AMD-based machines buck notebook sales decline

Context sees return of number-two chip maker in laptop category

Sales of AMD-based laptops in Western Europe are up 10 per cent so far in Q4 year on year in a shrinking market, according to Context research.

The first eight weeks of Q4 2013 saw AMD-based laptops gain – when the notebook market as a whole shrank 12 per cent year on year for that period.

Jeremy Davies, chief executive and co-founder of Context, said AMD-powered laptops saw their market share increase from 14 per cent in early Q4 of 2012 to 18 per cent for the equivalent period of 2013.

"What we see here is an example of the PC market fragmenting into more discrete customer segments," Davies confirmed.

"Home buyers want tablets, businesses want higher-specification notebooks and are willing to pay more, and where a consumer has chosen a notebook, value is a prime motivator."

Overall notebook category growth across Western Europe was driven principally by the UK, where sales of AMD notebooks made by HP, Lenovo, Acer and Toshiba expanded 70 per cent in unit terms.

Lenovo's AMD-based IdeaPad Z585 multimedia laptop has been the top holiday seller in the UK so far.

Laptop sales in Italy and Spain are also doing well, out of the Western European nations, according to Context.