Despite the derision of the PC vendors, the long-awaited market for thin clients – slimmed down desktop devices which enable users to access applications running on a server – is finally gaining momentum. During the first half of this year, shipments of thin clients increased 83% to 305,000 units, compared with just 166,666 units in the first half of 1998, according to analyst company International Data Corp. For the whole of 1998, shipments reached just 368,450 units.
Lower prices are a factor in this growth, but despite shrinking average selling prices, revenues still grew 24% from $155.2m in the first half of 1998, compared to $192.3m in the first half of 1999, according to IDC. Wyse Technology Inc, IBM Corp and NCD/Tektronix Inc are the emerging market leaders, and dominate the market with a combined share of 78% of worldwide shipments and 79% of worldwide revenues.
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