Intel remains in first place for the semiconductor market, even though the year overall was not stellar for the sector globally. In fact, Intel in 2011 reached the highest share of the semiconductor market since 2001 – 2.5 points higher than 2010, according to new data from IHS.
"The company's rise spurred by soaring demand for its PC-oriented microprocessors, and for its NAND flash memory used in consumer and wireless products," Dale Ford, head of electronics and semiconductor research for IHS, said in a firm statement. "Intel's revenue was also boosted by its acquisition of Infineon's wireless business unit."
Intel had sales of $54 billion during 2011, representing a 20.6-percent increase over 2010. In second place for 2011 was Samsung, according to IHS. It had 9.2 percent of the market share during last year. Texas Instruments was third and Toshiba was fourth, IHS said. Renesas Electronics Corp. was fifth.
One other company in the top 10, Qualcomm, saw 41.6-percent growth during 2011. It moved to sixth place in the semiconductor market, compared to ninth place during 2010.
Intel saw a 13.9 percent market share in 2001, according to a report from CNET.
Overall, the semiconductor market during 2011 saw 1.3-percent growth, lower than the recent IHS estimate of 1.9 percent, according to IHS.
IHS described the semiconductor market as weak during 2011, with about half of the 302 chip suppliers followed by the firm seeing increases in revenue. Companies based in the United States and other locations in North and South Americas did the best of all regions in terms of revenue last year, with 7.5-percent increases.
But companies based in Japan saw revenues drop 7.2 percent. The earthquake was a major factor in the Japanese decrease.
Other news by MobilityTechzone about Intel reports the company may develop an Internet-based TV service.
Edited by
Braden Becker 
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