SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Apple Inc. on Tuesday unveiled a new version of its iMac desktop computer that features the technologies of the world’s top makers of PC chips, including a faster connection system developed by Intel Corp.
The Apple AAPL -0.07% announcement was seen as giving Intel INTC +0.17% and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. AMD +0.23% a boost in light of questions about the health of the PC market and their competitive positions in the fast-growing mobile-computing arena.
The news also followed Apple’s decision to use Intel and AMD products for its MacBook Pro notebooks.
Apple shares rose a fraction to close at $348.20, while those of Intel gained 1.4% to close at $23.23 and rank among the top Dow industrials gainers. AMD slid 2.6% to close at $8.80.
Apple said it has updated its all-in-one iMac with the latest version of Intel Core chips, code named Sandy Bridge, and a new connection technology, called Thunderbolt.
Intel had said that Thunderbolt can support high-speed data transfer and high-definition display on a single cable, making it possible to transfer a full-length, high-definition movie in less than 30 seconds.
Apple said the new iMac is the first desktop computer to include the new technology.
Apple is also using AMD’s new Radeon high-definition graphics processors.
“It’s positive for both vendors,” Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu said.
The news also highlights the strength of Intel’s new processor, which Wu said apparently has helped Apple’s MacBook Pro notebook sales, and could also give the company’s desktop sales a lift.
Apple’s embrace of Sandy Bridge comes at a critical time for Intel, which is also pushing to expand its presence in the market for smartphones and tablets, a space dominated by chips based on the technology of Cambridge, England–based ARM Holdings ARMH -0.69% .
Intel is banking on its Atom chip and its manufacturing technology to catch up. But in a note, Bernstein Research analyst Stacy Rasgon said Intel “faces an uphill battle in their efforts to drive Atom into applications outside the PC market.”
Of AMD, Rasgon said the ongoing leadership uncertainty, following ex–Chief Executive Dirk Meyer’s sudden departure, remains a major issue.
But Rasgon said AMD’s recent restructuring, highlighted by the spinoff of its manufacturing operations into GlobalFoundries, has improved the company’s outlook.
“While still risky and somewhat speculative, we believe the structural changes inherent in the foundry deconsolidation are unappreciated, yielding a product company that will likely be both profitable and free-cash-flow positive, and possess a significantly improved balance sheet,” Rasgon wrote.
Source Link:- http://www.marketwatch.com
Apple Updates iMac With Inte & AMD Chips
Apple Updates iMac With Inte & AMD Chips
Apple Updates iMac With Inte & AMD Chips
Apple Updates iMac With Inte & AMD Chips
Apple Updates iMac With Inte & AMD Chips
Apple Updates iMac With Inte & AMD Chips
Apple Updates iMac With Inte & AMD Chips
No comments:
Post a Comment