Global NB Shipments expected to experience a monthly climb after February, Says DRAMeXchange

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2007-03-15 13:20

Taiwan--(뉴스와이어)--According to Market research firm DRAMeXchange's compiled data, the global NB shipments for February slipped 11.6% to roughly 6.15 million units. Taiwan's ODM shipments hit 5.37 million, a decline of approximately 12.5%. The reason behind the shipment drop, which was larger than the global average, was due to the fewer working days in February. Many manufacturers are deeming February as the trough of the NB shipment cycle. The overall outlook for 2007 appears to be rather optimistic.

In contrast to 2006, it is projected that NB shipments for 2007 will grow by 23.8%. From the shipment data of January and February, the market demand was relatively in line with the expectations of manufacturers, as shipments mostly proceeded as planned. Many manufacturers believe that the serious inventory problems seen last year, which affected the sales of new models, will not occur again for 2007. As long as there is no unexpected event, the YOY NB shipment growth for 2007 should successfully hit 23%.

The Recent Vista Effect

Many consumers postponed their NB purchases in 4Q06, due to Vista. However, after its official release at the end of January, demand has started to pick up. Currently, there are now roughly 20~30% of NBs bundled with Vista. Most of them are consumer models, where they are installed with the Vista Home Basic Edition. If the forecast of manufacturers are accurate, by the end of 2007, the Vista adoption rate in NBs should rise to 40~50%.

The recent DRAM price plunge should help boost the NB memory content per box. Concerns over whether the NB memory will be enough to operate Vista smoothly should be mitigated. From another perspective, the increasing DRAM content per box will also help the DRAM manufactures cope with their newly output issue. As long as the DRAM chip price drops lower, consumers will be more willing to increase their NB memory density. Currently, NBs that are installed with 1 GB of DRAM are forecast to increase from last years 30% to 40% in 2007, according to the firm. For high-end models, they are expected to reach 2GB of DRAM. As consumers become more comfortable with the Vista capability of their NBs, the penetration rate of Vista is anticipated to gradually increase.

Next Focus Point: The Release of Santa Rosa

Special attention should also be made on the official release of Intel…s Santa Rosa platform in the beginning of May. To consumers who have been waiting for a brand new platform will finally get their hands on the technology. In addition, when Intel introduces the new single core Celeron in 3Q07, it will fill the gap for the low-priced NB product line. This would be a positive factor for manufacturers in taking advantage of the Christmas hot season. By 3Q07, the full line of NBs with Santa Rosa will be complete as well.

If everything proceeds smoothly, 2007 will be a fine year for the NB industry. Shipments are expected to experience a monthly climb after February.

About DRAMeXchange

DRAMeXchange is a global leading provider of market intelligence, in-depth analysis reports and consultant services on major electronics components. Our company consists of 2 major research divisions---DRAMeXchange and WitsView, which cover the DRAM, NAND Flash, PC and display research sectors. You can learn more about DRAMeXchange by visiting www.dramexchange.com.

In the year 2000, the company started to deliver market intelligence services under the name of DRAMeXchange technology. This included the current business environment, real-time spot trading prices, market trends, capital spending , wafer capacity trends, the impact of DRAM/flash memory products on the market, and other relevant PC industry information.

To further expand its research, DRAMeXchange acquired LCD research institute WitsView in 2006 to provide insights on the display industry.

WitsView is a subsidiary brand of DRAMeXchange, which provides prompt and credible market insights covering the quantitative pricing trend for both TFT-LCD panels and finished goods, industry updates and market intelligence. Founded in 2004, WitsView Technology Corporation is made up of a group of sophisticated industry analysts with years of experience, providing objective and strategic insights on the display industry. Additional information can be found at www.witsview.com.

웹사이트: http://www.DRAMeXchange.com