PC shipments rise 2.3 percent as HP recaptures lead in US and Acer moves ahead of Dell worldwide

FRAMINGHAM, USA: Global PC shipments rose 2.3 percent year on year in the third quarter of 2009 (3Q09). The increase is an important continuation of recovery from year-on-year declines of 6.8 percent in the first quarter and 2.4 percent in the second quarter of this year.

Seeing market growth ahead of the launch of Microsoft’s Windows 7 bodes very well for the fourth quarter and next year. All regions except Japan either met or surpassed expectations. Portable PCs continue to account for the majority of volume and growth, with Mini Notebooks are still making a substantial contribution.

“Despite the ongoing mix of gloom and caution on the economic front, the PC market continues to rebound quickly,” said Loren Loverde, program director for IDC’s Tracker Program. ”The competitive landscape, the transition to portables, new and low-power designs, growth in retail and consumer segments, and the impact of falling prices are all reflected in the gains by HP and Acer, as well as overall market growth.”

“The continued strength of both the US and worldwide PC business in the face of difficult economic environments underscores the value that both consumer and corporate buyers place on PCs,” according to Bob O’Donnell, vice president, Clients and Displays at IDC. “With the forthcoming launch of Windows 7 and expected commercial refresh beginning in 2010, the prospects for future PC market growth are very solid.”

Regional outlook
United States: The US PC market grew by 2.5 percent compared to the third quarter of 2008. Strong Portables sales were part of a back-to-school season that saw consumers continue to gravitate toward lower-cost Portables. Vendors with a solid retail presence were the main beneficiaries as HP regained the top spot in the US.

Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA): Despite a year-over-year decline, the EMEA PC market reported sequential improvement as expected, driven by sustained consumer demand in Western Europe. Mini Notebooks continued to be pushed by both telcos and retailers and attracted more consumers while aggressive pricing also helped stimulate mainstream notebook purchases.

Japan: The region is still feeling the pinch of tight business spending which has not been mitigated by Consumer purchases. The market saw a double-digit decline year over year and, contrary to past seasonal patterns, negative sequential quarterly growth. Although Portables performed slightly better than forecast, Desktop shipments declined further than expected, leading most vendors to see declining year-over-year growth.

Asia/Pacific excluding Japan (APeJ): Both Desktop and Portable PC markets saw shipments expand nicely in APeJ during the third quarter. China and Taiwan in particular were ahead of forecasts as public sector projects were deployed more quickly than expected. Most other countries came in close to or just slightly ahead of projections.

Vendor highlights
HP: HP leveraged its advantage in Retail to benefit from the strong school season and grow 9.3 percent from last year. Growth was also aided by expansion of telco bundle offerings. The vendor performed above market in most regions but was especially strong in Asia/Pacific excluding Japan.

Dell: Although it experienced a worldwide decline year over year, Dell saw solid growth in emerging markets, especially in APeJ, and a second consecutive quarter of growth brings encouraging signs that its retail development continues to pay off.

Acer: Consumer demand for low-cost systems in the back-to-school season meant Acer’s Mini Notebooks were embraced by consumers. The vendor outperformed the market in virtually all regions.

Lenovo: Lenovo capitalized on resurgent demand in APeJ, benefiting from government stimulus programs and successfully growing both its Commercial and Consumer shipments. The vendor also improved in other regions, with resulting market share gains worldwide. The company saw strong gains in Japan and EMEA while a slight decline was reported in the US.

Toshiba: Toshiba performed above market in all regions except EMEA. It has continued to see solid results in the US and Latin America, while seeing a sizable sequential jump in APeJ.Source: IDC

Table Notes:
1. Some IDC estimates prior to financial earnings reports.
2. Shipments include shipments to distribution channels or end users.
3. PCs include Desktop and Portable PCs (including Mini Notebooks)
4. PCs do not include x86 Servers or handhelds. Data for all vendors are reported for calendar periods.
5. IDC's Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker gathers PC market data in more than 80 countries by vendor, form factor, brand, processor brand and speed, sales channel and user segment. The research includes historical and forecast trend analysis as well as price band and installed base data.

Samsung improves workspace with seamless dual display for laptops

RIDGEFIELD PARK, USA: Samsung Electronics America Inc., a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Corp., announced the release of its Lapfit monitors, LD220G and LD190N, for use as a secondary display for notebook PCs.

Now available through Samsung resellers and retailers at an estimated street price of $249.99 and $149.99 respectively, Lapfit offers notebook users the benefits of having dual displays to view multiple web sites, documents, tool palettes and widgets.

“With the strong growth in the laptop and netbook categories, our Lapfit monitors offer a great synergy for users needing multiple screens,” said Doug Albregts, vice president, Information Technology Division, Samsung Electronics America Inc. “Lapfit enables users to be more productive by eliminating the awkward external monitor configuration that comes with pairing standard LCD monitors with a notebook.”

Dual display harmony
With more consumers migrating to laptops, the Lapfit is a convenient display solution that complements and enhances the laptop. Lapfit enables multiple applications to run simultaneously or display movies and games in 16:9 widescreen high definition format and 1080p (LD220G) picture quality.

Settings, such as brightness, backlight and color effects, can be quickly customized with a touch of a key using the MagicColor, MagicBright, Color Effect and Image Size functions. It also maintains 100 percent image integrity and eliminates distortion using its intelligent image size function to accommodate normal and widescreen content.

iSuppli issues fast facts on LG Display’s Q3 results

EL SEGUNDO, USA: To support media coverage of LG Display’s third-quarter results, iSuppli Corp. is issuing the following fast facts on the company and the large-sized LCD panel market:

* After a year of losing money or generating zero return, the global large-sized LCD panel business returned to profitability in the third quarter. In an example of market trends, the 32-inch HDTV LCD, which is the most popular dimension for large-sized panels, generated a 13 percent profit for the LCD industry in the third quarter.

In contrast, the 32-inch panel incurred losses of 12 percent in the second quarter of 2009, 31 percent in the first quarter of 2009 and 23 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008. In the third quarter of 2008, the 32-inch HDTV panel generated zero profit. The last time the LCD industry cut a profit on 32-inch HDTV panels was in the second quarter of 2008, when they generated a 19 percent return.

* The main reason LCD panels have not been profitable for so long is the market’s extreme state of oversupply, which resulted in LCD panel pricing that was below manufacturing costs. However, reductions in production and utilization rates, combined with better-than-expected panel demand from China’s television market, helped spur the return to profitability in the third quarter.

* A shortage of glass used to make LCD panels also contributed to the tightness of the panel market during the third quarter, further boosting prices and profits.

* According to a preliminary expectation issued by iSuppli, worldwide shipments of large-sized LCD panels amounted to 148.3 million units in the third quarter, up 14.3 percent from the second quarter of 2009, and up 28.9 percent from the third quarter of 2008. iSuppli expects to revise this estimate as more companies report third-quarter results.

* LG Display was the world’s largest seller of large-sized LCD panels in the second quarter of 2009, accounting for 25.3 percent of shipments. This put LG just slightly ahead of chief rival, Samsung, which had a 24.6 percent share. Preliminary indications show LG and Samsung were engaged in a tight battle for the market’s No.-1 position during the period.

* Rising fab utilization rates and decreased panel demand following the Christmas purchasing season will drive the large-sized LCD panel market to oversupply in the fourth quarter of 2009, conforming with normal seasonal patterns.

However, the reductions in prices and shipments are expected to be only moderate compared to those of a year earlier, in the fourth quarter of 2008. Many panel suppliers, having just returned to profitability, are maintaining tight control of their inventories and have little motivation to cut pricing drastically at this time.

* iSuppli defines large-sized LCD panels as those having a diagonal dimension of 10 inches or larger.

Sales slowdown prompts re-evaluation among PND players

EL SEGUNDO, USA: Recently one of the hottest products in the technology business, the Portable Navigation Device (PND) now has entered a period of slowing growth, spurring companies throughout the supply chain to re-evaluate their business models, according to iSuppli Corp.

After years of double- and triple-percentage expansions, global PND shipments in 2009 are set to experience a decline of 0.7 percent compared to 2008. During the next four years, global sales are expected to remain flat, settling at 41.2 million units in 2013, virtually unchanged from 2008.

iSuppli Fig. 1: Worldwide PND Shipment Forecast, 2008-2013 (Thousands of Units)Source: iSuppli, Oct. 2009.

The slowdown in PND growth is due to the rise of in-dash car navigation systems and GPS-equipped cell phones. This phenomenon is impacting the strategies of key industry players from high-profile PND pioneer TomTom, to behind-the-scenes contract manufacturers such as Compal Communications Inc.

The beat goes on for TomTom
“Dutch startup TomTom back in 2004 transformed automotive navigation from a high-margin feature for luxury cars into the mass-market, commodity product we see today,” said Richard Robinson, principal analyst for automotive electronics at iSuppli. “It took just three years before the name TomTom was elevated in Europe to the hallowed status of companies that are synonymous with their products, such as Hoover in the ‘60s and ’70s.”

However, TomTom’s heavy reliance on the PND platform now represents a significant
weakness for the company amid the growth slowdown and the costs and risks of producing PND hardware. Because of this, TomTom has formulated new strategies for competition in non-PND navigation segments.

“TomTom plans to play to its strengths, leveraging its excellent brand image to further its opportunities in the growing mobile handset and car in-dash markets, with an agreement with Renault & Fiat to embed its navigation technology in cars,”
Robinson said.

“The company is also the highest profile entrant into the ‘apps and maps’ market, selling its software on Apple’s iTunes store. By moving away from PND hardware and toward navigation content and software, TomTom also is offloading its biggest weakness: the messy process of PND manufacturing, testing, shipping and marketing. This area is fraught with challenges, such as inventory holds and low margins.”

The upside for TomTom could be significant, with the company expected to win as much as 25 percent of the high-margin smart-phone navigation market, according to iSuppli.

Contract manufacturing opportunities decline
In the long run, as PNDs show limited growth potential and lose their appeal to OEMs, smaller manufacturers will either choose to exit the declining market or get pushed out of business by the leading suppliers.

“The meager growth prospects and the high level of industry concentration means reduced opportunities for both smaller OEMs and contract manufacturers operating in the PND supply chain,” said Jeffrey Wu, senior analyst for Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS) and Original Design Manufacturing (ODM) at iSuppli.

“The latest developments in the PND market suggest flat growth for contract manufacturers. The few PND OEMs that maintain internal production are gaining market share faster than those that outsource. This is further eroding opportunities for smaller manufacturers.”

A few Taiwanese ODMs, including Compal Communications Inc., indentified the GPS PND as a growth driver in 2007. However, even these companies since have scaled back their investments.

Only 0.5 percent of PNDs were outsourced to EMS providers in 2008, down from 1 percent in 2007. Flextronics was the only EMS provider conducting PND manufacturing in 2008, thanks to its previously established relationship with Navman, before its acquisition by PND maker Mio. However, iSuppli predicts that EMS providers will be absent from the PND manufacturing industry when Mio further consolidates its outsourcing.

iSuppli Fig. 2: In-house and Outsourced PND Manufacturing Forecast by Percentage of Unit ShipmentsSource: iSuppli, Oct. 2009

“Smaller PND OEMs will either fall out of the market or get acquired by other OEMs,” Wu said. “In the contract manufacturing market, seeing little growth potential in the PND industry, second-tier ODMs may decide to withdraw from the PND industry, spurring consolidation at the ODM node.”

Samsung announces Amazon VoD coming to select Samsung HDTVs

RIDGEFIELD PARK & SEATTLE, USA: Samsung Electronics America Inc. announced that Amazon Video On Demand will be available on select Samsung HDTVs via a downloadable widget, offering consumers access to Amazon’s huge selection of over 50,000 titles from leading movie studios and networks.

Starting now, owners of Samsung LCD and Plasma HDTVs Series 650 and above and Samsung LED HDTVs Series 7000 and above can download the Amazon Video On Demand widget for free using the Internet@TV - Content Service feature on their HDTVs.

Amazon Video On Demand delivers immediate access to more than 50,000 premium, commercial-free movies and television shows available to rent or purchase on demand. Today’s announcement of Amazon Video On Demand availability adds to Samsung’s existing Internet@TV lineup, which now includes premium services and content from Twitter, Yahoo!, YouTube and others.

"Consumers have told us they want easy access to premium on demand TV shows and movies, and we’re very pleased to continue to offer more ways to do that with Amazon Video On Demand through our Internet@TV – Content Service feature,” said John Revie, Senior Vice President of Visual Display Marketing at Samsung Electronics America.

“Whether it’s watching their favorite Blu-ray movie or instantly streaming their favorite content, we’re committed to offering people maximum choice and will continue to be an innovator.”

The Amazon Video On Demand widget allows customers to search, browse, and rent or purchase from Amazon’s digital video catalog directly from their Samsung HDTV. Amazon’s catalog includes over 50,000 titles with over 2,000 in high definition, and features new-release movies and “day after” broadcast TV episodes.

With Amazon Video On Demand, customers pay only for what they want to watch with no subscription required. Customers’ purchases are stored online in their Amazon Video On Demand video library which also enables customers to access their videos from PCs, Macs, and other compatible devices.

"We are pleased to offer customers access to our library of over 50,000 movies and TV shows on Samsung’s award-winning line of HDTVs,” said Bill Carr, Amazon vice president of Video and Music. “Our customers love the experience of getting our service directly in their living room, and Samsung is helping us deliver on the promise of even greater access to thousands of titles directly on the TV.”

LSI launches high-performance 6Gb/s SAS host bus adapters

MILPITAS, USA: LSI Corp. has announced the availability of a new family of high-performance SATA+SAS host bus adapters (HBAs) based on 6Gb/s SAS technology.

The LSI SAS 9200 series HBAs, based on the LSISAS2008 6Gb/s SAS controller IC, offer new levels of performance and scalability for internal and external direct-attached storage deployments using SATA and SAS disk drives.

The LSI SAS 9200 series adapters provide both high bandwidth and high I/O transaction processing and the flexibility to connect to 3Gb/s and 6Gb/s SATA and SAS hard drives or solid-state drives. The adapters are designed to support applications ranging from email, OLTP and streaming video to data center workloads such as Web hosting and cloud computing.

The new family of HBAs include the LSI SAS 9211-4i, LSI SAS 9211-8i and the LSI SAS 9200-8e. The adapters more than double the performance of the previous generation SATA+SAS HBAs, delivering throughput rates of up to 2.6GB/s in sequential reads, 3.0GB/s in sequential writes and up to 317,000 IOPs (input/output operations per second) performance.

The SAS 9200 series adapters also support nearly twice the number of SATA and SAS devices as the previous-generation products. The SAS 9211-4i (4-port) and SAS 9211-8i (8-port) models provide internal storage connections with support for up to 256 SATA and SAS physical devices.

The SAS 9200-8e (8-port) is designed for external storage connections and supports up to 512 SATA and SAS devices. Utilizing external RAID and JBOD enclosures, the adapter enables growing businesses to address storage capacity requirements of up to one petabyte.

Data availability is also enhanced with the addition of RAID 10 support. Using LSI Integrated RAID, a low-cost, hardware RAID solution within MegaRAID Storage Manager, channel partners can configure highly reliable storage system environments with optional RAID 0, 1, 1E and RAID 10 data protection levels.