Chip side of the Open Interconnect Consortium

Chip side of the Open Interconnect Consortium
by Don Dingee on 07-09-2014 at 9:00 pm

Maybe it’s my competitive analysis gene, or too many years spent hanging out with consortium types, but I’m always both curious and skeptical when a new consortium arises – especially in a crowded field of interest. The dynamics of who aligns with a new initiative, and how they plan to go to market compared to other entities, prompts… Read More


Sonics and Qualcomm Make a Deal

Sonics and Qualcomm Make a Deal
by Paul McLellan on 07-06-2014 at 9:00 am

Some background. Sonics has been in the network-on-chip (NoC) business for a long time. Nearly 18 years years. When Arteris launched their products, Sonics figured Arteris were infringing Sonics’s patents and in 2011 brought a complaint against them. Details are here. Arteris looked at a couple of their own patents (if… Read More


TSMC (TSM) is Having Another SoC Year!

TSMC (TSM) is Having Another SoC Year!
by Daniel Nenni on 06-18-2014 at 9:00 am

TSMC’s stock has more than doubled in the last five years. Coincidentally that is when I started blogging about TSMC. QCOM stock has experienced a similar doubling during this time as have other TSMC customers. The question is: What is next for TSMC? As I have mentioned before, you would be better off taking stock tips from your dog… Read More


Intel is Still Missing Mobile!

Intel is Still Missing Mobile!
by Daniel Nenni on 05-07-2014 at 9:00 am

Paul McLellan was on assignment in Hong Kong last week so I attended the Linley Mobile Conference and was not surprised Intel did not present. During the networking sessions I asked more than a dozen people why and the answers were pretty focused on “Intel still does not play well with others” and “Intel’s current mobile offerings… Read More


Welcome, LPDDR4!

Welcome, LPDDR4!
by Eric Esteve on 04-23-2014 at 3:46 am

Thanks to memory controller expert Marc Greenberg, Marketing Director for DDRn Controller IP with Synopsys, for this post “Qualcomm announces first application processor with LPDDR4 capability”. According with Marc, this Application Processor, the Snapdragon 810, is “the first product that I’m aware of that will use LPDDR4… Read More


How Qualcomm crushed the mobile roadmap

How Qualcomm crushed the mobile roadmap
by Don Dingee on 04-09-2014 at 1:00 pm

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810 announcement this week may seem like just another mondo-core SoC on a way-cool TSMC 20nm advanced process. Looking past the technology shows an understated genius in creating a roadmap – and why yours and most everyone else’s probably sucks.… Read More


The (re)making of Arteris, 1-2-3

The (re)making of Arteris, 1-2-3
by Don Dingee on 03-06-2014 at 6:00 pm

Success in a business with extended design-in cycles may look easy. In reality, there is a delicate balance between many factors. Some come to mind immediately: developing and releasing a good product in the first place; winning and keeping the right customers, not too few or too many; balancing investment between support and … Read More


Dr. Walden Rhines Vision on Semiconductor & India

Dr. Walden Rhines Vision on Semiconductor & India
by Pawan Fangaria on 03-04-2014 at 11:00 am

Last month India Electronics & Semiconductor Association (IESA) held its Vision Summit at Bangalore in which luminaries from across the semiconductor and electronics industry presented their views about the future of this industry and India’s progress. Dr. Walden C. Rhines, Chairman and CEO of Mentor Graphicspresented… Read More


Gobi, the Jewel in Qualcomm’s Crown

Gobi, the Jewel in Qualcomm’s Crown
by Paul McLellan on 03-01-2014 at 5:19 pm

Back in the 1990s in the middle of the 2G GSM era, cell-phone manufacturers would display a “triangle of difficulty” with a large base labeled radio, a middle smaller part labeled baseband and a little triangle on top labelled software. The idea was that the radio was incredibly difficult, then the baseband chip and… Read More


Skate to where the mobile puck is headed, Intel

Skate to where the mobile puck is headed, Intel
by Don Dingee on 02-24-2014 at 5:00 pm

Mobile World Congress 2014 has already showcased two very different mobile SoC machines in high gear. After watching one big US moment and Canada otherwise dominate everything involving ice and a stick at the Sochi Olympics, I’m reaching into the Wayne Gretzky pile of quotes for a metaphor to examine Intel’s move – and why they are… Read More