Intel's lead in chip market growing

Intel's share of the processor market has grown slightly at the expense of rival AMD as the chip giant makes hay in a weak PC market.

Intel's market share was 82.8 per cent for the second quarter of 2002, up from 80.2 per cent the previous quarter and 77.1 for the second quarter of 2001.

This gain was AMD's loss, as Intel's only major rival saw its market share fall to 15.6 per cent for Q2 2002, down from 18.2 in Q1.

The quarter also saw a dramatic shift towards cheaper processors, with both companies shifting large volumes of their low-end products.

However, the weak market and a substantial number of inventory clearances mean the result could be a blip, said Dean McCarron, principal analyst at Mercury Research, the company which produced the report.

He told Cnet.com: "It's probably a one-quarter anomaly. We're looking at a really soft market in the second half."