This is the first of an occasional series of articles on the semiconductor industry. Many column inches have covered industry consolidation and in this first article, I aim to explain how the industry reached this point. Later articles will cover subjects including China, joint ventures, emerging players like Brazil and Vietnam,… Read More
Tag: mediatek
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Significantly Improves Performance
The smartphone market has been experiencing many changes, some of those changes have included the slowing of the overall pace of growth. One of the remaining growth segments of the smartphone market right now remains the mid-range which is priced around $200. These phones have traditionally been ignored by the big players in the… Read More
Qualcomm’s New Smartphone Chips Go Straight At MediaTek
Last Thursday at Qualcomm’s Financial Analyst Day the company made a slew of chip announcements ranging from the industry’s 1 Gbps wireless LTE modem to a custom designed smartwatch SoC and platform called “Snapdragon Wear 2100 SoC”. In between those, Qualcomm also announced a few very overlooked … Read More
How China can Lead in the Semiconductor Industry
Since a few years China has been very aggressive in acquiring semiconductor companies around the world. Last year, Chinese government along with PE (Private Equity) and other investors in China announced an ambitious plan under which more than $150 billion were to be invested over next 5 to 10 years in developing semiconductor… Read More
2015 semiconductor market flat, 2016 looking somewhat better
The 2015 semiconductor market finished with a 0.2% decline from 2014, according to World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS). Optimists will round this to flat with 2014. The flat 2015 follows healthy 9.9% growth in 2014. Going into 2015, forecasts were in the range of 3% to 11%. We at Semiconductor Intelligence were at the high… Read More
MediaTek X20 Benchmark Leaks: A Prelude to 2016 Mobile Chipset Wars?
MediaTek is making waves, again. The company’s flagship mobile system-on-chip (SoC)—Helio X20—is up against rivals like Apple, Qualcomm and Samsung, according to leaked Geekbench scores, and is leading in some of the performance benchmarks.… Read More
GSA Awards Dinner: Be Mindful!
The GSA Awards Dinner is the semiconductor version of the Oscars. Lights, cameras, and there is certainly plenty of action. This year there were close to 1,500 people to celebrate the semiconductor industry and all of our accomplishments so it is a networker’s paradise. Quite a few people mentioned purchasing our new book and photos… Read More
MediaTek: Where Do I Go From Here?
MediaTek is at crossroads. The company that pioneered the “Shanzhai” model for smartphones by providing small OEMs and ODMs in China with starter kits and turnkey design solutions is now facing its first real test after years of runaway success.… Read More
SoC and Foundry Update 2H 2015!
Rarely do I fly first class but I did on my recent trip to Asia. It was one of the new planes with pod-like seats that transforms into a bed. The flight left SFO at 1 A.M. so I fell asleep almost immediately missing the first gourmet meal. About half way through the flight I found myself barely awake staring straight up and what do I see? STARS!… Read More
An Open Letter to Qualcomm CEO
Dear Steve,
Let me first clarify about myself that I am a humble blogger at Semiwiki and admire your company as the #1 Semiconductor Fabless Company and #4 in terms of overall semiconductor sales of the top10 semiconductor companies in the world as per 2014 data. Also, I must mention another point of admiration that your company is… Read More