Smart mobile SoCs: Texas Instruments

Smart mobile SoCs: Texas Instruments
by Don Dingee on 04-24-2012 at 9:00 pm

TI has parlayed its heritage in digital signal processing and long-term relationships with mobile device makers into a leadership position in mobile SoCs. They boast a relatively huge portfolio of design wins thanks to being the launch platform for Android 4.0. On the horizon, the next generation OMAP 5 could change the entire… Read More


Powering the Platforms: ARM’s 2012 Approach

Powering the Platforms: ARM’s 2012 Approach
by Don Dingee on 02-08-2012 at 4:30 pm

A client turned me on to a great new book, “The Age of the Platform” by Phil Simon. It’s about how Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google have radically transformed the landscape. For me, it’s not just social networking – it’s social computing, changing how things are designed.

I’m borrowing this right from Phil’s… Read More


Will Amazon’s Kindle Fire Force x86 Processors To Revisit the 1980s?

Will Amazon’s Kindle Fire Force x86 Processors To Revisit the 1980s?
by Ed McKernan on 11-29-2011 at 12:07 am

What if Amazon’s new Kindle Fire, priced at $199 and using a sub $10 TI processor, has effectively started the ball rolling towards forcing Intel and AMD to building a Very Low Cost (perhaps even <$10) x86 mobile processor? A recent article entitled “Amazon’s Risky Strategy” explores the ramifications of Amazon selling Kindle… Read More


Amazon’s Kindle Fire Spells Trouble for nVidia, Qualcomm and Intel

Amazon’s Kindle Fire Spells Trouble for nVidia, Qualcomm and Intel
by Ed McKernan on 10-05-2011 at 11:50 am

With the introduction of the Kindle Fire, it is now guaranteed that Amazon has the formula down for building the new, high volume mobile platform based on sub $9 processors. In measured fashion, Amazon has moved down Moore’s Law curve from the initial 90nm Freescale processor to what is reported to be TI’s OMAP 4 in order to add the … Read More