switch now, so I will get an iMac G5, and friends will get ibooks/minis. In 3-4 years, we’ll upgrade.
um that should read laptop computers?
so.. the 95% thing doesn’t really matter here..
Ummmm, anyone else confused by the following:
“According to the research firm, computers made up 53.3 percent of the personal computer market, outpacing desktop PCs.”
Is there a missing “portable/mobile/laptop” in that sentence?
If computers made up 53.3% of the personal computer market, was the other 46.7% “personal”???
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Luke