IDC: Microprocessor revenue, prices on the up

Intel and Advanced Micro Devices benefited in the third quarter from an increase in shipments and average price of microprocessors, according to research firm IDC. Overall, microprocessor shipments increased 17.7 percent between July and September, compared with the previous quarter. The average selling price, a closely followed metric, rose by 3.6 percent--in part because of a surge in interest in notebooks, according to IDC.

Intel saw its market share climb to 82.6 percent, one percent higher than in the second quarter, while AMD's share declined to 16.5 percent sequentially. (Although most industries look at year-to-year comparisons, the chip industry mostly concentrates on sequential gains or losses.) The figures were similar to those released by Mercury Research earlier this month.