AMD loosing out to Intel on the netbook front

The lack of a processor for use on netbooks is affecting AMD’s market share

Intel Vs AMD in the netbook market

 According to a recent report published by JP Morgan Securities it is quite clear that the profits of AMD are being affected due to the lack of a processor especially built for netbooks. Recently, we have seen a sudden jump in the demand of netbooks. Users are now demanding a smaller, more compact, and portable solution for their day to day life that is where netbooks come in. Strange though, the fact remains that AMD has not developed a processor to cater to this fast expanding market till date. On the other hand Intel has set a strong foothold in this market with its Intel Atom line of processors. Even companies like VIA and ARM have developed processors that cater to netbooks.

The figures published by JP Morgan Securities indicate that Intel's overall market share increased from 78% in the first quarter to 80% in the second quarter as Intel's mobile share increased from 85% in first quarter to 89% in the second quarter. The increase in market share in the mobile market is due to the absence of an AMD based processor for this market. Due to the lack of a formidable foe Intel is strengthening its presence in this niche market.

If AMD really wants to play in the netbook space, the company needs to produce a low power chip that can handle multitasking and video playback. AMD has to make sure that the chip is powerful enough so as to run Windows 7 (which is due for launch this fall) that might be the future operating system of netbooks. Although, I personally believe that Windows XP still makes sense at least on netbooks.