Once upon a time, there were two (before that there were more but let's keep this fairy tale simple): INTEL vs. AMD.
The problem now though is there really is no war. Both companies face declining profitability in the computer market. Most notably, the mighty desktop.
Intel reported earnings last night, declaring that “PC sales have bottomed. It then failed to give any kind of guidance for this current quarter (April – June 2009). How confident does that sound?
This is what is really going on…
The saturation in the desktop market is not an issue. Millions of PC's out there are old and outdated. These millions should be upgraded but they are not. Call it economics and downturn, but people don't want desktops anymore. People want laptops, which replace desktops, and cost less (if not the same). I've never liked the ergonomics of laptops, but that is beyond the scope of this argument.
Laptops are money-makers for Intel, and highly profitable. The problem is that the trend is for small, economical, and power-saving computing solutions. Ultrathin laptops? Too expensive! That's where Netbooks come to the picture.
Netbooks are mixed blessing. They have soared in sales, but Intel makes no more than $50 or so on each sale. Hardly a proftable venture as compared to desktop sales.
What do you have? Do you have a desktop, laptop, or a netbook (or one of each?).
I do not believe that the PC market is finished. Its place is just in need of being re-defined. Intel tried to crack the “home theatre pc” but that never really took off. Even HP could barely really succeed here.
Netbooks are the thing of today. 8 hours on a battery is quite impressive. Computing with travel weight under 2 pounds is devine for the travel warrior.
It's time to get a netbook, though the PC is here to stay. Seriously. Who's going to want to watch HD movies on a 10 inch screen? Or post-process photos on a puny-sized mobile netbook/laptop? Screen size is real estate, and photographers will not be trading in their PC for mobility.
Full Disclosure: No position in Intel stock (INTC) on KaChing.Com Virtual portfolio.