Intel Corp’s move to fend off the clones by slashing 80386 prices (CI No 1,834) doesn’t look likely to save it from continued erosion in its heartland – at the end of the month, the company will be confronted with the first clones of its current flagship product, the 80486. Advanced Micro Devices Inc chairman Jerry Sanders last week told financial analysts that his company would formally launch its first 80486 clone on January 30 and will likely ship soon after. The company has had its first truly bright six months for many years on the back of the Am386, so that in the final quarter of 1991, it more than doubled sales of the parts to over $145m, and it reckons it had over 30% of the 80386 market in the period.
