ConsumerIT - For Europe's High Volume PC Retailers, Distributors & Builders

Jon Peddie Research (JPR) reports WW Q2 2012 graphics chip shipments grow by 5.5% Y-o-Y (or 2.5% Q-o-Q) to reach 126 million units in a quarter bucking the (so far) negative PC market trend.

Traditionally GPUs are a leading PC market indicator-- after all, one (if not two) GPU goes inside every PC before it ships.

JPR analysis does not include mobile devices, x86 servers or ARM-based devices (tablets, smartbooks, servers).

Total discrete GPU (desktop and notebook) shipments decline by -7% Y-o-Y. The current turmoil within the PC market (a 5 year recession, the popularity of tablets, soft W. European economy) causes change in earlier JPR forecasts-- the analyst now predicts PC graphics CAGR for the 2011-2016 period will reach 6.3%, with total shipments reaching 688m units.

The three leading vendors also see gains in different segments, JPR says. Intel gains share in the desktop (13.6%) and notebook (3.8%) segments, with Sandy Bridge leading growth. Nvidia gains in the notebook discrete segment (6%) while AMD gains in the discrete desktop category (2.5%).

Intel leads the overall graphics Q2 2012 market, with 62% share. AMD (22.7%) and Nvidia (14.8%) follow.

Go Graphics Shipments in Q2 2012 Increased 2.5% Q-o-Q, 5.5% Y-o-Y (JPR)

The IEEE worries the current ethernet standard might not be enough for the future-- and thus forms the IEEE 802.3 Industry Connections Higher Speed Ethernet Consensus group to develop "the next speed of ethernet."

What should this "next speed of ethernet" be? The organisation proposes capacities will reach 1 terabit per second (1Tbps) in 2015 and 10Tbps in 2020.

As streaming video and social networking lead to "an exponential climb" in global bandwidth requirements, the IEEE believes large-scale networks will need more and more speed if they want to avoid the digital equivalent of a gridlock in the near future.

Further adding to the bandwidth burden are connected devices, whose numbers are forecast to reach 16 billion by 2020.

The Consensus group is meeting at the IEEE 802.3 Interim Meeting on September 2012 in Geneva, Switzerland. Will terabit ethernet be on the horizon soon?

Go IEEE 802.3 Connections Higher Speed Ethernet Ad Hoc

Go IEEE 802.3 Ethernet Working Group Report

Science fiction used to promise we'd have all sorts of robotic help by the 21st century. So far the "future" proved to be rather disappointing-- even if ASIMO maker Honda now offers the Miimo gardening robot.

The Miimo looks like the familiar Roomba robot vacuum cleaners and acts very similar to one, too. But instead of sucking down dirt, the Miimo mows 2-3mm of grass from its owners' lawns.

Think of it as a robot lawn mower for your more lazy customers, then.

Handling robot controls are timers, 3 independent "bump" sensors and a boundary wire acting as a garden perimeter. Honda also says the sensors shut down the grass-cutting blades should the Miimo lift off the ground.

A "high performance" lithium-ion battery powers the robot, which returns to the docking station once it needs a recharge.

Honda offers two Miimo models for the European market-- the 300 and 500, offering a maximum mowing perimiter of either 300m or 500m. Both will be available by early 2013... until then, we'll just have to stick to mowing the lawn by hand.

Go Honda Enters European Robotic Lawn Mower Market with Miimo

Dell sees a -8% Y-o-Y decline in fiscal Q2 2013 revenues reaching $14.5 billion, with EMEA revenues dropping by -7% Y-o-Y due to the current economic situation and further drops in desktop and mobile computing sales.

The Dell Consumer business is the worst hit-- revenues reach $2.6bn with a 22% Y-o-Y decline.

The company does not appear to be giving up entirely on consumer devices... yet. Speaking at the Q2 investors call CFO Brian Gladden promises we will "see new Windows 8 ultrabooks, all-in-one tablets and converged devices in Q4 and headed into 2013."

No details on what kind of devices Dell will sell are available (or rather, what Gladden means by "all-in-one tablets"), but one san safely assume the company will launch both regular tablets and hybrid tablet-ultrabook devices.

Unlike Acer's J.T. Wang, Gladden sounds positive ("there clearly are opportunities for us" he says) on Microsoft entering the tablet hardware business. Then again, Dell is on the initial Windows RT OEM partner list... unlike Acer.

Dell earnings are more positive in the enterprise segment-- Enterprise Solutions and Services revenues now total over 50% of Dell margin and around 30% of revenue, reaching $4.9bn with 6% Y-o-Y growth.

Server and networking revenue grows by 14% Y-o-Y, while Large Enterprise revenue drops by -3% Y-o-Y to $4.5bn.

The company describes the results as "consistent with its strategy" as it shifts away from selling mere PCs to enterprise solutions.

Go Dell Q2 Results

Go Dell Q2 Earnings Call Transcript