SAN DIEGO, Calif. — October 13, 2005 — After facing what seemed an insurmountable decline in desktop sales during the first six months of 2005, processor underdog AMD captured 52% of U.S. retail desktop sales in the month of September. AMD’s performance during the all-important back-to-school shopping season topped chip giant Intel’s 46% share by six points. Despite its past successes in surpassing Intel desktop sales in select retail sales weeks, September 2005 marked the first time AMD was able to outperform Intel for an entire month.*
Directly contributing to AMD’s success was the rise in popularity of Media Center PCs. In September, Media Center PCs accounted for 46% of all U.S. retail desktop sales. Of those sales, 55% included an AMD-based processor.
The star system of the Media Center movement and AMD’s success was the HP Pavilion a1130n. Running Microsoft’s Media Center OS and offering a 64-bit AMD Athlon 64 processor and 1 Gigabyte of RAM for a post-rebate price of $679; the a1130n has become the best selling Media Center PC in retail to date.
Toni Duboise, Senior Analyst of Desktop PCs states “This is a perfect example of being at the right place at the right time. AMD’s sizeable win in September can be attributed to a myriad of factors, one of the most impressive was being able to capitalize on the success of the most popular Media Center PC and find the consumer’s ‘sweet spot’ on multiple product and pricing levels. There is fantastic momentum surrounding the adoption of Media Centers and subsequently, AMD, in the forthcoming holiday season.”
Contact:
Toni Duboise
Senior Analyst, Desktop PCs
858-729-5364
Tduboise@currentanalysis.com
Chalise Zolezzi
Director of Public Relations
858-729-5287
Czolezzi@currentanalysis.com
About Current Analysis: Current Analysis is the industry benchmark for excellence in navigating today’s markets, serving as a critical, third-party expert in market and product analysis by offering competitive response solutions in the telecommunications, information technology and consumer electronics industries. By providing the most comprehensive and rapid intelligence through our CurrentCOMPETE platform, Current Analysis enables sales teams, marketing professionals, product managers, and executives to continuously anticipate and counter competitive threats while offering solid solutions to emerging obstacles. As a global company, Current Analysis has a worldwide network of researchers, competitive analysts, and industry experts to identify market and competitor threats from a frontline perspective, and offer conclusive, tactical advice on market strategy, positioning and response objectives. Current Analysis clients include equipment manufacturers, service providers, major multinational enterprises, financial institutions and selected members of the press. Please visit Current Analysis at www.currentanalysis.com
*Based on data derived from the Current Analysis Retail Panel; a panel comprised of the nation’s leading consumer electronics retailers
###
