D&R Headline News | Most Popular | SoC News Alerts | |

Commentary / Analysis

• Gartner Says Worldwide Semiconductor Sales to Reach $311 Billion in 2013, a 4.5 Percent Increase from 2012 (Thursday Dec. 13, 2012)
  Worldwide semiconductor revenue is projected to total $311 billion in 2013, a 4.5 percent increase from 2012 revenue, according to Gartner, Inc. Due to economic headwinds and an inventory correction, the fourth quarter projections have been revised down from the previous quarter's forecast of $330 billion.
  
  
• Intel leapfrogs ARM (for now) with Atom server SoC (Wednesday Dec. 12, 2012)
  Leaping ahead of a growing onslaught of ARM server SoCs, Intel Corp. rolled out its dual-core, 64-bit Atom enterprise SoC, claiming 20 design wins in microservers, comms and storage. It also said it will pack an Ethernet fabric on to its next-generation, Avoton, a 22-nm chip shipping in 2013 that is expected to use out-of-order cores for greater performance.
  
  
• Whither ST? (Wednesday Dec. 12, 2012)
  It is no easy matter turning around a large operation like European chip company STMicroelectronics. That's why its critical to get ahead of the tidal forces that are shaping electronics to buy the time required, particularly when the hole you are in is largely of your own making.
  
  
• Intel's 22-nm tri-gate SoC, how low can you leak? (Tuesday Dec. 11, 2012)
  Intel will describe its 22-nm tri-gate (FinFET) SoC technology for mobile applications Monday (Dec. 10) at the International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM) here.
  
  
• Can ST-Ericsson shrink to survive? (Tuesday Dec. 11, 2012)
  How many people does it take to run a mobile chip company these days? Anyone care to guess?
  
  
• SEMI Reports Third Quarter 2012 Worldwide Semiconductor Equipment Figures; Billings US$ 9.06 Billion (Tuesday Dec. 11, 2012)
  SEMI today reported that worldwide semiconductor manufacturing equipment billings reached US$ 9.06 billion in the third quarter of 2012. The billings figure is 12 percent lower than the second quarter of 2012 and 15 percent lower than the same quarter a year ago.
  
  
• ARM founder sees startups hustling in hard times (Monday Dec. 10, 2012)
  The hard-scrabble struggles of a startup are the challenges that energize Sir Robin Saxby. The retired co-founder of ARM Ltd. is back in the startup world, sharing lessons learned as he picks up a lifetime achievement award this week from the Global Semiconductor Alliance.
  
  
• AMD recasts foundry deal to save cash (Monday Dec. 10, 2012)
  Struggling processor vendor Advanced Micro Devices Inc. said it has renegotiated its wafer supply agreement with foundry partner Globalfoundries Inc., moving on to fixed-price wafer deal to reduce its costs during the fourth quarter and into 2013.
  
  
• Qualcomm Rides Wireless Wave to Take Third Place in Global Semiconductor Market in 2012 (Friday Dec. 07, 2012)
  In a miserable 2012 semiconductor market that will see revenue decline at seven of the world’s Top 10 semiconductor suppliers, Qualcomm Inc. is standing out, with a double-digit increase in sales that will make it the world’s third-largest chip maker this year.
  
  
• Report: China approves ARM venture with conditions (Friday Dec. 07, 2012)
  The Chinese government's Ministry of Commerce has approved the formation of a joint venture to integrate security software on ARM-based chips to enable secure payments over mobile phones but with conditions, according to a Market Watch report.
  
  
• Standard PCs Will Lose Status as Largest IC Application in 2013 (Friday Dec. 07, 2012)
  For most of the last two decades personal computers have accounted for a third or more of annual IC sales, but standard PCs are now on the brink of being replaced as the largest end-use product category for integrated circuits, according to IC Insights’ new 2013 edition of IC Market Drivers.
  
  
• EDA vendors cashing in on move to FinFETs (Friday Dec. 07, 2012)
  Despite lingering economic doom and gloom, electronic design automation (EDA) vendors are poised for a strong 2013 as the semiconductor industry prepares to migrate to three-dimensional FinFET transistors while continuing to push the envelope with scaling to smaller process geometries, according to Aart de Geus, chairman and CEO of Synopsys Inc.
  
  
• Broadcom sees rising 20 nm costs amid handset push (Friday Dec. 07, 2012)
  Cost-per-transistor may rise at the 20- and 14-nm generations, Broadcom CEO Scott McGregor said during in the company’s annual analyst day here
  
  
• IHS Downgrades 2012 Semiconductor Forecast to 2.3 Percent Decline (Friday Dec. 07, 2012)
  Amid increasingly weak economic conditions that are depressing consumer and business spending on electronics, IHS is downgrading its forecast for the global semiconductor market in 2012, with revenue now expected to decline by 2.3 percent for the year.
  
  
• Sony and Toshiba Set to Increase Chip Spending in 2013 as They Strive to Recover (Thursday Dec. 06, 2012)
  Despite weak financial results, leading Japanese consumer electronics original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) Sony Corp. and Toshiba Corp. during the next two years are expected to increase their semiconductor spending as they invest in a wide range of innovative new products to revitalize their businesses.
  
  
• Global Semiconductor Sales Increase in October, Remain Above Seasonal Rate (Wednesday Dec. 05, 2012)
  The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), representing U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing and design, today announced that worldwide sales of semiconductors reached $25.22 billion for the month of October 2012, a 1.7 percent increase from the prior month when sales were $24.79 billion.
  
  
• Achronix 6 billion-transistor FPGAs: Take two (Tuesday Dec. 04, 2012)
  Achronix’s new 6 billion-transistor device, the first FPGA to be built on a 22-nm manufacturing process at Intel Corp. and promised to start sampling this quarter, won’t arrive in the market until the first quarter of 2013
  
  
• IHS Downgrades Semiconductor Industry Market Forecast to 2.3 Percent Decline (Tuesday Dec. 04, 2012)
  Amid increasingly weak economic conditions that are depressing consumer and business spending on electronics, IHS is downgrading its forecast for the global semiconductor market in 2012, with revenue now expected to decline by 2.3 percent for the year.
  
  
• Why Intel should make chips for Apple, Cisco (Tuesday Dec. 04, 2012)
  To use Andy Grove’s well-worn phrase, Intel Corp. is at an inflection point. It’s time for the company to re-think what it wants to be in the next phase of its life
  
  
• Should Apple buy ST-E or Renesas Mobile? (Monday Dec. 03, 2012)
  Apple should be looking at acquiring either ST-Ericsson or Renesas Mobile for the sake of their LTE/3G/2G modem technologies, according to Will Strauss, president and principal analyst with Forward Concepts.
  
  
• Serving busy OEMs pays off (Friday Nov. 30, 2012)
  Silicon & Software Systems Ltd., otherwise known as S3 Group, has been a center of IC design in Dublin, Ireland, for more than 25 years. But the fast pace of technological and business change in the semiconductor business means that longevity is no guarantee of success. However, longevity does indicate a company that is prepared to adapt to survive.
  
  
• ST's conundrum: Break up or tweak? (Friday Nov. 30, 2012)
  It's difficult finding anyone today who doesn't believe chip giant STMicroelectronics NV urgently needs a new growth strategy. And that pertains to people both within and outside the European semiconductor giant.
  
  
• WSTS Forecasts Semiconductor Market to Recover in 2013 After Slight Decline in 2012 (Tuesday Nov. 27, 2012)
  Worldwide Semiconductor Market is forecasted to be US$290 billion in 2012, down 3.2% from 2011, followed by a recovery of 4.5% growth in 2013
  
  
• Renesas shareholders reportedly set to approve bailout deal (Tuesday Nov. 27, 2012)
  Renesas Electronics Corp.'s major shareholders are close to approving a deal to sell two-thirds of the company to a government-backed entity for $2.4 billion in bailout funds, according to a report by the Reuters news service.
  
  
• Why the ARM architecture is shaped the way it is (Monday Nov. 26, 2012)
  It is arguable that ARM and Intel, the two companies locked in head-to-head processor competition, represent two different poles and philosophies.
  
  
• TSMC breaks ground for FinFET fab (Monday Nov. 26, 2012)
  Foundry Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. has held a groundbreaking ceremony for a fab module at its Fab 14 gigafab at the South Taiwan Science Park in Tainan, Taiwan. The phase-six module is expected to be TSMC's first fab to mass produce 16-nm FinFET circuits in 2014.
  
  
• TSMC next for New York fab? (Thursday Nov. 22, 2012)
  Evidence is starting to mount that foundry chip maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. could be about to follow Globalfoundries Inc. in building a wafer fab in up-state New York.
  
  
• ARM CEO Warren East on IoT, Nokia, platforms, Europe's future (Thursday Nov. 22, 2012)
  ARM CEO Warren East said Internet of Things applications could double the company's market size, he wouldn't "bet against" Nokia and his company is envisioning future technology evolution by building internal platforms.
  
  
• GloFo and the end of easy money (Thursday Nov. 22, 2012)
  Globalfoundries is only a little over three years old, but is already the world's second largest pure-play foundry, with estimated annual sales of about $4.5 billion in 2012. All seems to be going well.
  
  
• 2013 Global GDP to Improve, Raising Electronic System and IC Markets (Wednesday Nov. 21, 2012)
  Throughout 2012, the expectations for global economic growth have consistently deteriorated. Global GDP growth is now expected to expand by an estimated 2.6% in 2012, very close to the global recession threshold of 2.5% and well below the long-term average growth rate of 3.5%.