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Chip Sales Soar for Gee-Whiz Gizmos

Posted Oct 3, 07 12:43 AM CDT in Technology,  Business 

(Newser) – Electronics makers expect to sell lots of PCs, iPods and mobile phones this holiday season, judging by how many semiconductor chips they scooped up in August, PC World reports. Sales of global chips rose to $21.6 billion in August, a 4.5% increase over last year. August is the month that manufacturers stock up on chips to get ready for holiday demands.

This was the third month in a row that sales were higher than usual, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association. About 40% of chips go into PCs, and rising demand for computers is one of the driving forces behind the strong sales growth. Also helping is a steep rise in the price of flash memory chips used to store songs and videos.

Source PC World

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Customers shop in the camera and electronics department at a Best Buy store in Glendale, Calif. Monday, Sept. 17, 2007. Best Buy Co. Inc., the nation's largest consumer electronics retailer on Tuesday,...   (Associated Press)
With iPods and off-shoot products expected to remain a strong seller for the holiday season, global chip sales soared in August. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)   (Associated Press)
A Palm Treo 650 user dials her phone in Salinas, Calif., Monday, June 4, 2007. With phone, MP3 player and PC sales contributing heavily, worldwide chip sales rose 4.5% year-over-year to US$21.6 billion...   (Associated Press)
Intel Corp. Chief Executive Paul Otellini shows off a wafer of new chips with super-small 32-nanometer circuitry at the Intel Developers Forum in San Francisco, Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2007, a first for the...   (Associated Press)
Spykee, left, a $299 spy robot kit, is shown at DigitalLife on Thursday, Sept. 27, 2007 in New York. The WiFi robot, from Erector, comes with a video camera, microphone, loudspeaker and 2 motors. You...   (Associated Press)
In this photo provided by Hard Rock International, Paul Stanley of KISS attempts to smash one of Tiger Electronics' new Power Tour Electric Guitar onstage at Hard Rock Cafe New York, Wednesday, Sept....   (Associated Press)
Visitors look at flat screens during the consumer electronics fair 'IFA 2007' in Berlin, Germany, Friday, Aug. 31, 2007. About 1,170 exhibitors from 32 countries present their newest products of the international...   (Associated Press)
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