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Commentary / Analysis

• Has Imagination followed ARM's lead with Apple license? (Friday Sep. 05, 2008)
  Imagination Technologies Group plc, licensor of graphics processor cores, has said it has concluded a multi-year, multi-use license agreement with an international electronics systems company. Imagination did not name the company or indicate how much money the deal might be worth.
  
  
• Reading the tea leaves: How deep will EDA losses go? (Tuesday Sep. 02, 2008)
  EDA's "big four" have reported their quarterly numbers, with only Synopsys showing a positive result. Gabe Moretti takes a closer look at what is going on.
  
  
• Now that's low power! (Monday Aug. 18, 2008)
  You want low power? How does 27 uW/MHz sound? That's what Cambridge Consultants is claiming for its new XAP5 processor.
  
  
• Improved ARM core, other changes in TI mobile app processor (Monday Aug. 18, 2008)
  Texas Instruments has introduced the OMAP3530, the next evolution of its widely successful OMAP family of mobile application processors, which includes the OMAP2420, used in a number of mobile consumer applications including the Nokia N93 and N95.
  
  
• Will Zilog lose its independence? (Monday Aug. 11, 2008)
  Zilog, which is fighting several takeover bids, has apparently given in to one suitor's demands. But Zilog appears to be an independent entity--for now.
  
  
• Commentary: Who won AMD's foundry business? (Monday Aug. 11, 2008)
  AMD's constant leaks about its asset-lite plans are getting a little tiresome.
  
  
• Who are winners, losers in IC rankings? (Monday Aug. 04, 2008)
  Who were the winners and losers in the IC rankings for the first half of 2008?
  
  
• Apple with P.A. is possible ARM architecture licensee (Thursday Jul. 31, 2008)
  Warren East, chief executive officer of ARM, has declined to name the company that has taken a multiyear architecture license for ARM's current and future technologies.
  
  
• Gartner Says Semiconductor Outsourcing Services Revenue to Grow 11 Percent in 2008 (Thursday Jul. 24, 2008)
  Worldwide semiconductor outsourcing services revenue is on pace to total $47.4 billion in 2008, a 10.8 percent increase from 2007 revenue of $42.8 billion, according to Gartner, Inc. The market is forecast to reach $66.8 billion in 2012.
  
  
• Asynchronous logic moves toward mainstream acceptance (Tuesday Jul. 22, 2008)
  The future of asynchronous logic design is looking a little bit brighter.
  
  
• Viewpoint: Analog IP integration needs support (Monday Jul. 21, 2008)
  As end products get smaller, designers are increasingly integrating analog and mixed-signal functionality onto SoCs. Analog IP suppliers must support design teams' lack of in-house integration expertise and guide them throughout the entire design cycle to ensure and expedite successful silicon results.
  
  
• Can Silicon Image extend its HDMI success to handsets? (Tuesday Jul. 15, 2008)
  In an ambitious move to extend its HDMI dominance to the mobile world, Silicon Image is unveiling a dual-mode solution that pitches its proprietary MHL (mobile high-definition link) interface as a smaller-form-factor, lower-power-consumption, lower-BOM solution for interfacing handsets to digital TVs.
  
  
• Video: Global Unichip races to 32-nm designs (Thursday Jul. 10, 2008)
  Mark LaPedus, semiconductor editor from EE Times, caught up with Jim Lai, president and COO of Global Unichip Corp.
  
  
• Top 100 OEMs said to take 76% of semis shipped (Monday Jul. 07, 2008)
  The top 100 branded electronics firms consumed semiconductors worth $209 billion in 2007, or 76 percent of all chips sold last year, according to market research group Gartner.
  
  
• EDA Consortium Reports Industry Revenue Down Slightly in First Quarter 2008 (Thursday Jul. 03, 2008)
  The EDA Consortium (EDAC) Market Statistics Service (MSS) today announced that the electronic design automation (EDA) industry revenue for Q1 2008 declined 1.2 percent to $1350.7 million compared to $1366.8 million in Q1 2007.
  
  
• GSA Reports Fabless Revenue Grew Sixteen Percent Year-over-Year, Totaling $13.4 Billion in CYQ1 2008 (Friday Jun. 27, 2008)
  Fabless revenue totaled $13.4 billion, which grew 16 percent year-over-year and equated to 20 percent of the semiconductor sales total
  
  
• Semiconductor IP market grew 8% in 2007, says Gartner (Monday Jun. 23, 2008)
  The growth of the worldwide market for semiconductor intellectual property slipped back to a single-digit percentage in 2007, reflecting signs of maturity, less organic growth and more growth by acquisition, according to market research company Gartner.
  
  
• Commentary: Cadence-Mentor: facts vs. emotions (Thursday Jun. 19, 2008)
  History will be the final judge of Michael J. Fister's decision to make a hostile bid for Mentor Graphics Inc.
  
  
• Cadence-Mentor deal makes sense, says analyst (Thursday Jun. 19, 2008)
  It's only a matter of time before Cadence Design Systems Inc. buys Mentor Graphics Corp., according to an analyst.
  
  
• Analyst: Cadence/Mentor merger "a bad idea" (Tuesday Jun. 17, 2008)
  Cadence Design Systems is under pressure and may lose its top spot in the electronic design automation sector, but its proposed $1.6 billion merger with Mentor Graphics is "a really bad idea," said a veteran EDA analyst.
  
  
• Automotive FPGAs make grade (Friday Jun. 13, 2008)
  With the entire semiconductor industry in a state of flux and established markets offering little growth, programmable logic suppliers are exploring new opportunities. One of the more promising markets that vendors of FPGAs and complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs) have been eyeing is the automotive sector.
  
  
• The truth about last year's Xbox 360 recall (Tuesday Jun. 10, 2008)
  When Microsoft Corp. announced a mammoth global recall of its Xbox 360 a year ago, the software giant never disclosed the exact source of the game console's heat problem that led to the fiasco.
  
  
• Video: Virage's McCranie says IP is alive and well (Tuesday Jun. 10, 2008)
  At DAC, Mark LaPedus, semiconductor editor from EE Times, caught up with Daniel McCranie, president, chief executive and chairman of Virage Logic Corp. In a video, McCranie talks about the outlook, challenges and trends in intellectual property (IP).
  
  
• Zilog's broader 32-bit MCU move: Too little, too late? (Monday May. 12, 2008)
  Zilog, Inc. (San Jose, Calif.) last week made a long overdue decision to solidify its 32-bit MCU strategy by licensing ARM's Cortex M3 processor.
  
  
• Did Apple invest in P.A. Semi prior to acquisition? (Wednesday May. 07, 2008)
  Word on the street is that there is still a little more light to be shed on the saga of P.A. Semi and Apple.
  
  
• ASIC specialist eSilicon expands strategy, seeks acquisitions (Wednesday May. 07, 2008)
  After hitting a few speed bumps along the road, fabless ASIC vendor eSilicon Corp. appears to have regained its momentum and has expanded its strategy.
  
  
• Strategy Analytics: ARM Will Beat Intel in $17 Billion Mobile Internet Device Market (Wednesday May. 07, 2008)
  Proven advantages of the ARM ecosystem in mobile devices will eventually outweigh those of the Intel platform and that ARM devices will comprise the majority of MID sales thru 2014.
  
  
• GSA contends fabless is more (Monday May. 05, 2008)
  Success in the $268 billion semiconductor industry depends on outsourcing, partnerships, financial performance, software and, most of all, innovation and flexibility, according to presenters and panelists at the Global Semiconductor Alliance's recent Israel Executive Forum, held in Tel Aviv
  
  
• Big changes seen in foundry rankings (Monday May. 05, 2008)
  A slowdown in the foundry market reshuffled the top-10 rankings in 2007, according to Gartner Inc.
  
  
• The new challenge for tech companies: currency fluctuations (Monday May. 05, 2008)
  The fluctuating currency market is affecting more than fiscal results; it is also skewing competitiveness and preoccupying corporate boards as top management confronts one more issue over which it has limited control.