Apple tops Consumer Reports survey on PC tech support
If you're looking to keep that computer running smoothly, Apple is the one to turn to, says Consumer Reports. On Monday, the consumer advocacy publication announced that the company from Cupertino had once again topped a reader survey of the best computer tech support, even going so far as to beat its own scores from the previous year.
To the surprise of nobody who's actually paid attention to the PC market in the last several years, Apple beat out competitors Lenovo, Asus, Dell, Toshiba, Hewlett Packard/Compaq, and Acer/Gateway/eMachines by a healthy margin, scoring an 86 out of 100, which the publication describes as "very satisfied." The next closest brand was Lenovo, which scored only a 63, or "fairly well satisfied." Read more...
On eve of departure, Otellini looks back on four decades with Intel
Just a month away from retirement, Intel CEO Paul Otellini has reflected on his four decades with the company during his last quarterly earnings call with analysts and reporters.
Otellini is not going out on a high note, with Intel reporting a sharp drop in profits Tuesday thanks mainly to the slumping PC market. But despite finding little success in the smartphone and tablet markets, Otellini said Intel creates opportunities for itself by staying ahead of the fast-moving tech industry, and that this will drive the company forward in the future.
"Even as I prepare to pass the baton to a new generation, I know Intel's story is not completely written," Otellini said.
Intel's future is not entirely clear, but the company is putting more focus on mobile products and manufacturing technology, said Nathan Brookwood, principal analyst at Insight 64. Read more...
Tablets, smartphones still hammering PC market
Tablets and smartphones -- and users' infatuation with them -- continue to pummel the PC market.
Worldwide PC shipments were flat this past quarter, just like they were for the previous six quarters before that, according to a report out Wednesday from the research firm Gartner.
PC shipments globally totaled 87.5 million units in the second quarter of 2012. That is a decline of 0.1% from the second quarter of the previous year.
"In the second quarter of 2012, the PC market suffered through its seventh consecutive quarter of flat to single-digit growth," Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner, said in a written statement. "Uncertainties in the economy in various regions, as well as consumer's low interest in PC purchases, were some of the key influencers of slow PC shipment growth."
Kitagawa noted that despite analysts' and PC makers' high expectations for ultrabooks, which are thin and light laptops with long battery life, not enough were sold in the second quarter of this year to have an impact on the market. Read more...