The bloody Chip War of Attrition between Intel and AMD appears to have entered a new phase: stalemate.
According to principal iSuppli analyst Matthew Wilkin, neither corporation managed to wrest significant market share away from the other in recent months.
To be sure, during Q3 2010 Intel accounted for 80.1 percent of global revenue for microprocessors.
Meanwhile, AMD held (relatively) steady at 11.3 percent of worldwide microprocessor revenue during the period, down from 11.5 percent in Q2 and down from 12.1 percent in Q3 one year ago.
“In reality, the share changes in the third quarter from the two incumbents were extremely small and not at all significant,” explained Wilkins.
“What is significant, however, is that neither company has been able to take any sizable share away from the other. One reason is that each company offers well-matched competitive product portfolios.
“Another reason is that end markets are not undergoing significant changes in market share of product lineup that would impact microprocessor market share.”
However, despite the relatively static and stagnant dynamics in Q3, Wilkins believes the coming months may “presage” some exciting developments in the market.
“There remains a very competitive situation between the two dominant suppliers,” he said.
“In particular, we look forward to seeing the effect that AMD’s forthcoming Fusion products might have on the share situation for these two mega-players.”
