Published on: 16th Sep 2012

In yet another sign that the technology industry has entered the post-PC era, personal computers during the second quarter accounted for less than half of the market for DRAM -- the first time in a generation that they didn't consume the majority of the leading type of semiconductor memory. PCs in the second quarter accounted for 49.0 of DRAM bit shipments, down from 50.2 percent in the first quarter, according to IHS iSuppli.

The fall is notable, given that the share of PCs hasn't dipped below 50 percent since the 1980s, when personal computers were a new product whose sales were rising at rapid clip. After accounting for the overwhelming share of DRAM buying for decades, average PC share from the first quarter of 2008 until the fourth quarter of 2011 hovered at approximately 55 percent, with share fluctuating periodically but generally trending down.

An Era Explained

This event symbolizes the decline of the PC market because of smartphone and media tablets. However, beyond symbolism, the development also illustrates the diminishing dominion of PCs in the electronics supply chain.

"The arrival of the post-PC era doesn't mean that people will stop using personal computers, or even necessarily that the PC market will stop expanding," said Clifford Leimbach, memory analyst at IHS. "What the post-PC era does mean is that personal computers are not at the center of the technology universe anymore -- and are seeing their hegemony over the electronics supply chain erode. PCs are no longer generating the kind of growth and overwhelming market size that can single-handedly drive demand, pricing and technology trends in some of the major technology businesses."

The fact that PCs have lost their majority share of the DRAM market -- an area completely defined and dominated by personal computers for about 30 years -- represents a major milestone and the arrival of a new era in technology.

"For DRAM suppliers, the focus in the future increasingly will be on serving the needs of fast-expanding new markets for smartphones and tablets, at the expense of catering to the PC business," Leimbach said. "This follows other indications of the waning influence of the PC business in the electronics business. Such factors include the declining power of the Wintel alliance, as well as Apple Inc.'s smartphone- and tablet-driven ascendency to chip purchasing leadership above traditional PC-oriented frontrunners like Hewlett-Packard."

Memory Modification

During the period from the second quarter of this year to the fourth quarter of 2013, the portion of DRAM shipments accounted for by PCs will contract another 6 percentage points, sliding to 42.8 percent, as shown in the figure below.

Excerpt from:
Sign of the Times: PC Share of DRAM Market Dips Below 50 Percent for First Time