Apple will gorge on semiconductors

FRESH FROM THE REVELATION this morning that people will buy Ipads, Isuppli has kept its focus on Apple and now tells us that the cappuccino company will need chips and things to go into those Ipads.

Apple, which already has a tendency to leapfrog competitors like a showboating amphibian, will overtake Samsung as a consumer of chips, Isuppli explained, as the fruit themed gadget flogger continues to order shedloads of them for its shiny offspring, the Ipad and Iphone.

HP is in top place in terms of semiconductor consumption, presumably because like holidaying Brits it takes chips with everything, but Apple takes third, for now.

Isuppli, which seems to be on the verge of declaring that the Ipad is bigger than the Jesus, added that Apple could sneak up on the pack leader by 2012 and usurp first place.

As more and more people line up to buy Ipads and Iphones this year, Apple will hurl some of its cash - approximately $16 million - at semiconductor firms this year alone, at least according to spreadsheets created in Isuppli's El Segundo offices.

"Leadership in semiconductor spending represents a position of prestige," said Min-Sun Moon, senior analyst for semiconductor spend and design at Isuppli and coiner of the term 'innovativeness'.

"An advancement in the rankings means that a company has been successful in introducing new products and that it is allocating more dollars in research and development-two factors that, incidentally, feed innovativeness as well."

Adding more height to Apple's pedestal, she sad that its products have 'captured the public's imagination', leading to sales 'unequaled by rival devices'.

If Jesus is planning a Second Coming he might want to give it a couple of years, as Moon added that Apple's products are likely to lure adoring buyers like some shiny Pied Piper for years to come.

Apple is not alone in increasing its semiconductor spend. Isuppli predicted that other companies including Lenovo, Sandisk, Cisco, Acer and RIM will boost chip spending by between 37 and 50 per cent. µ