How Big is Mobile? Twice as many people use mobile phones than use a toothbrush

How Big is Mobile? Twice as many people use mobile phones than use a toothbrush
by Paul McLellan on 10-09-2012 at 3:47 pm

How big is mobile? Well, sometime early next year (or maybe even in the Christmas surge) there will be more mobile phones than people. Technically that is subscribers, so some of those “phones” are actually spare SIM-cards in international travelers’ pockets. But even so that is an incredible statistic. Also,… Read More


CEVA DSP Technology Symposium Series 2012

CEVA DSP Technology Symposium Series 2012
by Daniel Nenni on 09-25-2012 at 4:45 am

You are cordially invited to register to attend the CEVA DSP Technology Symposium Series 2012, which will take place in Taiwan, October 16th, China, October 18th and Israel, November 1st.

CEVA’s industry-leading experts and engineers will present a full day of lectures and seminars where you will learn about the latest technological… Read More


ARM, Intel, Apple: It’s Mobile Week

ARM, Intel, Apple: It’s Mobile Week
by Paul McLellan on 09-14-2012 at 4:02 pm

As Dan wrote here, we got invited by Intel to IDF and by ARM to a cheeky little party that they organized the day before. I asked ARM if they were announcing anything and they said basically that it would be foolish to make any announcement the week of their biggest competitors big show. Well, that wasn’t a rule that Apple felt like… Read More


Built to last: LTSI, Yocto, and embedded Linux

Built to last: LTSI, Yocto, and embedded Linux
by Don Dingee on 09-06-2012 at 8:30 pm

The open source types say it all the time: open is better when it comes to operating systems. If you’re building something like a server or a phone, with either a flexible configuration or a limited lifetime, an open source operating system like Linux can put a project way ahead.

Linux has always started with a kernel distribution,… Read More


Smartphones: Is It Game Over?

Smartphones: Is It Game Over?
by Paul McLellan on 08-08-2012 at 4:18 pm

The Q2 numbers for smartphones are now all in and the basic story is that Google is now registering an incredible million Android phones per day, half of them made by Samsung. That’s 85% of all the smartphones shipped last quarter. Android has (per IDC) 68% market share of all smartphones out there.

Apple grew by double digit… Read More


Using Accurate Models to Debug Cellphones

Using Accurate Models to Debug Cellphones
by Paul McLellan on 07-13-2012 at 10:54 am

There is an interesting Gizmodo review of an HTC Android-based smartphone. The basically positive review (as good as the iPhone, best Android phone at the time) ends up with an update:UPDATE: After more extensive testing there’s something a little weird going on. You’ll probably only see this while gaming, but there’s… Read More


Crushed Blackberry

Crushed Blackberry
by Paul McLellan on 07-02-2012 at 12:00 am

I wasn’t going to write about the cell phone business again for some time. After all, this is a site about semiconductor and EDA primarily. But the cell-phone business in all its facets is a huge semiconductor consumer and continues to grow fast (despite my morbid focus on those companies that do anything but).

But Research… Read More


Mary Meeker’s Internet Trends

Mary Meeker’s Internet Trends
by Paul McLellan on 05-30-2012 at 7:11 pm

Every year or so Mary Meeker (at Kleiner-Perkins) does a big presentation on internet trends. Since the internet in general and mobile in particular is a big driver for the semiconductor industry, this report is a treasure trove of useful data and interesting facts.

For example, this graph shows the adoption rate of iPods, iPhones… Read More


Synopsys Update 2012!

Synopsys Update 2012!
by Daniel Nenni on 05-28-2012 at 10:22 am

Synopsys just delivered second quarter 2012 results with improved revenue on a year-over-year basis. Unfortunately operating expenses are said to be out of control. I’m not a stock guy so for more financial information and analysis try the Motley Fool article HERE.

The interesting thing to note is that Synopsys still has a pile… Read More


Linley Tech Mobile Conference

Linley Tech Mobile Conference
by Paul McLellan on 04-18-2012 at 2:14 pm

I went to part of the Linley Tech Mobile Conference. This is the current incarnation of what started life as Michael Slater’s Microprocessor Report, and the twice-yearly Microprocessor Forum. These very technical analysis organizations seem to work well when they are a small group of analysts working together to cover… Read More