Notebook and desktop manufacturer Acer hopes machines fitted with Intel`s new Core 2 Duo processors will boost unit prices.
The company, which yesterday unveiled several models locally, says the average selling price of units has dropped recently.
Krishna Murthy, business unit manager of desktop, servers and display for the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, says Intel`s technology advances could mitigate this trend slightly.
He says a drought period in terms of new technology and the standoff between Intel and AMD placed pressure on revenue growth. Economies of scale will become more important and consolidation will leave a handful of players in the industry, he notes.
In the first half of the year, says Murthy, total global PC growth was 10.8% year-on-year; in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, this was just under 10%. Desktops in this region grew at just under 5%, while notebooks grew at about 25%.
The EMEA region accounted for 15.7 million units in the first half of this year.
In the Middle East and Africa region, total PC sales grew at 18%, while desktops grew at 10% and notebooks at about 30%.
Locally, PC sales moved up 28%, with notebooks accounting for most of this growth as sales moved up about 50% year-on-year. Desktops moved up about 20%.
Better, faster
Local business solutions specialist Vince Resente says machines equipped with the new processor will show an improvement in performance, as well as a saving in power.
He expects quad processors to make an entrance on desktop PCs by year-end, entrenching the era of multi-core processing. Notebooks will only see quad processors somewhat down the line.
Acer launched a range of machines at a Sandton function yesterday. These included the Acer TravelMate C210 series, the TravelMate 8210 series, the compact desktop Veriton 1000 PC, the Acer TravelMate 5620, and the Vista-ready TravelMate 4280 and TravelMate 4230 notebooks.
Intel`s new chip was introduced globally in Antwerp on 7 September, with three manufacturers offering products to market on the same day.
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