Intel’s Flying High on Stronger Sales

Tech analysts are eating crow today as Intel projected better sales numbers than expected, and now the industry is putting higher hopes on the chipmaker. Intel expects third quarter revenue of $8.1 billion to $8.9 billion, which either way tops previous analyst estimates of $7.8 billion. Some life is coming back to PC sales in the United States and China, accounting for much of Intel’s success. More interesting is one analyst’s prediction that the netbook market will “flatten,” while “traditional notebook production [will drive] units in third quarter.” I doubt that everyone’s running out to buy high-end laptops all of a sudden, but perhaps the market’s penchant for the cheap stuff is coming to an end. [via BusinessWeek and Reuters]