Peter Choong
December 11, 2003
THE year 2003 is one to remember with advancements in wireless, companies upgrading their ageing personal computers (PCs), high- performance computing, and true convergence of computing and communications becoming mainstream.
YEAR OF GOING WIRELESS
It could be said that 2003 was the year of going wireless. The industry has shown us that the use of wireless (also known as Wi-Fi or 802.11x) is quickly becoming mainstream for home, office and mobile users.
Wireless access devices and hotspots have also taken off this year. According to Pyramid Research, by the end of this year, more than half of the world's Wi-Fi hotspot locations will be in the Asia- Pacific region.
The increased use of notebooks at work and home continues to grow at an amazing pace despite the sluggish economy that has put a lid on spending around the world.
According to Gartner, the notebook segment represented 18 per cent of the overall PC market segment in the first quarter of this year, compared with a 15-per cent market segment share in the same period last year.
International Data Corp (IDC) also foresees an increase in the percentage of overall PC shipments represented by notebook sales. Notebooks are expected to account for 25 per cent of worldwide PC sales this year and 27 per cent next year.
HALF BILLION PHONES
This year' worldwide mobile phone growth exceeded 460 million units and the market is expected to continue to expand into 2004, according to IDC, surpassing 500 million units for the first time in history.
Innovative form factors, a wealth of features and capabilities, and falling prices are reasons why consumers are expected to upgrade to next- generation devices.
As the number of mobile phone users approaches 1.4 billion worldwide next year, IDC expects 42 per cent year-over-year growth in the 2.5G market as vendors ship more than 241 million units of such mobile phones.
Meanwhile, shipments of third-generation (3G) mobile phones would surpass 48 million units next year, representing a 140- per cent growth over this year.
One of the features driving this growth is the emergence of camera- phones that incorporate digital image capture technology within the devices.
IDC sees this segment would grow 64 per cent next year, to nearly 100 million units. Similarly, IDC expects nearly 30 million smart phones to be sold, representing growth of 111 per cent.
PDA GOING MAINSTREAM
Like notebooks and mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) have become mainstream devices too, not just a "nice to have technology". PDA sales are expected to increase this year, according to a report published by Instat/MDR.
The research firm predicts an 18.3 per cent compound annual growth rate over the 2002 to 2007 period, with the highest growth rate anticipated to be recorded this year.
Shipments rose from 11 million units last year to 13.9 million units this year, thanks to lower unit prices, improved operating systems, and a wave of multimedia and wireless functionalities being integrated into PDAs.
The report also comments on the growing trend towards more powerful processors and higher memory, which will make multimedia and wireless capabilities more useful.
The 802.11 and Bluetooth wireless technologies will continue to be integrated into PDAs through the next five years.
POWER COMPUTING
More than one-third of the world's most powerful computers have Intel processors inside them.
Rising performance, standardisation, and plunging costs are just some of the factors driving the evolution beyond Intel's academic and technical scientific research origins into mainstream business applications, which include manufacturing, finance, energy, life sciences, and digital media.
The Asia-Pacific region is important to many corporations and Intel is no exception. Recently, the company's revenue from the region surpassed US$3 billion (RM11.4 billion) for the first time.
Revenue was up 18 per cent sequentially and 31 per cent year- over-year driven by growth in emerging market consumption, along with worldwide growth in motherboard demand.
The Asia-Pacific region accounted for 42 per cent of Intel's global revenue for the third and fourth consecutive quarter in which it led the other regions.
HELLO 2004
Over the past 12 months, the industry has focused on mobility and the convergence of computing and communications. This means that every device such as your mobile phone, PDA and notebook will communicate with each other seamlessly and easily.
We have seen two types of convergence occurring - micro- convergence and macro-convergence.
Micro-convergence is the collapse, the bringing together of things at the smallest scale.
An example would be Intel moving from the 130-nanometre silicon process technology to 90nm, which allows the company to fit more transistors into a piece of silicon.
When it does this level of micro-convergence, the company dramatically reduces the cost of devices, so it is able to make them at much lower price points while enabling all sorts of new capabilities.
Micro-convergence helps Intel reach the macro-convergence level, the potential that will have for the company as an industry, when it realises collectively the new usage models, the new infrastructure, business models, and the impacts and changes on society on a larger and broader scale.
For next year and beyond, there will be a continued focus on mobility and upgrading PCs. This will become even more relevant as companies look at how to build their information and communications technology infrastructure to support growing businesses.
Going forward, Intel's strategy remains the same: invest in leading-edge capacity, develop innovative new products, and target growth opportunities in Asia and worldwide.
* The writer is country manager of Intel Malaysia.
(C) 2003 The New Straits Times. via ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved
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