DRAM usage in tablets to rise dramatically?

The market analyst reports that Q3 2011 market share of dram destined for tablets stood at 1.1%, up from 0.5% in Q1 and 1% in Q2. IHS forecasts that this percentage will continue to rise for months to come, with share expected to nearly double in Q4 to 2.1%. By Q4 2012, IHS believes dram share for tablets will rise to 4.9%, equivalent to 1703% growth in the eight quarters since the beginning of 2011. However, compared to tablets, Mike Howard, analyst at IHS, reports that the share of dram intended for pcs will decline steadily. "DRAM intended for pcs will command 52.8% of the total dram market in the third quarter and then rise to 53.1% in the fourth quarter," said Howard. "But expansion will stop staring next year and share will shrink to 49.9% by the fourth quarter of 2012, a full two percentage points down from the first quarter of 2010. According to IHS, this year tablet shipments will grow 245.9% compared to 5.6% for pcs and average tablet densities will rise nearly 120% to 598MB up from 274MB last year. Although the iPad has the lowest dram content of any tablet device, rival companies are incorporating more in a bid to make the devices more attractive alternatives. "Whether or not tablets in the future will be close copies of the groundbreaking iPad remains to be seen," said Howard. "But with tablet growth rates outstripping those of other devices like desktops, notebooks, netbooks and entry level servers, plenty of optimism continues to surround tablets on all fronts. That optimism, in turn, is welcome good news for dram manufacturers."