Intel’s Manufacturing Lead Explained

Intel’s Manufacturing Lead Explained
by Daniel Nenni on 05-17-2014 at 4:00 pm

The calls from Wall Street keep coming with basically the same set of questions: “Does Intel really have a 2-3 year process lead? Can Intel lead the foundry segment? Can Intel Lead the Mobile SoC Segment?” The feeling amongst the buy and sell side investment people is that unless Intel can lead a market they will not stay in it… Read More


Do You Really Know RapidIO?

Do You Really Know RapidIO?
by Eric Esteve on 05-06-2014 at 4:53 am

About 10 years ago, I was in charge of the product definition of our next IP to be released, the PCI Express gen-1 Controller. I was also involved in the decision process to select the new functions to develop, in respect with the market size, all of this being the definition of “marketing”. The reason why our company decided not to develop… Read More


Strong 2014 for Semiconductor Equipment and CapEx

Strong 2014 for Semiconductor Equipment and CapEx
by Bill Jewell on 04-24-2014 at 9:00 pm

Spending on semiconductor manufacturing equipment is headed for healthy growth in 2014. The latest data from SEMI and the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan (SEAJ) shows March 2014 three-month-average billings for semiconductor manufacturing equipment were up 16% from February 2014 and up 31% from a year ago. Bookings… Read More


Another Intel Slide Debunked!

Another Intel Slide Debunked!
by Daniel Nenni on 04-20-2014 at 4:00 am

This was one of the most memorable keynotes I have seen, absolutely. Probably because it supports my belief that the infamous Intel slide that “projected” Intel will continue a linear manufacturing cost per transistor improvement at 14nm and 10nm is pure marketing fluff. Even more interesting, according to Intel, other semiconductor… Read More


Intel Lost $1B in Mobile Last Quarter

Intel Lost $1B in Mobile Last Quarter
by Paul McLellan on 04-16-2014 at 8:00 am

Intel announced their quarterly results today. Revenue was $12.8B, up 1% from a year ago with operating income of $2.5B also up 1% from last year.

Since the future of the world is mobile and not desktop/laptop, the mobile results are the most interesting. Mobile sales fell 61% to $156M. This includes mobile products and anything … Read More


What is Next for GLOBALFOUNDRIES?

What is Next for GLOBALFOUNDRIES?
by Daniel Nenni on 04-04-2014 at 8:30 am

In response to changing industry dynamics, AMD announced in October 2008 a new strategy to focus exclusively on the design phase of semiconductor product development. To achieve that strategy, AMD partnered with Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC) of Abu Dhabi to create a new joint venture company designed to become… Read More


Bye-Bye DDRn Protocol?

Bye-Bye DDRn Protocol?
by Eric Esteve on 03-30-2014 at 11:34 am

In fact, this assertion is provocative, as the DDR4 protocol standard has just been released by JEDEC… after 10 years discussion around the protocol features. Yes, the first discussions about DDR4 have started ten years ago! Will DDR4 be used in the industry? The answer is certainly yes, and DDR4 will most probably be used for years.… Read More


Galileo, not a barber, but an Intel maker module

Galileo, not a barber, but an Intel maker module
by Don Dingee on 03-13-2014 at 3:00 pm

Words often have much deeper meaning than first meets the ear. The story behind a lyric, or a name, reveals origins, philosophical themes, and ideas beyond the obvious. A new effort from Intel conjures up just such an example – a deep reference to makers everywhere.

In a familiar refrain from Queen “Bohemian Rhapsody,” we hear two… Read More


The Infamous Intel FPGA Slide!

The Infamous Intel FPGA Slide!
by Daniel Nenni on 03-11-2014 at 10:30 am

As I have mentioned before, I’m part of the Coleman Research Group so you can rent me by the hour to better understand the semiconductor industry. Most of the conversations are by phone but sometimes I do travel to the East Coast, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China for face-to-face meetings. Generally the calls are the result of an event … Read More


Celebrating 50 Billion ARM Powered Chips!

Celebrating 50 Billion ARM Powered Chips!
by Daniel Nenni on 02-27-2014 at 12:00 pm

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In case you have not seen it yet there is a website named 50BillionChips where you can follow the journey of ARM. This goes quite well with the brief history of ARM we wrote last year in preparation for our bookFabless: The Transformation of the Semiconductor Industry. ARM was a big part of that transformation of course.… Read More