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Firm Says Mobility Drives Changes in PC Industry

Posted on: Thursday, 24 February 2005, 09:00 CST

Firm says mobility drives changes in PC industry

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- New usage models will have a profound impact on the computer and semiconductor industries, according to a report released Wednesday by In-Stat, a high tech market research firm.

In-Stat said that consumers' desire for increased mobility combined with new technology, especially wireless broadband (Wi-Fi) access, have reinvigorated the growth of the PC market in both mature and emerging markets.

"Mobile PC growth in 2004 topped 25 percent, outpacing all other computing segments," In-Stat said in a statement.

The changing market dynamics are driving a divide in the desktop market toward either low-cost solutions or high-end, high performance computing solutions, said Jim McGregor, an analyst with In-Stat.

Although the PC will not necessarily replace all other consumer or communications devices, especially in the home, future PC designs will allow users more functionality and flexibility, the market research firm said.

"This will result in the mobile PC market accounting for close to half of annual sales by the end of this decade," In-Stat said.

In-Stat also found that the flexibility and functionality of PCs will continue to increase, but the PC will not become the digital communication nexus to the home.

The changes in the PC market will also affect the underlying semiconductor market by driving the need for more integrated and specialized solutions to a broadening target market, In-Stat said.

Source: Xinhua News Agency - CEIS

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