ANALYSIS
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Intel Losses Dull Luster of Gadget Show
Revenue slump looms over Consumer Electronic Show
By Ambreen Ali
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Posted Jan 7, 09 5:12 PM CST
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(Newser)
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Intel's prediction today of abysmal holiday losses has cast a shadow over the year's flashiest gadget show, which starts tomorrow, writes Brooke Crothers of CNET. Fourth-quarter revenue is expected to be down 23% from 2007 and 20% from the third quarter. Intel is the world's biggest chip maker, and the bleak forecast signals trouble up and down the tech supply chain. "Going into CES, the picture is not pretty," says Crothers.
He's referring to the three-day Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas, though he notes that some tech products could be recession hits. Netbooks—laptops that cost hundreds, not thousands—are on fire, but that's better news for consumers than for industry profits. "Just as General Motors must wean itself off lumbering SUVs, so may Intel, et al, be forced to wean themselves off high-profit notebook computers," Crothers writes.