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


Intel is Selling Itself Short on Trigate!

Intel is Selling Itself Short on Trigate!
by Ed McKernan on 05-17-2012 at 9:15 pm

Perhaps the most pertinent comment raised by an analyst at Intel’s Investor Forum last week came from Dan Hutcheson of VLSI Research to Brian Krzanich, the COO and head of global manufacturing and supply chain. He said: “I think you sold yourself short on Trigate, the benefit of fully depleted vs. planar and the impact on leakage.”… Read More


Smart mobile SoCs: Intel

Smart mobile SoCs: Intel
by Don Dingee on 05-16-2012 at 3:59 pm

Talk about an unusual position. Intel finds themselves very much currently outside when it comes to mobile SoCs for phones and tablets. After several attempts at soul-searching and a true understanding of the term “low-power” (not meaning 3W, but instead < 1W), they finally have a part – in the form of “Medfield”, aka the Atom… Read More


Piper Jaffray Chip Analyst Spanks Intel!

Piper Jaffray Chip Analyst Spanks Intel!
by Daniel Nenni on 05-15-2012 at 7:30 pm

This just in from Tech Trader Daily, quoting Piper Jaffraychip analyst Gus Richard:

The whole issue for Qualcomm, based on Richard’s conversations with industry types, is that the company has started making its “MSM8960″ chip with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (
TSM) only two to three quarters after TSM introducedRead More


TSMC Tops Intel, Samsung in Capacity!

TSMC Tops Intel, Samsung in Capacity!
by Daniel Nenni on 05-13-2012 at 7:00 pm

While I was marlin fishing in Hawaii last week I missed some interesting comments from TSMC executives at the Technology Symposium in Taiwan, a much different show than the one here in San Jose I’m told. It is good to see TSMC setting the record straight and taking a little credit for what they have accomplished! I’m sorry I missed it… Read More


Intel Foundry All Hat No Cattle?

Intel Foundry All Hat No Cattle?
by Daniel Nenni on 05-12-2012 at 12:19 am

If you look real close at the #49 DAC floor plan you will see the tiny Intel booth dwarfed by those of TSMC, GlobalFoundries, Samsung, and ARM. The number one semiconductor company in the world does not have the budget for the cornerstone conference of the semiconductor ecosystem? Oh my…… Intel has a big foundry hat and no cattle… 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


Intel’s Ivy Bridge Mopping Up Campaign

Intel’s Ivy Bridge Mopping Up Campaign
by Ed McKernan on 04-26-2012 at 9:03 pm

In every Intel product announcement and PR event, there are hours of behind the scenes meetings to discuss what they should introduce, what are the messages and what are the effects on the marketplace to maximize the impact of the moment. The Ivy Bridge product release speaks volumes of what they want to accomplish over the coming… Read More


Qualcomm Meets Jerry Sanders at 28nm

Qualcomm Meets Jerry Sanders at 28nm
by Ed McKernan on 04-19-2012 at 8:26 pm

First the good news: 4G LTE design in activity is off the charts as OEMs building smartphones, tablets and Ultrabooks are buying into the capability for product rollouts that will occur starting in September. Now the bad news: there’s not enough to go around until probably well into 2013. For a Company sitting on over $26B in cash,… Read More