Tablets, smartphones and TVs drive chip growth

Mobile PCs, smartphones and LCD TVs were the major growth drivers in the semiconductor market during 2010, according to new figures from Gartner.

A preliminary report from the analyst firm found that the top original equipment manufacturers accounted for a third of semiconductor vendors' 2010 worldwide chip revenues, which grew by 31.5 per cent to just over $30bn (£18.75bn).

PC vendors such as HP, Apple, Dell and Lenovo increased their total available market share in 2010, reflecting increased investment in 'must have' gadgets like smartphones, tablets and LCD TVs.

HP topped the global semiconductor market in 2010, increasing its market share by 32 per cent to 5.7 per cent compared to 2009. Samsung, which remained in second place, increased its market share by 31.1 per cent to 5.1 per cent.

The report said that Samsung's share, along with those of Sony, Toshiba and Panasonic, enjoyed increased demand from growth in flat-panel TV sales.

Samsung retained its position by successfully riding the smartphone boom, while Nokia's drop to fourth position behind Apple, and its year-on-year growth of just 4.7 per cent, provide further indicators of just how much the Finnish firm has struggled.

The report said that Apple is leading the new competitive landscape in the IT and electronics industry, providing hardware, software and services for PCs, smartphones, portable media players and tablets, which Gartner describes as " the new killer application".

"Semiconductor device vendors should closely monitor the changing competition structure of the target market," said Masatsune Yamaji, senior research analyst at Gartner.

"Do not just listen to the requirements of the current market leaders. Have a dedicated sales team, with business development sales metrics, looking for new market entrants who will be the next-generation market leaders."

The report also points out that, although Apple's TV business is currently small, the company is continuing to invest in the TV market by shipping new internet protocol set-top boxes for future growth.

Gartner also marked out the TV service platform market as a key growth segment in the coming years, fuelled by Google's plans to expand its platform business to the TV market.

Rounding out the top 10, Dell consolidated its 3.5 per cent total available market share with 48.3 per cent year-on-year growth to take fifth place from Sony, which dropped to sixth place.

Toshiba and LG held seventh and eight places for the second year running, and Panasonic was the only company to improve on Apple's growth of market share with 72.5 per cent, jumping from 11th spot in 2009 to ninth last year.

Lenovo rounded out 2010's top semiconductor consumers with 1.9 per cent total available market share, rising two places compared to its 2009 ranking.