Is Smartphone Market Maturing?

Is Smartphone Market Maturing?
by Pawan Fangaria on 02-17-2014 at 12:00 pm

Yes and No, in my view. Yes to a certain extent, considering that most of the people in developed world have more than one (may be with dual sim card) phone; and No, considering the vast untapped market in the third world countries of Asia and Africa. In India, although much of the population (who can afford a phone) has phone, but not … Read More


The Biggest Supplier in the Biggest Mobile Market is a Company You Have Never Heard Of

The Biggest Supplier in the Biggest Mobile Market is a Company You Have Never Heard Of
by Paul McLellan on 01-29-2014 at 10:05 am

If you live in the bay area it is easy to come to the conclusion that Apple has huge market share and is in a very strong position in the mobile market. Everyone has an iPhone.

But the truth is less flattering. Yes, Apple continues to make large profits and it made record iPhone shipments. However, only 51M and Wall Street expected nearly… Read More


Things to do in Denver when you’re 64-bit

Things to do in Denver when you’re 64-bit
by Don Dingee on 01-14-2014 at 4:45 pm

When Apple announced last September their A7 chip had gone 64-bit, the congregation immediately swooned, but analysts reacted skeptically: “So what? Phones don’t need more memory, and there are no 64-bit apps.” Even pundits miss once in a while, and now the topic is how the chip industry is headed for 64-bit.… Read More


Will You Take the Password Pill?

Will You Take the Password Pill?
by Bill Boldt on 12-30-2013 at 4:00 am

As smartphone and tablet makers desperately search for points of differentiation they will try to push the limits of performance on several fronts to extremes. The password pill and the display-cover display are two of the stranger extreme features on the way.

Extreme inter-connectivity is one of the more useful features that… Read More


Semicon Technology Advancement – A View From IEDM

Semicon Technology Advancement – A View From IEDM
by Pawan Fangaria on 12-20-2013 at 10:00 am

As I see the semiconductor industry going through significant changes and advances, yet ironically plagued by a growing perception that the pace of scaling is slowing, I was inclined to take a peek into what the industry experts say about the state of the industry and the future of Moore’s Law. Fortunately, at last week’s InternationalRead More


Mobile Maturity Leads to Extremes

Mobile Maturity Leads to Extremes
by Bill Boldt on 12-12-2013 at 3:00 pm

The smartphone is becoming a commodity, a lifecycle stage where the strong get stronger, the weak get weaker, and the products standardize and start to look alike. This dynamic is driving innovation in existing products to extremes and spawning a new class of wearable devices.

Today two major players are leading the mobile hardware… Read More


Can Intel Catch Samsung? Can Anybody Catch Samsung?

Can Intel Catch Samsung? Can Anybody Catch Samsung?
by Daniel Nenni on 11-08-2013 at 5:00 pm

As a professional conference attendee I see a lot of keynotes, some good and some bad. I saw a great one from Kurt Shuler at the SEMICO IP Impact Conference last week. Why this conference was not standing room only I do not know. Kurt’s characterization of the semiconductor industry was well worth the price of admission. I didn’t actually… Read More


ARM in Samsung 14nm FinFET

ARM in Samsung 14nm FinFET
by Paul McLellan on 10-30-2013 at 4:28 pm

I am at ARM TechCon today. One interesting presentation was made jointly between Samsung, Cadence and ARM themselves about developing physical libraries (ARM), a tool flow (Cadence) and test chips (Samsung). It was titled Samsung ARM and Cadence collaborate on the silicon-proven world first 14-nm FinFET Cortex-A7 ARM CPU and… Read More


Architecture-level Power Modeling Methodology at Samsung

Architecture-level Power Modeling Methodology at Samsung
by Daniel Payne on 10-02-2013 at 10:58 am

At DAC this year there was a presentation from Samsung titled, “Profile-based Architecture Power Modeling Methodology for AP/SoC Product”. I’ve been using Samsung Smart Phones for the past four generations, so was very curious about how they have managed to improve the average battery life from less than… Read More


Another Negative Year for Semiconductor CapEx

Another Negative Year for Semiconductor CapEx
by Bill Jewell on 09-29-2013 at 11:00 pm

Global semiconductor capital spending is headed for another decline in 2013, following a 12% decline in 2012. Gartner’s September forecast called for a 7% decline in 2013. Most of the major spenders expect flat to declining expenditures in 2013. Intel in July estimated 2013 spending of $11 billion, flat with 2012 and down from … Read More