Apple Creates Semiconductor Opportunities . . .

There has been a lot of press this past week surrounding the release of iPad2. While it has some significant improvements, they are, for the most part, incremental. In my view the lack of flash, a USB port and a memory card slot continue to be huge deficits. Until this past week my reservations about the iPad have been mostly theoretical, never having actually used one. Then, earlier this week I got a chance to use an iPad for half a day while traveling. It was an OK experience and, in a pinch, it would serve my needs, but I found myself wanting to get back to my laptop as soon as possible. I would even have preferred my little Dell netbook.

I am already an Android user on my smart phone and I think that, when I make the leap to a pad, I will look for an Android platform.That said, I give Apple all the credit for creating a new challenge for its competitors, while continuing to lead the marketplace and creating the ultimate user experience, continuing to lead the pack and making buckets of money along the way.

In the very near term it is certain there will be a plethora of Android (and other) pads. The iPad will continue to set the standard others will attempt to meet or exceed. With this background, I recently came across an article in the EEherald that addresses the substantial opportunities for semiconductor companies to be a part of the Android pad ecosystem. You can read the whole article here but these are the highlights:

– In a very short period of time price will be nearly as as important as features.

– With streaming media and real time communication, multicore processing (more than 2) will be essential.

– The marketplace is likely to branch into application-specific pads such as health care, engineering, environmental. Much of the differentiation will be software, but hardware will play a role.

– Power consumption will continue to be a major problem and opportunity.

– There will likely be the need to include more radios.

The EEherald article concludes by pointing out that the odds of any company getting their chips inside the Apple iPad are remote, but that with so many companies preparing to leap into the Android pad market this is a huge emerging market.

I am looking forward to the burst of innovation that Apple has spawned.