2 which firms produce specialized PCs. Computer manufacturing companies

Market segments

TAdviser provides information on various segments of the global computer market.

2018

Lenovo Takes the Lead - Gartner

On January 10, 2019 the analytical company Gartner published results of a research of the world market personal computers, from which it became known about the change of leader. Most of all computers in 2018 were delivered by Lenovo - 58.5 million units, which is 6.9% more than a year earlier.

He considers the second negative factor to be the political and economic uncertainty in a number of countries. The problem has affected even an economy as strong as , and affected the most vulnerable groups of buyers, including small and medium-sized businesses, Kitagawa said.

Market decline for 7 years - IDC

In 2018, computer manufacturers delivered a total of 258.5 million desktops, laptops and workstations to the global market, which is 0.4% less than in 2017. Analysts cited such data in their regular summary of the Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker in January 2019. Sales have been declining for seven consecutive years.

The PC market delivered better-than-expected results, experts said, as companies upgrade PCs as the end of support for Windows 7 approaches (January 2020). Strong performance in the corporate segment helped offset the downturn in the consumer sector.

In all regions except the US, computer sales exceeded market expectations, although the Asia-Pacific region had problems due to the difficult situation in the Chinese commercial market.

The balance of power among the largest computer manufacturers is presented in the table below. It should be noted that HP Inc. retained its leadership, but the gap from the closest pursuer - Lenovo - was minimal. HP Inc. it helped that the company better than many competitors managed to survive the fall in the PC market in the Asia-Pacific region, according to an IDC study.

2017

Falling within 6 years - Gartner

In January 2018, the analytical company Gartner summed up the results of the past year in the global personal computer market. Manufacturers have released more than 262.5 million devices in 2017, including desktops, laptops, premium ultraportables and Windows-based hybrid devices, according to preliminary estimates. The indicator is 2.8% less than in 2016, thus, the negative dynamics in the market has been observed for the past six years in a row.

Researchers are paying attention to the ongoing consolidation of the PC industry. In 2017, the top four PC vendors controlled 64% of the market, which is a significant improvement over 2011, when the top four players accounted for only 45% of total PC shipments.

HP Inc became the largest PC manufacturer in 2017. , which supplied more than 55 million computers or 21% of the global volume. Compared to 2016, shipments from HP increased by 4.6%, and the share grew by 1.5%, which allowed the American vendor to bypass its Chinese competitor Lenovo, which led the rating in 2016.

Lenovo dropped to second place with an annual result of 54.7 million PC devices and a share of 20.8%. For comparison, in 2016, shipments of Lenovo computers reached 55.95 million units, and the share was 20.7%.

Best performance in 6 years - IDC

In 2017, the global personal computer market declined, but showed the best results in the previous six years. This was reported in the analytical company International Data Corporation (IDC).

According to experts, in 2017, manufacturers released a total of 259.5 million desktops, laptops and workstations, which is 0.2% less than a year earlier. 2017 was the most stable year for the market since 2011, according to the study.

According to analysts, the situation in the PC industry is improving due to the renewal of corporate computer equipment and increased consumer demand. In addition, the market is being helped by declining tablet sales as manufacturers switch back to laptops, so 2017 saw an increase in ultra-thin, convertible and gaming systems.

2016

Drop in sales of monoblocks for 3 years

On June 7, 2017 the analytical company Digitimes Research provided some results of a research of the world market of monoblock computers. Sales of these devices have been falling for three years in a row.

In 2016, manufacturers shipped a total of 12.18 million all-in-one desktops, down 1.7% from a year earlier, due to a slowdown in the consumer sector. In 2014 and 2015 there was also a decrease in sales of monoblocks. According to experts, the market will recover in 2017-2018.

Global shipments of monoblocks in 2016 did not fall as much as the entire computer market, as a result of which the share of this segment in physical terms amounted to a record 10.4%. In the next two years, this share will increase, analysts are sure.

Lenovo remained the leader of the world market of monoblocks. Moreover, in 2016, the Chinese company increased its lead over the closest pursuer - HP Inc. The four largest monoblock manufacturers controlled 83.8% of the market in 2016. In 2017, the figure will reach 85.2% due to the fact that Lenovo will increase the supply of equipment, HP Inc. expect strong sales in the corporate sector, and Apple introduced new models, according to Digitimes Research.

In 2016 deliveries of iMac were measured by 2.26 million pieces against 2.53 million units the previous year. Experts expect that in 2017 shipments of these devices will rise to 2.36 million copies.

Among contract manufacturers of monoblocks, analysts note Compal Electronics, which in 2016 showed the largest increase in shipments thanks to orders received as a result of TPV-Inventa's exit from the market. It is expected that Compal will record the largest dynamics of shipment growth in the sector of contract manufacturing of all-in-one PCs in 2017, and will also become the second largest manufacturer of these computers in Taiwan after Quanta Computer.

Fall for the fifth year in a row

On January 11, 2017 the analytical company Gartner published results of a research of the world market of personal computers. Its volume, according to experts, has been declining for five years in a row.

According to Gartner, in 2016 shipments of desktops and laptops on a global scale amounted to 269.7 million units, having decreased by 6.2% compared to 2015. The market has been steadily falling since 2012.

According to Kitagawa, one of the negative factors for the PC market is the popularity of smartphones, due to which the cycle of use of computers increases.

The three largest manufacturers of desktops and laptops in 2016 have not changed: Lenovo, HP Inc. and Dell recorded 54.7% of the market as an asset against 51.5% a year earlier. However, among these companies, only Dell was able to increase the supply of products - by 2.6%. Moreover, Dell remained the only growing vendor in the top 6 vendors (see table above).

2015

Record decline

Outcome

Source: IDC

Fall for the fourth year in a row

On January 12, 2016 the analytical company Gartner published results of a research of the world market of personal computers. Its volume, according to experts, has been declining for four years.

Gartner calculated that in 2015 shipments of desktops and laptops on a global scale amounted to 288.7 million units, which is 8% less than a year earlier. The market began to fall in 2012 after the introduction of a large number of tablets.

In 2015, one of the main problems for the computer industry was the devaluation of world currencies. It is because of this factor that the production of PCs in Japan and countries in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America at the end of 2015 decreased by almost 10% compared to 2014. In the US and the Asia-Pacific region, the regression was minimal, as currency fluctuations did not affect these markets.

In October-December 2015, the volume of the global computer industry decreased by 8.3% compared to the same period of the previous year, amounting to 75.7 million units. This quarterly decline was the fifth in a row and showed that even the pre-Christmas season does not contribute to the overall increase in demand for PCs, which in turn indicates changes in consumer buying behavior for these devices, said Gartner analyst Mikako Kitagawa.

According to him, among corporate clients Windows 10 received a lot of positive feedback, but in the fourth quarter of 2015, companies were only testing this OS and were in no hurry to switch to it.

The six largest PC vendors - Lenovo, Dell, ASUS, Apple and Acer - accounted for 73.1% of global shipments in 2015 against 70.4% a year earlier. Lenovo retained its market leadership with a 19.8% share. The top three also included HP (18.2%) and Dell (13.6%). Following are ASUS (7.3%), Apple (7.2%) and Acer (7%). Among the listed manufacturers, only Apple managed to increase the supply of computers in 2015, according to Gartner data.

2014

Third straight decline

On August 26, 2015, the research company International Data Corporation (IDC) posted a message on its website from which it became known about the situation in the global computer market.

In 2014, as analysts calculated, manufacturers worldwide shipped 308.3 million personal computers, which is 2.1% less than a year earlier. The annual volume of the market fell for the third time in a row, however, the rate of decline was almost five times less than in 2013.

The improvement in the computer industry was due to the end of official support for Windows XP and the Windows 8.1 with Bing program, under which vendors released budget laptops that are in high demand in many regions, especially in emerging economies. However, even these devices did not save the laptop segment from falling.

At the same time, the negative impact of the popularity of smartphones on computer sales has weakened. IDC says that in 2015 the growth of the global market for "smart" phones will slow down three times - to 10.4%, and in subsequent years, shipments of these devices will increase by only a few percent.

In their study, analysts did not cite the alignment of forces among computer manufacturers for 2014.

Market fall by 2.2%

Top 5 global PC vendors, Q3 2012, thousand units

idc, 2012

Interestingly, at the same time as IDC, another respected research company, Gartner, released its report on the state of the global PC market in the third quarter of 2012. For the first time in its history, China's Lenovo has come out on top in PC shipments worldwide, according to the firm. True, analysts at Gartner indicate that these are only preliminary estimates. Gartner estimates the market shares of Lenovo and HP at 15.7% and 15.5%, respectively. Dell, Acer and Asus follow, as do IDC.

Second quarter

World PC shipments in the second quarter of 2012 decreased, according to Gartner, by 0.1% compared to the same period last year to 87.46 million pieces of equipment. Both global economic instability and the fact that sales of ultrabooks did not live up to expectations had an effect: they are still at an early stage of adaptation, although they appeared on the market back in 2011.

Virtualization technologies have made it possible to abstract the application layer from a particular type of device, OS, even processor architecture.

Changing approaches to designing, delivering and using software reported that PC sales in the fourth quarter declined from the previous year. Although software vendors are expected to perform better in 2011 than hardware vendors, the weak PC market is not only affecting chip vendors like Intel, but also software vendors whose revenues depend to some extent on application sales on the Internet. new PCs.

According to Gartner, in the fourth quarter of 2011, worldwide PC shipments amounted to 92.2 million units. - 1.4% less than in the fourth quarter of 2010.

In turn, IDC announced a slowdown in sales of personal computers in the last three months of 2011. Reasons for the downturn, according to company analysts, include a weak economy, hard drive shortages due to flooding in Thailand, and competition from tablets. According to IDC estimates, in the fourth quarter of 2011, worldwide PC shipments amounted to 92.7 million units, down 0.1% compared to the same period in 2010.

Since its inception in 1976, Apple has always sold computers with its own operating system and designed their architecture itself. Even 15 years ago, it seemed that Apple was hopelessly lost to the actual developer of the Wintel ecosystem - the American IBM, which allowed other companies to churn out "IBM-compatible computers." When in 1998 the position of Apple CEO already accounted for 1/3 of all tablets sold in the world.

The second quarter of 2011 was also successful for Acer, which released its first Android tablet in April 2011: according to Canalys, it was actively bought in Germany, Russia and the USA. In Russia, 90,000 Acer tablets were sold in the second quarter, says Gleb Mishin, head of its Russian office. But the Android platform is still “incomplete” and the tablets are “one-faced”, so Apple has no serious competition, Eldar Murtazin, a leading analyst at Mobile Research Group, is sure.

In monetary terms, the Chinese market also surpassed the US - $ 11.9 billion against $ 11.7 billion - occupying 22% of the global personal computer market.

However, IDC forecasts that the US will remain in first place for all of 2011, as US sales typically pick up at the end of the year. Analysts estimate that 73.4 million personal computers will be sold in the US in 2011, 1 million more than in China. But in 2012, China will finally overtake the United States in this indicator - 85.1 million against 76.6 million, they predict.

Data for Russia are not provided. For comparison, in the first quarter of 2011, 2.31 million personal computers were shipped in Russia.

China is already the second year ahead of the United States in terms of the car market - in 2010 their sales increased by 32% to 18.06 million units (including trucks). In the US, 11.6 million vehicles were sold last year. According to OECD forecasts, China may surpass the United States in terms of industrial production in 5-7 years, and in terms of GDP by 2030.

IDC and Gartner Forecasts: Theory and Practice

The above results of IDC and Gartner on the state of affairs in the PC market in the first quarter of 2012, although not fundamentally, still differ from each other and, at times, noticeably. We suggest that we turn to the forecasts made earlier by these research companies and see how accurate they later turned out to be.

IDC predicted that 217.2 million laptops would be shipped to the market in 2010, up from 169 million in 2009. It was expected that by 2012 portable systems will occupy 70% of the market in quantitative terms. At the end of 2010, the total PC market amounted to 346.8 million units. Assuming that IDC's forecast turned out to be extremely correct, the share of laptops in this volume reached almost 63% - a clearly overestimated figure for 2010. The increase in shipments was mainly driven by increased interest in portable devices in emerging economies.

Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini (Paul Otellini), expected to see the share of netbooks and other similar systems in 2010 at 20%, IDC - at 12% of the market in numerical terms. The higher forecast from Intel is not accidental - it is a monopolist in the market for processors for low-cost systems. This, in particular, supported the company during the active phase of the recession. IDC's cautious assessments were closer to the truth; netbooks never became a truly successful product category.

As for tablet PCs, according to IDC forecast, in 2010 they should sell about 7 million such devices and about 46 million in 2014. As it soon turned out, 10.7 million tablets were sold only in the fourth quarter of 2010 (data from Strategy Analytics ).

Gartner lowered its PC shipment growth forecast for 2011 to 15.9% vs. 18.1% previously expected. According to the updated forecast, 409 million PCs should be delivered to the global market.

Projected volumes of deliveries for 2009-2011. had to be reduced due to a number of factors, Gartner explained.

Firstly, analysts recorded a change in consumer behavior - a shift in interest towards innovative gadgets, which include new models of smartphones and multimedia tablets. Analysts believe that buyers in developing regions who do not yet have a personal computer may move away from buying a tablet in favor of a tablet, which will only approach the capabilities of a PC over time, while the convenience of content consumption and social networking using a tablet is worth head and shoulders above now.

Secondly, the slowdown in supply growth is due to savings. Realizing that the process of recovering from the crisis may take additional time (and who knows how long), consumers are inclined to postpone the purchase of a new system until better times. The same applies to the corporate segment. Already, there are examples of entire companies switching to the iPad, which believe that this computer will not become obsolete as quickly as the traditional system.

Analysts also pointed to the inability of the traditional personal computer market to offer anything truly new. More convenient systems that would have been a resounding success are difficult to come up with, and all that remains is to reduce prices and lean on volumes, and this model has already exhausted itself. Tablets are one new area that could help keep manufacturers profitable.

Gartner also mentioned one more factor of decrease in rates of growth of the market - technology of virtual workspaces. It is expected that with the proliferation of thin clients, the need to upgrade hardware in the workplace will fade into the background. This will have a negative impact on sales of desktop PCs in the corporate segment. However, this factor will begin to operate no earlier than 2012.

In general, Gartner's conclusions turned out to be correct, however, as a result, the market volume in quantitative terms in 2011 did not even exceed 352.8 million PCs. The reasons for such a strong decline in shipments were the poor economic situation in Western Europe and the shortage of hard drives in the fourth quarter due to flooding in Thailand.

Analysts of Gartner are sure that deliveries of desktop PCs will continue to grow in 2011-2012, in 2013 growth will be minimal, and in 2014 negative dynamics will appear. Sales of portable systems will show diametrical results - rapid growth annually until 2014, for which the forecast is given. In 2014, according to IDC, 426.9 million portable computers will be delivered to the world market. By this time, tablets will "eat" 10% of the PC market in quantitative terms (IDC and Gartner do not classify tablets as personal computers).

2010: Sales growth by 13% to 350 million PCs. HP Leader

On an annualized basis, shipments of PCs to the global market in 2010 increased by 13.8% to 350.9 million units - according to Gartner - and by 13.6% to 346.2 million - according to IDC. The best result was shown by Lenovo, whose shipments grew by 37.3%. In addition to Lenovo, only one company exceeded the market average among the top five manufacturers - Toshiba. In 2010, the company launched a new branding strategy and celebrated the 25th anniversary of the first laptop.

World deliveries of the PC in 2010 (pcs., preliminary results)

If you have ever wondered about the best computer manufacturer, then you probably searched the Internet for the answer. There are quite a few manufacturing brands that produce a wide range of desktop PCs, workstations, laptops and other computer peripherals. Nevertheless, the main difficulty in choosing a manufacturer is precisely the significance and fame of the brand, the interestingness of their proposals.
So, let's consider a list and a brief description of the world's most famous computer brands. This small overview covers only those manufacturers whose reputation in computer world has an exceptionally high level. Their quality and reliability, popularity and level of sales speak for themselves.

Apple

A brand closely associated with Steve Jobs and high level of production. Apple computers are known for their build quality, high-tech research and development, and precise adherence to manufacturing technology. Apple successfully produces a wide range of computers, laptops, monitors, Tablet PCs, phones, and more. Apple laptops, due to their wide range, are among the best and most beautiful in the world. Of course, these are the world-famous series of notebooks, such as macbook, iMac or Mac Mini . Along with quality, performance and quietness, Apple pays great attention to the design of its products. For personal use, this brand is the best among laptop manufacturers.
Mac Pro- the most productive model from the line desktop computers Apple. Crazy performance and great stability and reliability. The best choice for serious tasks.

Dell

Dell- one of the most dynamic companies in the computer market. The rate of growth of profits and sales of products of this brand for many years significantly exceeds the performance of the entire industry. Dell makes a huge variety of personal PCs, laptops, PDAs, networking equipment, storage devices, servers, and other hardware.
Michael Dell really turned his dream into reality. Dell's motto is to put a PC in every home. Dell manufactures computers and laptops for students, home users, entrepreneurs and corporations. This makes it possible to equip every home, school, office and any public place with computers.
Dell relies on three aspects: the creation of computers of exactly the configuration that the customer wants, within the agreed time frame, and most importantly, ongoing service.
Another important feature of the company's development is the constant pursuit of minimum prices and attracting the buyer with various bonuses and gifts.

IBM

International Business Machines- a giant that at one time produced almost every computer for the home user. IBM creates compact, powerful, fast, quiet computers. The product catalog of this company is so large that you will find a computer, in any frequency range of the processor, produced in history. computer science. The main idea of ​​the company is to supply a computer to every user. You can easily find countless companies using IBM computers. The company was founded as a creator of computers for the corporate sector, and that is what it still does brilliantly. In addition, competition with IBM and the desire to surpass it served as the main impetus for many start-up companies for their own development. FROM IBM companies that were just starting their lives competed Apple , DEC, Intel, Microsoft, Compaq other.

Hewlett Packard (HP)

HP often associated as a supplier of desktops and laptops to corporate clients. In addition, the company does not forget about small offices and home users, releasing a huge range of home computers, printers, scanners, monitors. HP designs and manufactures huge series of desktop computers, laptops, capable of satisfying even the most sophisticated customer requirements. Some HP products are truly innovative, such as touch smart- a touch screen computer, and the famous HP Brio. If you are planning on doing your desktop at home, then this is one of the best desktop computer manufacturers out there.

Gateway

Gateway, now owned by the brand Acer, is a brilliant computer manufacturer. The company's production area includes netbooks, laptops, PCs and LCD displays. Like Apple, this company impresses with its precision research and development. Gateway computers can be used by both corporations and consumers.

I hope you find the best computer for you from the best computer brand. And which brand is the best, it's up to you to decide. Good luck in choosing your computer.

Apple products

Apple Computer Incorporated (Apple Computer Incorporated), an American corporation specializing in the design and manufacture of computer equipment. The headquarters is located in Cupertino (pc. California).

characteristic feature of Apple Computer is that it stands apart from the widespread IBM-compatible computer technology. Despite the higher price level, Apple Computer products have great potential and are recognized by highly skilled personal computer users.

The company was founded in 1977 by Steven Jobs and Steven Wozniak in Palo Alto, California. The first production facility for the company was an ordinary garage. The founders of Apple Computer set themselves the goal of creating a microcomputer that is affordable for the average user, but with the widest possible capabilities.

The basis for the future computer was the computer board developed by Wozniak called Apple 1. In 1977, Wozniak and Jobs assembled the first complete personal computer, placed in a plastic case with an integrated keyboard and a TV as a display. The Apple 2, which weighed less than seven kilograms, cost $1,350. Seven expansion slots made it possible to increase the capabilities of the machine with the help of expansion cards for graphics, communications and printing. The main advantage of the Apple 2 was its reliability compared to other microcomputers of the late 1970s. Shortly after financier Michael Marculla invested his money in the business, mass production of the Apple 2 began in the town of Cupertino. In the summer of 1978, the Apple 2 was equipped with a disk drive, and in late 1979 with the VisiCalc software package. Thanks to high quality With its products, Apple Computer has become a leading company in the microcomputer market.

In the early 1980s, with the advent of the IBM personal computer, competition among microcomputer manufacturers increased dramatically. Apple Computer released the Macintosh series computer, which for many years was considered a model of high performance and excellent quality. Lightweight and user-friendly Macintosh with GUI and<мышью>was introduced by the company in 1984, but the demand for it was lower than expected. The company, which in the early 1980s manufactured and sold personal computers, printers, and software worldwide, was in strife. In 1985, internal problems led to a reorganization of the firm and the resignation of Jobs. In 1986, John Scully became the company's CEO.

In the mid-90s, Apple was going through a difficult time. The company could not cope with a huge range of products, sales began to fall. The company decided to change strategy and in late 1996 acquired NeXT, founded in 1985 by Jobs and several former Apple employees, for $400 million. Thus, Jobs returned to the company he created, taking on the position of interim manager, and actively involved in the process of improving the company. He decided to stop releasing a number of products and distributing licenses for the MacOS operating system. Under pressure from Jobs, Apple refused the services of all partners in the field retail computers in favor of one - CompUSA, which is now successfully trading<маками>.

Cooperation with Microsoft also contributed to the revival of Apple: in 1997, Bill Gates decided to support the company and invested $ 150 million in Apple. Apple's business took off. Popular office suite Microsoft programs Office 98 for the Macintosh platform hit the market several months ahead of the Windows version. By early 1999, over 31 million units had been sold worldwide. computer systems Macintosh.

Apple Computer's manufacturing facilities are also located in Ireland and Singapore. Every year, the corporation directs about 7% of the proceeds from the sale of computers for research purposes. Apple Computer research centers are located in Cupertino, Tokyo, Cork (Ireland) and China. Representative offices of Apple are located in 140 countries around the world. At the beginning of 1999, the corporation's staff consisted of 8,788 people.

3Com (Computer Communication Compatibility Corporation)

3Com (Computer Communication Compatibility Corporation), an American corporation dealing with local and global network infrastructures. 3Com is the world's second largest provider of complete network technical solutions. It helps organizations and individuals around the world connect and share information and resources anytime, anywhere. The number of implemented 3Com systems exceeds 100 million network connections- more than any other company.

The 3Com name is synonymous with Ethernet network technology. One of the inventors of this widespread networking technology, Dr. Robert Metcalfe, founded 3Com in 1979. 3Com is headquartered in Santa Clara, California. First in the world network adapter for the IBM-compatible computer, the corporation released in 1983 and has so far delivered to customers over 50 million network interface cards. In the early 1990s, 3Com refocused its business on global data networks. The successful work of the corporation allowed it in April 1994 to enter the list of five hundred largest companies in the world. Currently, the corporation is trying to find a technological solution that will combine disparate local networks, equipped with equipment from different manufacturers, into a single corporate infrastructure.

During 1993-98, 3Com acquired twelve computer companies that helped the corporation expand into new markets and expand its networking offerings. The largest and most significant of these was the takeover of U.S. Robotics in June 1997. 3Com was able to significantly strengthen the position of the U.S. Robotics in the retail sector and in the supply of equipment for service providers.

3Com - one of the largest providers of still image, audio and video transmission technology - is playing a leading role in the transition to universal networks, which combines these three types of information within a single network environment. The corporation provides network solutions to more than 200 million users worldwide, offering large corporations, small and medium enterprises, telecom operators and network service providers, individuals access to information and system solutions to create intelligent and high-performance local and global networks.

3Com's main customers are in finance, education, healthcare, retail, publishing, industry, and government. 3Com is the primary hardware supplier for 9 of the top 10 ISPs in North America (including America Online and CompuServe) and ISPs worldwide.

3Com assigns a significant place to innovation. Employees of the corporation's scientific laboratories have managed to obtain 114 patents for inventions in the United States - more than any of the firms specializing in the field of network technologies. In fiscal year 1997, the corporation spent about $500 million on research and development.

In total, 3Com produces more than eight hundred hardware and software products. Among them are network interface cards, modems, organizers, videophones, speakerphones, hubs, routers, switches, remote access, network management software.

3Com's sales in fiscal 1998 were $5.4 billion. 3Com is an international company with 160 offices in 45 countries on six continents. 3Com's ISO 9002 certified manufacturing facilities are located in Boxborough, Massachusetts, Chicago, Salt Lake City, Santa Clara, Ireland, Israel and Singapore. Regional centers Maintenance and 3Com support are located in Chicago, Santa Clara, and Asia Pacific, Europe, and Latin America. In addition, the corporation maintains 135 logistics and spare parts storage centers, as well as seven technical problem resolution centers. About 13,000 employees work for 3Com. The head of the corporation is Eric A. Benhamou.

Acer products

Acer Incorporated (Acer Incorporated), a Taiwanese corporation, is one of the ten largest manufacturers of personal computers in the world. In terms of sales, Acer firmly holds a leading position in the computer markets of Latin America and Asia, and is also one of the leading computer firms in the USA and Europe.

The company was founded in 1976 under the name Multitech International. In the early 80s, the company managed to assemble inexpensive IBM-compatible personal computers and enter the international market. In 1985, representative offices were opened in Japan and Germany. In 1987, Acer Laboratories Incorporated was established - a division for the development and production of chipsets. The following year, the entire corporation was renamed Acer - in Latin<активный, целеустремленный, умный>.

In 1988, Acer acquired the American company Counterpoint Computers (San Jose, California), a developer and manufacturer of minicomputers, and in 1989, the Dutch company Kangaroo Computer B.V., which became the basis for the production facilities of the Acer Europe division.

The high level of work of the young Taiwanese company was recognized by the leading computer companies in the world. In 1989, Acer and Texas Instruments, the flagship of the US semiconductor industry, formed a joint venture to manufacture memory chips. In 1990, Acer acquired Altos Computer Systems, one of the leaders in the production of multi-user systems, for $94 million.

In 1991, Acer's research labs developed ChipUpTM technology, which was licensed to Intel in 1994. In 1992, Acer's headquarters were moved to Singapore. In 1997, Acer acquired Texas Instruments' laptop development and marketing division.

Acer's 15 factories with a total production area of ​​more than 1 million m2, located in the United States, the Netherlands, Finland, Malaysia and Taiwan, produce a wide range of products - from keyboards, monitors and fax machines to laptops, desktop computers, servers, workstations, video conferencing systems. In addition, Acer manufactures integrated circuits, DRAM, ASIC, BIOS components. Acer's strategic partners are Texas Instruments, Intel, Microsoft, Novell, Santa Cruz Operations.

Along with the main manufacturing plants, Acer has 35 assembly plants in different parts of the world, as close as possible to its sales markets. This organizational structure, which bears an internal name, allows the company to supply finished products at the lowest prices. In March 1996, Acer announced the opening of a system assembly plant in Finland, oriented to the Russian market.

Currently, Acer has more than 80 offices in 38 countries, has a staff of 15,000 employees. The company successfully operates in the computer markets in more than 100 countries around the world.

Adobe Systems Incorporated

Adobe Systems Incorporated (Edob Systems Incorporation), an American corporation, a leading developer of software for personal computers. The company headquarters is located in San Jose, California.

Adobe was founded in 1982 by John E. Warnock and Charles M. Geschke, who still lead the company today. Specializing in creating graphic editors for personal computers, Adobe has managed to release a whole series of programs that have received recognition from millions of users. This is a raster package Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator vector package, viewer Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Dimensions 3D font creator, editing software adobe video Premiere and CoSA After Effects, popular publishing system Adobe PageMaker and others.

Adobe products allow you to create visually rich documents based on various computer platforms.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Incorporated

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Incorporated (Advance Micro Devices, AMD) is an American corporation, a leading developer and manufacturer of integrated circuits, electronic devices, computer components and communications equipment.

AMD was founded in 1969. The company's headquarters is located in Sunnyvale, California. AMD is one of the five hundred largest American companies. The company produces processors, flash memory, logic devices, telecommunications and networking products.

In the computer world, AMD is known primarily as a competitor to Intel in the production of processors for personal computers. The company has rich experience in manufacturing x86-compatible processors. Currently, processors of the fourth (see Microprocessors), fifth (see Am 5k86 family) and sixth generations can be found in operation. A major success for AMD was the release of the sixth generation AMD-K6 MMX Enhanced processor. By entering the 3DNow! to the AMD-K6-2 processor, AMD ahead of Intel planning to introduce a similar KNI instruction set in the Katmai processor only in 1999. In the future, AMD plans to release K6-2 with frequencies of 350 and 400 MHz (see AMD's Future Plans).

AMD production facilities are located in the USA, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand. The total number of employees of the corporation is more than 12 thousand people. In 1997, AMD generated nearly $2.5 billion in revenue.

Compaq

Compaq Computer is an American corporation, the world's largest supplier of portable and desktop computers, servers and network equipment. The headquarters is located in Houston (pc. Texas).

Founded in 1982. The first personal computer was released by the company in 1982. The company has put a lot of effort into turning personal computers into a central computing and communication platform - a universal tool for both home and work.

Compaq is the number one manufacturer of Pentium business desktop PCs. Compaq's Deskpro PCs are the industry's best price/performance computers with intelligent management that brings server management technologies, including reliability, security and resource management, to the desktop PC. Intelligent control simplifies work with networked personal computers, allowing customers to significantly reduce overall operating costs.

In the field of portable computers, Compaq offers services for highly mobile professionals, for users who need all the functionality of a desktop personal computer, and for users with limited financial resources.

In 1996, Compaq released a new family of portable personal computers, the Armada, with built-in telecommunications features that turn these computers into full-fledged portable information systems with capabilities such as wireless, video conferencing, and telephony.

Since 1993, Compaq has been the world's number one supplier of PC servers and superservers. In 1996, the company accounted for 41% of the global server market. As enterprises accelerate their shift to distributed computing, powerful, industry-standard client/server systems are rapidly replacing traditional, dedicated minicomputer and mainframe systems. PC servers have gone from file and print servers to application servers.

Starting to manufacture PC servers in 1989, the firm has expanded its range from the ProSignia file and print server to the ProLiant application server, designed to run mission-critical enterprise applications in distributed enterprises. In 1996, Compaq released the ProLiant 5000, a Pentium Pro-based server that provides the power and performance of RISC systems.

Compaq has developed a reliable server platform with a long service life. Each of its servers is supplied with SmartStart software, which is designed to access the resource integration expert system. It uses CD-ROM intelligence to provide an easy way to select reliable, consistent configurations across all of a company's servers. SmartStart sets server hardware parameters and then intelligently installs and optimizes the operating system and database software, such as Novell NetWare, Microsoft Windows NT and Oracle. Based on industry standards, Compaq has developed the Insight Manager tool to provide proactive remote network management, failover prevention, redundancy, recovery, and network health analysis in a client/server environment.

With the acquisition of Networth and Thomas Conrad in 1997 to form the new Internetworking Products Group (IPG), Compaq entered the internetworking market with a range of client/server interface products, including controllers, switches, and modules. As part of its agreement with Cisco, Compaq has released the first router to help reduce network operating costs by simplifying network configuration, performance monitoring, and management in mid-sized systems.

In 1992, the Compaq Presario computer was introduced, specifically aimed at the home user. This computer can serve as both a home theater system with TV-quality full-screen images and an e-mail system that allows the exchange of voice messages. By 1995, the company was the world's No. 2 seller in this market segment, offering the consumer the most modern, easy-to-use, industry-standard personal computers with the richest multimedia capabilities. She holds this position to this day.

Compaq sells its products in over 100 countries through 39 of its own subsidiaries. Compaq conducts the bulk of its market operations through system integrators and resellers, which not only provide wholesale distribution of desktop and laptop computers, but also offer turnkey solutions for large enterprises.

Compaq Technical Support Centers are located in Houston, Munich, Singapore and provide 24/7 technical assistance. The company continues to improve in the field of ecology, minimizing the impact of its products on the environment. Compaq's facilities in Germany, Switzerland and Scotland have return and recycling programs for end-of-life products. Since 1993, Compaq facilities worldwide have eliminated the use of CFCs. Compaq is reducing its energy consumption in manufacturing and has been a member of the US Environmental Protection Agency since 1992.

In 1995, Compaq won tenders to supply computers to Northern TeleCom and the international news agency Reuters for a total amount of over $300 million.

In 1991, Compaq appeared on the Russian market in 1991 and four years later took first place in sales among international computer companies. The Moscow representative office of Compaq has been operating since April 1995. In Russia regular customers Compaq are the State Duma and the Federal Assembly, the presidential administration, the Central Election Commission, the Central Bank, FAPSI, Savings Bank, Gazprom, Northern Shipping Company, representative offices of Chevron and Philip Morris.

Since 1991, Compaq has been led by Eckhard Pfeiffer. In 1996, the corporation's sales in the world market amounted to 18 billion dollars.

Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Epson Corporation)

Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Epson Corporation), a structural division of the Japanese diversified concern Seiko Group, is engaged in the development and production of computers, matrix, inkjet and laser printers, scanners, multimedia projectors, Supplies and accessories, as well as electronic components. Seiko Epson Corporation is headquartered in Nagano.

The company was founded in 1942. In the late 1990s, the total sales of Seiko Epson Corporation amounted to 623 billion Japanese yen.

The total number of employees is 31 thousand people, including 20 thousand in Japan. The head of the company is Reihiro Hattori.

Fujitsu Limited (Fujitsu Limited)

Fujitsu Limited (Fujitsu Limited), a Japanese company, one of the world's leading manufacturers of computer equipment, communications, semiconductors, software and services. The headquarters is located in Kawasaki.

It was founded in 1935 as a company for the production of telephone equipment. In 1945, based on the technology of electromechanical switches, Fujitsu created Japan's first computer.

Fujitsu is the world's leading manufacturer of 3.5" rewritable magnetic optical discs, 10 to 130 ppm archiving and imaging scanners, 2.5" and 3.5" hard drives with 2 to 18 GB, 18 and 36 track magnetic media devices, laser and dot matrix printers, bank terminals.

Fujitsu has over 500 subsidiaries, including Amdahl Corporation and ICL PLC. The total staff of employees of the Fujitsu group of companies exceeds 180 thousand people. The head of Fujitsu Limited is Tadashi Sekizawa. Fujitsu's production facilities consist of 12 factories in Japan and 22 in other countries (USA, Spain, Malaysia, UK).

In 1997, the company's revenues amounted to more than 37 billion dollars. Fujitsu spends about $3 billion annually on research and development.

Hitachi Limited (Hitachi)

Hitachi Limited (Hitachi), a Japanese diversified corporation that occupies a leading position in the global production of industrial and power equipment, household appliances, electronics, information and services.

It was formed in 1910 in the town of Hitachi (north of Tokyo) and was initially engaged in repairing and later improving electrical appliances.

Trying to be at the forefront of technological advances, Hitachi spends more than half of its income on research and development. Most of its sales are components for the assembly of electronic equipment: semiconductor memory devices, cathode ray tubes, liquid crystal panels. Hitachi also manufactures power semiconductors, power plant equipment, and medical equipment.

Hitachi is one of the ten largest global manufacturing corporations. In 1997, sales amounted to about 64 billion dollars. The total number of employees is over 300 thousand people.

IBM (IBM, International Business Machines, International Business Machines)
IBM (IBM, International Business Machines, International Business Machines) is an American electronic corporation, the world's largest manufacturer of all types of computers and software, and one of the largest providers of global information networks. The corporation ranks sixth in the list of the largest companies in the world. The headquarters is located in Armonk, New York.

It was founded in 1911. It received its current name in 1924. Since the mid-1950s, it has taken a leading position in the computer market. In 1981, she created her first personal computer. By the mid-1980s, it controlled about 60% of the world's computer production.

Creation of IBM

The company's history dates back to the late 19th century, when Herman Hollerith, a German immigrant working for the Census Bureau, proposed automating immigrant statistics using punched cards. The electric data processing machine he invented proved to be a successful model, and in 1896 Hollerith founded a company called the Tabulating Machine Co.

In 1911, Charles Flint merged Hollerith's company and two other companies specializing in the automation of statistical data processing. On June 15, 1911, a new company was registered in New York, called Computing Tabulating Recording (CTR). CTR managed to conquer its sector of the market and in a short time opened branches in Washington, Detroit, Toronto and Dayton.

In 1914, Thomas Watson Sr. became general manager of CTR, whose name is associated with the main achievements of the company in the 1920s and 40s. The son of Scottish immigrants, Watson, eleven months after starting work at CTR, became its president. By 1919, the company's turnover had doubled and reached $2 million. As CTR machines found distribution in Europe, South America, Asia and Australia, CTR was renamed International Business Machines (IBM) in 1924.

The Great Depression of the 1930s also took a toll on IBM. Despite the sharp cuts, Watson continued to finance research and development, paid employees forced vacations. As a result, by 1935, when the US government needed automated employment accounting systems for 26 million people, IBM was ready to fulfill this order in as soon as possible. Since that time, IBM Corporation has been constantly fulfilling orders for the supply of equipment for government agencies. Also in 1935, IBM engineers created the first electric typewriter.

The first computers of the company

During the Second World War, the corporation's production facilities were reoriented to fulfill defense orders. Nevertheless, it was in the IBM laboratories, together with scientists from Harvard University (among them Howard Aiken), that work was underway on the creation of one of the first computers - an automatic sequential controlled calculator (Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator). Such a machine was assembled in 1944 and received the name<Марк-1>. This computer, which weighed more than five tons, despite its low speed, could carry out a rather complex sequence of mathematical calculations. In 1946, IBM offered the first commercial electronic computer, the IBM 603 Multiplier.

In 1952, the IBM 701 electronic computer was released, using electronic vacuum tubes. Unlike the electromechanical switches used in<Марк-1>, vacuum tubes were easily replaced in the event of a malfunction, and most importantly, they made it possible to increase the speed of calculations up to 17 thousand operations per second. Created in 1954 on the basis of new technology, the NORC computer entered service with the US Naval Artillery in 1954. With its help, complex ballistic calculations were made, which made it possible to effectively control the fire of coastal artillery at an ultra-long distance.

In 1957, the annual turnover of the IBM Corporation exceeded $1 billion.

When using electronic computers, the issue of storing initial data and calculation results became acute, and in 1957 the IBM 305 RAMAC (Random Access Method of Accounting and Control) machine was created, a computer with a system for storing calculation results. RAMAC was widely used in commercial firms, and in 1960 it was used at the Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley (USA). In the same 1957, IBM engineers developed the FORTRAN programming language (FORmula TRANslation).

In 1952, Watson Sr., who had been at the helm of the company for almost 40 years, gave way to his son Thomas Watson Jr.

With the advent of transistors, tube computers became obsolete. In 1959, IBM created its first all-transistor mainframe (large general purpose computer), the 7090, capable of 229,000 operations per second. Such mainframes enabled the US Air Force to develop an early warning system for ballistic missile attacks. In 1964, based on two 7090 mainframes, the American airline SABER pioneered automated system sale and booking of air tickets in 65 cities of the world.

IBM compatible computers

In 1964, the company introduced the System-360, the first family of IBM-compatible computers and peripherals. Owners of the System-360 were able to upgrade hardware and software piecemeal if necessary, resulting in significant cost savings.

In 1969-71, IBM computers ensured the landing of American astronauts on the moon, in 1973 IBM completed an order from NASA for the supply of computer equipment for the program<Союз-Аполлон>. Subsequently, IBM took part in the space shuttle flight program.<Шаттл>.

By the end of the 1960s, IBM dominated the market, with sales of over $3 billion.

In 1971, the company introduced the floppy disk, which became the standard for data storage. In 1973, when Frank Carey became president of IBM, the production of computers increased significantly and their service life increased. Also in 1973, IBM released a system for automatically reading the price of products using a laser, designed for supermarkets, as well as the IBM 3614 computer, with which bank customers began to conduct account transactions.

In 1980, IBM management made a revolutionary decision to create a personal computer. When it was designed, the principle of open architecture was applied: its components were universal, which made it possible to upgrade the computer in parts. To reduce the cost of creating a personal computer, IBM used the developments of other companies as components for its offspring, in particular, the Intel microprocessor and Microsoft software. The advent of the IBM PC in 1981 created an avalanche-like demand for personal computers, which have now become a tool for people of various professions. Along with this, there was a huge demand for software and computer peripherals. On this wave, hundreds of new firms emerged, occupying their niches in the computer market.

Present and future of IBM

Despite the great importance of the personal computer market, IBM's interests extend much wider. The corporation's position in the production of mainframes is traditionally strong. In 1995, IBM received a prestigious order from the US government to build the world's most powerful supercomputer for the Livermore Laboratory, a center for nuclear research in the US. In 1996-1997, the brainchild of IBM - the Deep Blue chess computer entered into combat with world chess champion Garry Kasparov. IBM also makes its own microprocessors, and its OS/2 operating system is used by one in three US banks.

Research by scientists in IBM science labs goes far beyond purely commercial interests and has implications for the entire world of science. In 1986, IBM employees G. Binnig (Germany) and G. Rohrer (Switzerland) received the Nobel Prize in Physics for the creation of a scanning tunneling microscope, and in 1987 the Nobel Prize in Physics were awarded to IBM employees J. G. Bednorz (Germany) and K. A. Müller (Switzerland) for the discovery of new superconducting materials. IBM ranks first among US companies in the number of patents received for inventions. In 1996, IBM patented 1,867 inventions. By the end of the 1990s, the corporation was spending about $5 billion a year on scientific research.

In 1993, the new chairman of the board of directors, Louis Gerstner, chose a new strategic direction for the corporation - the creation network computer and development of network technologies. The first sample of such a computer appeared in 1996, and on December 31 of the same year, IBM, Mastercard and the Danish payment system announced the first transaction (payment) over the Internet using the SET protocol. IBM sees the creation of reliable systems for electronic business as its immediate tasks. IBM owns 95% of the ATM software market. As the largest Internet service provider, the company serves more than 30,000 corporate clients in 850 cities in more than a hundred countries around the world.

IBM's revenues in 1997 exceeded $78 billion, including $13 billion from software sales and more than $19 billion from Internet services. The company's net profit exceeded 6 billion dollars. In 1998, the company's staff consisted of about 250 thousand people.

Intel Technologies Incorporated (Intel Technologies Incorporated)

Intel Technologies Incorporated (Intel Technologies Incorporated), an American corporation, the world's largest manufacturer of microprocessors, equipment for personal computers, computer systems and communications.

It was founded in 1968 by Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore. The goal of the new venture was to develop a cheaper alternative to magnetic storage media based on semiconductor technology. At the end of 1970, when fulfilling an order from the Japanese company Busicom, company engineer Ted Hoff designed an integrated microcircuit - a universal logic device that searched for and selected application instructions from semiconductor memory. As the core of a four-chip set, this central computing unit not only met the requirements of Busicom's order, but could also be used in a wide variety of applications without any rework. This is how the 4004 microprocessor was born.

Soon the 8008 chip was introduced, which simultaneously processed 8 bits of data (see MP x88 / x86 family). Both computing devices have become available to developers of all types of products, providing them with limitless opportunities for creativity and innovation. The first digital scales appeared in grocery stores - a microcircuit converted the weight of products into prices and read labels from purchased goods. Traffic lights have become more efficient in managing traffic. The new microprocessor has revolutionized everything from medical instruments to restaurant checkout systems.<быстрого питания>, from booking airline tickets to refueling at gas stations.

In 1981, the Intel microprocessor family, consisting of the 16-bit 8086 and the 8-bit 8088, won 2,500 technical competitions. Intel's products attracted the attention of the American electronics giant IBM, which was hatching plans for the first personal computer. In 1982, Intel introduced the 286 chip, which consisted of 134,000 transistors. The 286 processor had three times the performance of other 16-bit processors of the time. Equipped with a built-in memory manager, it was the first microprocessor compatible with its predecessors. This chip was used in IBM's revolutionary product - the PC AT personal computer.

In 1985, the Intel 386 processor appeared, which had a 32-bit architecture and was equipped with 275,000 transistors. This chip, which performed more than five million operations per second, was equipped with the Compaq Deskpro 386 computer.

In 1989, the Intel 486 processor was created. The new chip with 1.2 million transistors was the first to feature a built-in math coprocessor. Its performance was about 50 times faster than the 4004, and its performance was comparable to that of powerful desktop computers.

In 1993, Intel introduced the Pentium processor, which was 5 times faster than the i486 processor. The Pentium employs 3.1 million transistors, providing a speed of 90 million operations per second, which is about 1500 times faster than the original 4004 model.

In 1995, the Pentium Pro processor was introduced - the first member of the Intel processor family based on the P6 architecture. Combining 5.5 million transistors, this processor was for the first time equipped with a second high-speed cache chip to improve performance. With a performance of 300 million operations per second, the Pentium Pro processor continues to be the most attractive processor for multiprocessor servers and high-performance workstations.

In 1997, Intel introduced MMX technology (see Pentium MMX), a new instruction set specifically designed to improve multimedia performance. This technology is used in all processors of subsequent generations. Also in 1997, Intel introduced a new processor, the Pentium II (see the Pentium II processor family). With 7.5 million transistors, Pentium II processors deliver high performance for today's commercial applications. In addition, their performance reserve is sufficient to work with the programs of the future, such as the latest operating systems and 3D Web browsers. The Pentium II supports DVD technology and graphics on the AGP bus, making it a great choice for home computers. Intel also offers Pentium II processors for mobile PCs, delivering new levels of performance not previously available to users. mobile computers.

In 1998 was introduced latest processor Intel - Celeron for PC entry level. Personal computers based on the Intel Celeron processor meet all the basic requirements and are available to many new PC users. They provide a comprehensive user experience for today's standard business and home computer applications.

The new model of the Pentium II Xeon family, which appeared in 1998, was specifically designed for mid-range and high-end servers, as well as workstations. The Pentium II Xeon processor is equipped with a high-speed L2 cache with a capacity of 512 KB or 1 MB built into the chassis, operating at a processor core clock frequency of 400 MHz. Intel's immediate plans are primarily related to the introduction of a new set of KNI instructions (Katmai New Instruction), which will significantly speed up the processing of 3D graphics and video data, as well as scientific and engineering applications.

Intel processors have come a long way to technical excellence. Whereas early Intel products had an integrated circuit thickness of approximately 12 microns, today's processors are manufactured using 0.25 micron technology. For comparison, it should be noted that the thickness of a human hair is approximately 100 microns. If the 4004 processor had 2300 transistors, the package of the modern Pentium II processor contains 7.5 million transistors.

Technologies developed by Intel have revolutionized the entire modern life, work and leisure. But Intel is not only processors. ProShare videoconferencing technology developed by Intel brings people living at great distances closer together, giving doctors the opportunity to consult patients who are hundreds and thousands of kilometers away.

In 1991, Intel began to work on the territory of the former USSR. In 1997, Intel's sales in this region were $376 million.

Microsoft (Microcomputer Software) Corporation (Microsoft)
Microsoft (Microcomputer Software) Corporation (Microsoft), an American corporation specializing in the development of software for personal computers. The headquarters is located in Redmond (Washington).

It was founded in July 1975 in Albuquerque (New Mexico) by programmers Bill Gates and Paul Allen.

Microsoft is the world's largest software development firm with FY1998 sales of $14.5 billion and net income of $4.5 billion. Microsoft manufactures operating MS-DOS systems, Microsoft Windows and Windows NT, Microsoft Office software package, Microsoft Access database, Microsoft Encarta computer encyclopedia, etc.

The company employs more than 27,000 people, 14,000 of which are in Washington state. For a long time the company was headed by Bill Gates. Since 1998, its official head is Paul Allen.

Netscape Communications Corporation (Netscape Communications Corporation)

Netscape Communications Corporation (Netscape Communications Corporation) is an American corporation specializing in the development of software for working in Internet and Intranet computer networks. The headquarters is located in Mountain View (pc. California).

Netscape was founded in 1994 by Dr. James H. Clark and Mark Andreessen, author of NCSA Mosaic Software, GUI which made it easier for the user to navigate the Internet.

The company's flagship product, Netscape Navigator, became the most popular PC application in 1995-96. The company's profits in 1995 amounted to 85, in 1996 - 345 million dollars. The staff is 2 thousand people. The company has ten offices in Europe and five in the countries of the Asia-Pacific region.

Since Netscape software is compatible with various computer platforms, large corporations such as Chrysler, Federal Express, Fujitsu, Olivetti, Siemens Nixdorf Netscape purchased it to power their corporate networks. Netscape software includes four product families: Netscape Communicator client software suite, Netscape SuiteSpot and FastTrack servers, Netscape Development Tools, Netscape Commerce Applications.

Netscape software products are distinguished by excellent performance, ease of use, the ability to encode access to information through Internet networks and intranet. The Netscape product interface provides multimedia information, including rich text, graphics, 3D models, sound, and video. In addition, Netscape software supports Internet standards (including Java, JavaScript, HTML, HTTP, IIOP, IMAP4, LDAP, NNTP, POP3, and SMTP) and security standards (such as SSL).

Samsung Corporation (Samsung Corporation)

It was founded in 1938 in Daegu by businessman Lee Byung Chal. In the 1950s, Samsung grew into a large company that put a lot of effort into rebuilding the economy. South Korea. Successful development allowed Samsung to penetrate into the semiconductor and other high-tech industries in the 80s, and in the late 90s to reach the forefront of scientific and technological progress. Samsung manufactures aerospace, telecommunications, office equipment, household appliances, industrial automated complexes, optical electronics. The corporation also owns enterprises in the shipbuilding, automotive, chemical, and construction industries. Samsung employs 267,000 people. In 1996, the management of Samsung Corporation passed to the son of the founder of the company - Lee Kun Ni.

Traditionally, all Samsung factories were built in Korea itself, but recently the corporation has begun to place production facilities abroad - in Tijuana (Mexico), Tissida (UK), Tianjin (China), Seremban (Malaysia), Manaus (Brazil). In 1998, the US semiconductor manufacturing plant in Austin (Texas) was commissioned.

Subsidiaries of Samsung Electronics, Samsung Display Devices, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Samsung Coming, Samsung SDS produce monitors, inkjet printers, laptops, CD-ROM drives, hard disks, communication equipment. In 1997, Samsung's consolidated income was $96 billion and net income was $291 million.

Sun Microsystems (Sun Microsystems)

Sun Microsystems (Sun Mikrosistems), an American company, the world's leading developer of network technologies.

Sun Microsystems was established in the early 1980s at Stanford University, one of the world's top institutions in computer education (Sun is the acronym for Stanford University Network).

The impetus for the creation of the company was the successful experience of an undergraduate student at Stanford University from Germany, Andreas Bechtolsheim (Andreas Bechtolsheim), to create his own computer from affordable inexpensive components. Economics student Vinod Khosla assessed the economic potential of the new product and managed to attract the attention of manufacturing companies from Silicon Valley.

The main activity of the young company was the introduction of ready-made industry standards in a new generation of open network systems. Successful innovation in this area has allowed Sun Microsystems to bring to market the first powerful and affordable network workstation. By making the UNIX operating system its core technology, Sun Microsystems has created a breeding ground for business development for many companies. In 1995, the company launched an object-oriented language on the market. Java programming, designed primarily for building Internet applications.

Until 1998, Sun Microsystems consisted of several independent subsidiaries. In April 1998, the corporation was reorganized: it began to consist of seven closely interacting divisions engaged in the development and production of certain technologies, types of products or providing specific services.

ViewSonic products

Viewsonic is an American company that manufactures monitors for personal computers.

Viewsonic was founded in 1987 by entrepreneur James Chu. In 1990, Viewsonic achieved commercial success, earning $8 million and a reputation for producing high-quality monitors for professionals. In 1994, Viewsonic began supplying monitors to the European market, and two years later, sales in Europe generated a revenue of $100 million, of which about 40% came from the Russian market.

In 1995, Viewsonic bought Optiquest, a manufacturer of mass-market color monitors.

Viewsonic's head office is located in Walnoth, near Los Angeles (California), the central European office is in Crawley (UK). The Viewsonic emblem is three Australian finches.

If you choose a laptop for yourself, you could not help but notice that technically identical models from different manufacturers differ significantly in price. Does it make sense to overpay for the brand? In some cases, it's really worth it. Because unlike desktop computer, in a compact very much depends on the build quality and materials. So, going to the store, you need to find out in advance which laptop manufacturers are the best.

To determine which brand or model of laptop is better than all competitors, you need to evaluate the following parameters:
• CPU. This is the heart and brain of any computer, including a portable one. Modern laptops are equipped with Intel and AMD processors. Intel leads the expensive segment, their models are more powerful and productive. And in the budget segment, AMD chips are more often used. All processors are rated by frequency and number of cores. These settings determine the speed.
• RAM. For the selected laptop, you need to not only look at the amount of installed memory, but also at the maximum possible amount and number of slots.
• Graphic card. There is a card integrated into the processor that consumes part of its power and RAM. A discrete graphics card has its own processor and RAM, it can also be replaced with a more powerful one.
• HDD. The price is determined by the capacity. This is not such an important parameter if you do not work with large amounts of data.
• Other characteristics. It's presence disk drive, wireless communication, card reader, web camera, different connectors.
• Display. Differ in diagonal size and resolution. Matte or glossy finishes are also available.
• Battery. They differ in capacity, which determines the battery life.
• Frame. The best is a metal alloy case that cools well. Overheating is one of the main problems of laptops. Therefore, the enclosure must provide adequate ventilation.
• Software. Your laptop may already have an operating system preinstalled. But if you take a laptop without software, it will cost a few thousand less.

Choose best laptop without extra overpayments for the brand, the rating of the manufacturers of the most reliable models according to the Marka.guru portal will help.

1 Apple

The American company is a leader in the Top of the best laptop manufacturers. Apple distinguishes unsurpassed quality of parts and assembly as a whole. Possession of equipment of this brand is one of the indicators of status. Therefore, laptops are focused on home and business use. The models use the latest technology and the company's own developments. They become leaders in most ratings in terms of reliability and quality.

Apple laptops are a one-piece product and do not require any upgrade. Lightweight aluminum alloy is used as the body material. Of particular note is the battery. Some models use a special composition with a polymer electrolyte, which provides about 12 hours of battery life. The signature Retina display features high resolution and pixel density. The screen is bright, with the highest color reproduction among competitors.

Latest touch panel Macbook Pro It is made of real glass and automatically displays control tools, depending on the task currently being performed.

The entire line of MacBooks uses Intel processors. The most powerful of them is the MacBook Pro, which has the latest Core i7 with a frequency of 3.5 GHz and turbo boost up to 4 GHz. A powerful discrete graphics card and an integrated graphics processor are also installed here. used modern type GDDR5 RAM. Most models do not have a traditional hard drive, and uses a 512 GB SSD with high speed reading and writing.

At Apple There are also less productive versions of MacBooks. But absolutely all models are distinguished by high reliability and stability. Laptops do not slow down, do not overheat, work silently, all buttons and controls are ergonomically located, the interface is intuitive. Apple installs its own operating system on all computers macOS system. But it is currently well compatible with various devices, with all applications, games and documents.

Advantages:

• modern and highest quality materials;
• perfect assembly;
• high technical characteristics;
• long battery life;
• the most modern technologies.

Disadvantages:

• high price.

Price range: from 55 to 220 thousand rubles.

Prices on Apple MacBook Pro 13 retina display Mid 2018:

2

In second place is Alienware, a subsidiary of the American company Dell.

Engaged in the production of powerful gaming laptops. The products have incredible technical characteristics and are aimed at professional gamers.

Many people think that laptops are not designed for gaming use because they are not technically capable of competing with desktop PCs. Alienware models completely refute this. They were the first in the world to create gaming laptop and are still leaders in this segment. When it comes to reliability, Alienware laptops match and often outperform the competition.

The Alienware lineup includes three models with a display of 13, 15 and 17 inches. The 17-inch version has the most powerful technical characteristics. It has the latest Core i7 processor and an NVIDIA graphics card with 8 GB GDDR 5 RAM. There are also two terabyte drives, one of which is SSD. RAM 32 GB. But it is quite difficult to buy such a model in Russia, and its price in the USA is more than 3,500 thousand dollars. So for the average Russian gamer, this technique is still not very accessible.

Advantages:

• huge power and performance;
• high definition;
• stylish design;
• ergonomics.

Disadvantages:

• high price;
• a small assortment in the Russian market.

The price range is from 80 to 210 thousand rubles.

Prices on Alienware 17 R4 laptop:

3 ASUS

The Taiwanese company Asus produces laptops in different price segments and is in the Top 3 of the world's best companies.

Both very budget options for office use and powerful gaming models are presented.

The best Asus laptops use the most advanced technology and strive to take a leading position in all market niches. At the same time, if we compare the price and the power of the products, it will turn out to be a very good ratio. The model line contains several groups of laptops:

1. The ASUSPRO series has the best set of features for business use. It features a rugged housing that is specially designed to withstand frequent opening and closing and carrying during business trips. Memory expansion up to 20 GB is supported. All ASUS products are equipped with Intel processors, in the ASUSPRO series starting from Core i3.
2. Of particular note is the ZenBook Pro series. These are powerful, elegant laptops in a metal case with high technical specifications. The display of the advanced model of the series has a 4K resolution and a high pixel density of 282 ppi. It has high contrast and accurate color reproduction. At the heart of the work is a Core i7 processor, a powerful gaming graphics card and 16 GB of RAM.
3. The Transformer Book series features portable computers with a 360-degree swivel display. It can be used as a tablet, and put on the table at a convenient angle for watching movies. At the same time, it has the latest technical components and a high-definition display.

Advantages:

• high reliability;
• quality materials and assembly;
• high-definition display with excellent color reproduction;
• modern technologies;
• a wide range of.

Disadvantages:

• noise and overheating in some budget models.

Price range: from 15 to 100 thousand rubles.

Prices for ASUS X507UB:

4 Acer

Chinese Acer is one of the largest laptop suppliers worldwide and is ranked fourth in the Top Best Manufacturers. With a budget price, it shows good build quality and stands out among other manufacturers from China. The model range includes several series of computers for home and business use.

1. For gaming, the Aspire V Nitro series is suitable, which uses the latest generation of Intel processors, a modern NVIDEA graphics card with 6 GB of memory and 16 GB of RAM. Specifications more than enough for the most modern games.
2. The SWITCH ALPHA series is good for both business and home use. This is a silent laptop that uses an innovative fluid system cooling and does not have a built-in fan. The touch display has a high-definition image, and the performance is sufficient for fast work in multitasking mode.

Also in the range there are transformer models that can be used both as a tablet and as a computer. They are light in weight, while maintaining a full-sized keyboard and convenient functionality.

Advantages:

• affordable price;
• a wide range of;
• modern design;
• compact size and light weight;

Disadvantages:

• weak battery on mid-range models;
• unreliable assembly and case.

Price range: from 12 to 115 thousand rubles.

Prices for Acer TravelMate P2 (P259-MG) :

5 DELL

Dell is an American company with a solid global history. Previously, it was the leader of all world Tops, but recently laptops of this brand are losing their popularity, unable to compete with Chinese technology. In the struggle for the market, DELL is expanding the range of laptops, trying to master the budget price segment as well, offering the best solutions at affordable prices.

The Dell lineup is really very wide. There are also transformer models, and laptops with touch input. The Latitude series is built to last, while the Vostro models provide a versatile, cost-effective office solution.

The most powerful Inspiron 5 lineup features high-performance PCs for gaming or professional use with complex applications.

They have an Intel processor. latest generation, powerful graphics card and supported up to 32GB RAM.

Advantages:

• high quality materials and assembly;
• a wide range of;
• use of the latest technologies in advanced models;
• reliability and durability.

Disadvantages:

• faded screen, color reproduction with distortion in many models;
• in some cases, unsuccessful case design, overheating.

Price range: from 22 to 115 thousand rubles.

Prices for DELL INSPIRON 5570 :

6 HP

The American company Hewlett-Packard is one of the largest manufacturers of office equipment, including many models of laptops. They are low cost and good performance. The assembly does not always use high-quality components, but this applies to budget models and those made for the Asian market.

There are more than 100 models in the assortment of HP. There are powerful touchscreen units like the ENVY 17. It has a powerful graphics card, 16 gigabytes of RAM and the latest Core i7 processor with a frequency of 2.7 GHz and the ability to increase up to 3.5 GHz. HP Pavilion budget models have good battery and compact dimensions.

The new OMEN models are designed specifically for gaming, in addition to the latest technical components, they have a very efficient cooling system.

Advantages:

• good accessories;
• a wide range of models;
• reliability.

Disadvantages:

• weak plastic case;
• heats up under medium and high loads.

Price range: from 15 to 180 thousand rubles.

HP 15-bs000 prices:

7Lenovo

This is one of the most successful Chinese companies in the field of computer technology, rapidly gaining popularity around the world. Currently, the manufacturer is focused more on the development of the tablet and smartphone segment, but also boasts a wide range in the laptop category.

It makes sense to choose the best laptop in the budget category among the representatives of this brand.

The choice of models is so wide that it is very difficult to navigate them. Here are both gaming and very budget options. It is worth saying that the price of top Lenovo laptops compare favorably with many competitors. At the same time, they are quite reliable in their work.

Of course, there are no such materials as the leaders of the rating. Both components and the case are made for maximum cost reduction. For example, the YOGA 370 ultrabook costs a little over 100 thousand, but includes the latest technologies, including the Thunderbolt 3 connector. And the ThinkPad T570 can work without recharging for about 16 hours.

Advantages:

• low price;
• modern design;
• use of the latest developments.

Disadvantages:

• in many cases uncomfortable keyboard;
• cheap materials for budget models.

Price range: from 12 to 140 thousand rubles.

Prices on Lenovo IdeaPad 320 15 Intel :

8MSIs

The Taiwanese company MSI produces powerful and quite expensive laptops that are suitable for gaming and professional use. In addition to the latest components, it is worth noting the stylish design and ergonomic design. Particular attention is paid to the cooling system and noise reduction.

In the development of models, the emphasis is on gamers. Therefore, the sound and screen must meet the requirements of realistic immersion in the gameplay, and the technical component must have the resource to support demanding modern games.

Technically, the top models are not inferior to competitors from Apple, but their design is unusual and aggressive. The body is made of aluminum and the controls are positioned specifically for optimal gaming control.

Advantages:

• quality materials and assembly;
• high power and performance;
• equipment for gamers;
• special attention is paid to the improvement of management.

Disadvantages:

• high price.

Price range: from 45 to 150 thousand rubles.

Prices for MSI GL62M 7RDX :

9 Microsoft

Microsoft completes the rating of laptops of the best brands. Despite the good quality and high reliability, they are still unpopular on the Russian market. The top model is the Surface Book i7 ultrabook. He works for Intel processor the latest generation and has high power and performance.

Of particular note is the battery, which allows you to work up to 16 hours autonomously.

Touch input and swivel screen allow you to use it as a tablet. To improve the cooling system, a second cooler is installed.

Advantages:

• quality materials;
• power;
• modern technologies;
• ergonomics.

Disadvantages:

• high price;
• powerful models are noisy and heated.

Price range: from 70 000 rub.

Prices for Microsoft Surface Laptop:

Conclusion

These are the best manufacturers laptops for 2018 according to the Mark.Guru portal. When choosing a laptop, you must first of all be guided by the purpose of use. If you need a fashion thing, while being able to meet the highest technical requirements, then buy any of Apple's Macbooks. When you need a gaming laptop, it is better to choose companies that specialize in this narrow segment, such as Alienware or MSI. In the budget category, there are ideal solutions from Lenovo and Acer. In the ultra-thin and light segment, the market is rapidly gaining ground, and companies such as Asus, Dell or HP will offer the best options in the mid-range and above.