One of the more interesting pieces of information I overheard at SEMICON West earlier this month was that Intel 14nm was delayed. This rumor came from the semiconductor equipment manufacturers and they would know. What I was told is that the Intel 14nm process has not left the OR development facility to be replicated in the OR and … Read More
Intel Benchmark Hoax!
To be fair, cheating on CPU benchmarks is not new, so if you haven’t followed the computer industry for the past 30 years you might be surprised by Intel cheating, but I’m certainly not. Back in the day I worked for Data General and we “creatively” benchmarked against the Digital Equipment VAX all day long. There are different types… Read More
The Semiconductor IDM Business Model is Dead!
While this was not specifically stated, it was certainly implied during the sessions I attended at SEMICON West this week: The traditional semiconductor business model (IDM) is coming to an end. Starting with the keynote: Foundry-driven Innovation in the Mobility Era,cost was the common theme in any discussion involving mobile… Read More
Intel Versus the Fabless Semiconductor Ecosystem!
In case you missed it, there is an interesting conversation on my blog, The Future of Mobile Devices and the Semiconductor Landscape!, between Ashraf Eassa and myself. Ashraf and I also converse privately, he’s a very respectful and intelligent young man. For the last year Ashraf has been writing financial articles for Seeking… Read More
The Future of Mobile Semiconductor Devices
During my trip to Taiwan I hopped on over to Hong Kong for a speaking engagement. One of the things I do as an “Internationally Recognized Industry Expert” is help the financial world understand the semiconductor landscape as it pertains to SoCs and mobile devices. Usually I do this over the phone or in writing but I prefer to do it in… Read More
Intel Plays to the 4 Horsemen of the Mobile Software World
Just at the moment we look for the mobile market to consolidate, it fractures along new fault lines as old allies become enemies and new business models appear in order to spur the ecosystem giants forward. It was not long ago that Android was let loose in an attempt to prove that the Mobile World is Flat. Ah but Samsung decided that it… Read More
…And Now Intel Will Make a Turn Towards Memories as it Plans to Capture Samsung
While eyes remain fixated on the architectural battle between Intel and ARM, a second front is soon about to open up that will determine mobile supremacy for the rest of the decade. Whereas yesterday’s story on the collapse of Wintel and the anointing of Google and Samsung are repeated endlessly, now tables are being set for a significant… Read More
The Return of the "Moore Noyce" Company
It has been a little over a fortnight since Paul Otellini officially stepped down from the CEO post and yet it seems to be more than a long time gone. Unlike his predecessors, he was not asked to remain on the board and perhaps it is a sign that his complete disengagement from the company was necessary to complete a future strategic engagement.… Read More
The Morphing of Intel’s Monopoly
It was a generation ago when Intel, less than three years old, created the three fundamental building blocks of the compute era: the DRAM, the EPROM and the Microprocessor, an incredible feat of innovation by any measure. Manufacturing yield, not power or performance determined success of failure and in the first two … Read More
Morris Chang on Altera and Intel
If you want to know why I have written so much about TSMC in the past five years here it is: TSMC executives are approachable, personable, answer questions straight on, and have yet to lead me astray. If you want an example of this read the Chairman’s comments on the TSMC Q1 2013 earnings call transcript.
“On 16-nanometer FinFET, we … Read More