The ratio of second-tier notebooks (notebooks offered by non-top-10 vendors) to global notebook shipments has dropped to below 10% recently as most makers have shifted to the development of tablets.

　　Intel has always actively nurtured second-tier notebook vendors. Although Intel has tried to help them pass the crisis, first-tier vendors' fierce price competition and aggressive entry in emerging markets are forcing second-tier vendors to seek new business opportunities.

　　In 2010, second-tier notebooks accounted for 30% of global notebook shipments, but the percentage dropped to less than 20% in 2005 and declined further to only 10% in 2013.

　　Some research firms estimate that overall PC shipments in 2013 will drop at least 10% on year and their shipment figures for the second quarter also showed sequential drops of more than 10%, indicating that the PC industry is still suffering from a downturn.

　　Hewlett-Packard (HP) also announced disappointing financial results for its fiscal first quarter (May-July) with revenues dropping 8.2% on year to US$27.22 billion and net profits of US$1.39 billion.

　　For the third quarter, HP CEO Meg Whitman also said that the company may still have trouble achieving growth.

　　Dell also saw its net profits for the fiscal first half of 2014 (February-July 2013), drop to only US$334 million. Although the company is gradually turning its focus from the PC business to software and services, since the PC industry is dropping faster than its transformation process, the company is now seeing issues maintaining its gross margin, according to market watchers.