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Apple Will Build In America

Apple Will Build In America
by Ed McKernan on 05-31-2012 at 8:10 pm

As Apple races towards $200B in revenue, sometime in 2013 and perhaps $300B by 2015, Tim Cook knows it is in Apple’s best interests to start building a sizeable percentage of iPhones and iPADs in the US and soon. At the All Things D conference this week, Walt Mossberg asked Cook about Apple’s manufacturing presence in China and “if … Read More


Mary Meeker’s Internet Trends

Mary Meeker’s Internet Trends
by Paul McLellan on 05-30-2012 at 7:11 pm

Every year or so Mary Meeker (at Kleiner-Perkins) does a big presentation on internet trends. Since the internet in general and mobile in particular is a big driver for the semiconductor industry, this report is a treasure trove of useful data and interesting facts.

For example, this graph shows the adoption rate of iPods, iPhones… Read More


Why does AT&T Fear OTT?

Why does AT&T Fear OTT?
by Paul McLellan on 05-29-2012 at 9:00 pm

OTT stands for “over the top”. But in the telecom sense it does not mean outrageous, it means providing a service using the data network that competes with some service that the carrier offers and uses as a revenue stream. The most obvious of these is running Skype and so not making a voice call but perhaps the biggest threat… Read More


Chip in the Clouds – “Precipitation”

Chip in the Clouds – “Precipitation”
by Kalar Rajendiran on 05-27-2012 at 3:34 am

Since around the posting of my prior blog [Chip in the Clouds – “Gathering”] to now many events have taken place. Facebook announced its intent to acquire Instagram for $1B in cash and stock, completed its initial public offering, announced an Instagram competitive product by releasing “Facebook Camera” … Read More


The Apple iPhone5 Olympic Launch Scenario

The Apple iPhone5 Olympic Launch Scenario
by Ed McKernan on 05-25-2012 at 9:23 am

Just days after I posted a blog on an early September iPhone 5 launch, the spies from Asia started flooding the rumor mills with Apple supply chain maneuvers that are not easily hidden suggesting that D-Day logistics are farther along than we imagined. This flood of information, coupled with the heightened Samsung-Apple Battle… Read More


The Midwestern Hedge Fund Manager

The Midwestern Hedge Fund Manager
by Ed McKernan on 05-22-2012 at 7:06 pm

Four years ago, a VC friend of mine was invited to a get together with a prominent Hedge Fund Manager from the Midwest. The meeting was an arrangement between fellow Harvard Grads. The Fund Manager was looking to make investments in the valley, to diversify away from his heavily weighted financial positions. Though, not recognized… Read More


Apple Games Qualcomm’s 28nm Supply for Labor Day iPhone 5 Launch

Apple Games Qualcomm’s 28nm Supply for Labor Day iPhone 5 Launch
by Ed McKernan on 05-09-2012 at 11:17 pm

You can see a lot just by looking – as Yogi Berra was quoted as saying. The past two weeks we have seen quite a bit that adds intrigue to the true nature of Qualcomm’s 28nm product shortage and how the effects will ripple through the mobile industry for the second half of 2012. Samsung’s bold announcement of their Galaxy S III smartphones… Read More


Book Review – Quantum Physics: A Beginner’s Guide

Book Review – Quantum Physics: A Beginner’s Guide
by Daniel Payne on 04-30-2012 at 8:00 am

It’s been 34 years since I graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in Electrical Engineering so I was curious about what has changed in quantum physics since then. Alastair Rae is the UK-based author who wrote the book – Quantum Physics: A Beginner’s Guide. I read this on my Kindle Touch e-book… Read More


Next Generation Transistors

Next Generation Transistors
by Paul McLellan on 04-27-2012 at 1:54 pm

We have all heard that planar transistors have run out of steam. There are two ways forward. The one that has garnered all the attention is Intel’s trigate which is their name for FinFET. The other is using thin film SoI which ST is doing. TSMC and Global seem to be going the FinFET way too, although at a more leisurely pace. But … Read More


Introduction to FinFET technology Part II

Introduction to FinFET technology Part II
by Tom Dillinger on 04-27-2012 at 9:00 am

The previous post in this series provided an overview of FinFET devices. This article will briefly cover FinFET fabrication.

The major process steps in fabricating silicon fins are shown in Figures 1 through 3. The step that defines the fin thickness uses Sidewall Image Transfer (SIT). Low-pressure chemical vapor (isotropic)… Read More