Western Digital (WD) took command of the hard disk drive (HDD) market in 2010 from long-time leader Seagate on the strength of its market momentum in mobile computing, according to The Information Network. About 653.5 million HDDs were shipped in 2010, up 17.1%, said the research firm.
WD, which has focused on non-desktop applications, primarily the 2.5-inch form factor for mobile and CE, took over the lead in 2010 from Seagate, which has focused on the desktop and the enterprise markets. In 2010, the market for mobile PCs rose 29% while that of desktop PCs grew only 8%, The Information Network indicated.
In the mobile HDD sector, WD led the 2010 market with a 27.5% share followed by Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (HGST) with 26% and Seagate 20.4%, according to The Information Network.
However, rising tablet demand will impact HDD sales, The Information Network reiterated. The firm previously pointed out that media tablets are already cannibalizing netbook sales, and would hurt demand for traditional PCs and hence HDDs. Instead of HDDs, tablets contain solid-state drives (SSD).
| Information Network: Global top-5 HDD manufacturers, 2009-2010 | ||
|
| 2010 market share | 2009 market share |
| WD | 31.4% | 29.9% |
| Seagate | 29.6% | 31.2% |
| HGST | 16.4% | 17.2% |
| Toshiba/Fujitsu | 12.6% | 10.9% |
| Samsung | 9.2% | 9.7% |
| Others | 0.8% | 1.2% |
| Total (m units) | 558.3 | 653.5 |
Source: The Information Network, compiled by Digitimes, February 2011
Article translated by Jessie Shen
