Neff predicts that the PC field, like the auto and airline industries, soon will be swept by megamergers. They're in denial now, thinking they can out-compete others. But consolidation is inevitable. A wealth of new products. As their computing power gains on desktop PCs, portable laptops are emerging as the new workhorse for consumers and businesses.
Consumers can choose from handheld computers, Internet appliances and Web-linked cell phones.
By 2004, IDC predicts that more of these kinds of devices will be shipped than desktop PCs. Anticipating that, semiconductor makers such as Intel, Motorola and Texas Instruments are whipping out more chips for mobile computers, cell phones and broadband and wireless gear. A weakening market. More than half of U.S. households own desktops. Only 2.6 million units were sold in the fourth quarter of 2000, compared with 3.2 million in the same quarter of 1998, says NPD Intelect.