ARM vs Intel step 2…Intel’s nervous breakdown about Microsoft… and cut ATOM price

ARM vs Intel step 2…Intel’s nervous breakdown about Microsoft… and cut ATOM price
by Eric Esteve on 06-01-2011 at 8:52 am

In the unspoken war between ARM and Intel, a couple of interesting facts have surfaced during the last few days:

  • Intel nervous breakdown in respect with their 30 years old accomplice in the Wintel gang
  • ATOM latest version Cedar Trail fabbed on 32nm technology, targeted for mobile computing, will be priced at a 30% to 50% discount…
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37 Billion IC with MTP IP from now to 2015: clearly, Kilopass and GlobalFoundries partnership make sense…

37 Billion IC with MTP IP from now to 2015: clearly, Kilopass and GlobalFoundries partnership make sense…
by Eric Esteve on 05-02-2011 at 4:42 am

Although there has been always a strong relationship between Kilopass and Chartered Semiconductor, this relationship has been even enhanced after the acquisition of Chartered by GLOBALFOUNDRIES, allowing Kilopass’s customers to integrate NVM IP on advanced technology nodes, down to 40nm or even 28nm in the near future.







BeforeRead More


DDR4 Controller IP, Cadence IP strategy… and Synopsys

DDR4 Controller IP, Cadence IP strategy… and Synopsys
by Eric Esteve on 04-14-2011 at 4:17 am


I will share with you some strategic information released by Cadence last week about their IP strategy, more specifically about the launch of the DDR4 Controller IP. And try to understand Cadence strategy about Interface IP in general (USB, PCIe, SATA, DDRn, HDMI, MIPI…) and how Cadence is positioned in respect with their closestRead More


Wanted: FPGA start-up! …Dead or Alive?

Wanted: FPGA start-up! …Dead or Alive?
by Eric Esteve on 04-05-2011 at 6:23 am

The recent announcement from Tabula about the $108 million raised in its Series D round of funding is putting the focus on FPGA technology, and FPGA startups in particular. Who are these FPGA startups, what is their differentiation, where is the innovation, in the product or the business model?

When you say FPGA, you first think:Read More


ARM and GlobalFoundries

ARM and GlobalFoundries
by Eric Esteve on 03-25-2011 at 9:49 am


Although there has been always a strong relationship between ARM and GlobalFoundries, it is interesting to notice that Intel has helped to boost it and make it even stronger. Indeed when AMD renegotiated its x86 licensing deal with Intel in 2009, one of the most significant long-term changes was a marked reduction in how much of
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ARM vs Intel…Performance? Power? OS support? Or ubiquity?

ARM vs Intel…Performance? Power? OS support? Or ubiquity?
by Eric Esteve on 03-22-2011 at 2:18 pm

This blog was posted 10 months ago, and the comments have made it much more interesting! Don’t miss the various comments at the back. Also feel free to let us know if you think the status, in this ARM vs Intel “war” has changed a lot since March 2011. Do you really think Intel has catch up with ARM in the mobile industry?Read More


How much IP & reuse in this SoC?

How much IP & reuse in this SoC?
by Eric Esteve on 03-17-2011 at 10:12 am

According with the survey from GSA-Wharton design IP blocks reuse in a new IC product is 44% in average. Looking at the latest Wireless platform from TI, OMAP5, we have listed the blocks which have been (or will be) reused, coming from internal (or external) IP sourcing. For a license cost evaluation of -at least- $10M!

For those whoRead More


Semiconductor IP would be nothing without VIP…

Semiconductor IP would be nothing without VIP…
by Eric Esteve on 03-10-2011 at 6:35 am

…but what is the weight of the Verification IP market?

If the IP market is a niche market (see: **) with revenue of about 1% of the overall semiconductor business, how could we qualify the VIP market? Ultra-niche market? But the verification of the IP integrated into the SoC is an essential piece of the engineering puzzle when you areRead More


All you want to know about MIPI IP… don’t be shy, just ask IPnest

All you want to know about MIPI IP… don’t be shy, just ask IPnest
by Eric Esteve on 03-03-2011 at 10:14 am

According with the MIPI Alliance, the year 2009 has been the time for MIPI specification to be developed, when 2010 was dedicated to Marketing and Communication effort to popularize MIPI technologies within the SC industry, finally the year 2011 is expected to see MIPI deployment in the mass market, at least in the Wireless (Handset)Read More


Will Thunderbolt kill SuperSpeed USB?

Will Thunderbolt kill SuperSpeed USB?
by Eric Esteve on 02-28-2011 at 11:09 am

And probably more protocols, like: Firewire, eSATA, HDMI …
Some of you probably know it as Light Peak, as it was the code name for the just announced (last week) Thunderbolt Intel proprietary interface, supporting copper (or optical) interconnect when Light Peak was optical only. This will make Thunderbolt easier to implement,Read More