Cyrix claimed today that a survey it has conducted shows that the number of corporate buyers prepared to evaluate its chips has soared from three per cent last year to 32 per cent now. Alain Tiquet, European strategic sales manager at NatSemi-Cyrix, claimed that success in the retail market was the reason IT managers were considering its chips. He said: "There's a very strong influence from the retail market. People go into stores and think why should they pay more for similar technology. "Today, the [entry level] segment accounts for 50 per cent of all retail sales in the US." Tiquet claimed that that Cyrix is now a leader in the sub-$800 category. "We're more focused and successful in this area than Intel," he said. He claimed that Cyrix held 43 per cent market share in the retail sector in the US, with AMD holding 38 per cent share and Intel the rest. He said that Intel's decision to move to a 370-pin socket meant that it had realised Slot One was "no good" for the entry level market. He also welcomed new entrants into the market, such as Rise and Centaur-IDT. "It's a very good sign," he said. "The way customers are thinking is changing." ®