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Commentary / Analysis

• IHS Downgrades Semiconductor Industry Market Forecast to 2.3 Percent Decline (Tuesday Dec. 04, 2012)
  Amid increasingly weak economic conditions that are depressing consumer and business spending on electronics, IHS is downgrading its forecast for the global semiconductor market in 2012, with revenue now expected to decline by 2.3 percent for the year.
  
  
• Why Intel should make chips for Apple, Cisco (Tuesday Dec. 04, 2012)
  To use Andy Grove’s well-worn phrase, Intel Corp. is at an inflection point. It’s time for the company to re-think what it wants to be in the next phase of its life
  
  
• Should Apple buy ST-E or Renesas Mobile? (Monday Dec. 03, 2012)
  Apple should be looking at acquiring either ST-Ericsson or Renesas Mobile for the sake of their LTE/3G/2G modem technologies, according to Will Strauss, president and principal analyst with Forward Concepts.
  
  
• Serving busy OEMs pays off (Friday Nov. 30, 2012)
  Silicon & Software Systems Ltd., otherwise known as S3 Group, has been a center of IC design in Dublin, Ireland, for more than 25 years. But the fast pace of technological and business change in the semiconductor business means that longevity is no guarantee of success. However, longevity does indicate a company that is prepared to adapt to survive.
  
  
• ST's conundrum: Break up or tweak? (Friday Nov. 30, 2012)
  It's difficult finding anyone today who doesn't believe chip giant STMicroelectronics NV urgently needs a new growth strategy. And that pertains to people both within and outside the European semiconductor giant.
  
  
• WSTS Forecasts Semiconductor Market to Recover in 2013 After Slight Decline in 2012 (Tuesday Nov. 27, 2012)
  Worldwide Semiconductor Market is forecasted to be US$290 billion in 2012, down 3.2% from 2011, followed by a recovery of 4.5% growth in 2013
  
  
• Renesas shareholders reportedly set to approve bailout deal (Tuesday Nov. 27, 2012)
  Renesas Electronics Corp.'s major shareholders are close to approving a deal to sell two-thirds of the company to a government-backed entity for $2.4 billion in bailout funds, according to a report by the Reuters news service.
  
  
• Why the ARM architecture is shaped the way it is (Monday Nov. 26, 2012)
  It is arguable that ARM and Intel, the two companies locked in head-to-head processor competition, represent two different poles and philosophies.
  
  
• TSMC breaks ground for FinFET fab (Monday Nov. 26, 2012)
  Foundry Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. has held a groundbreaking ceremony for a fab module at its Fab 14 gigafab at the South Taiwan Science Park in Tainan, Taiwan. The phase-six module is expected to be TSMC's first fab to mass produce 16-nm FinFET circuits in 2014.
  
  
• TSMC next for New York fab? (Thursday Nov. 22, 2012)
  Evidence is starting to mount that foundry chip maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. could be about to follow Globalfoundries Inc. in building a wafer fab in up-state New York.
  
  
• ARM CEO Warren East on IoT, Nokia, platforms, Europe's future (Thursday Nov. 22, 2012)
  ARM CEO Warren East said Internet of Things applications could double the company's market size, he wouldn't "bet against" Nokia and his company is envisioning future technology evolution by building internal platforms.
  
  
• GloFo and the end of easy money (Thursday Nov. 22, 2012)
  Globalfoundries is only a little over three years old, but is already the world's second largest pure-play foundry, with estimated annual sales of about $4.5 billion in 2012. All seems to be going well.
  
  
• 2013 Global GDP to Improve, Raising Electronic System and IC Markets (Wednesday Nov. 21, 2012)
  Throughout 2012, the expectations for global economic growth have consistently deteriorated. Global GDP growth is now expected to expand by an estimated 2.6% in 2012, very close to the global recession threshold of 2.5% and well below the long-term average growth rate of 3.5%.
  
  
• Intel's 14-nm process delay (Tuesday Nov. 20, 2012)
  The Irish Times recently reported that Intel was sending up to 600 Irish staffers home early from production training in the U.S. after deciding to delay the introduction of the P1272 14-nm process at Fab 24 in Leixlip, near Dublin
  
  
• Intel's CEO search begins, and the nominees are... (Tuesday Nov. 20, 2012)
  For 45 years, Intel Corp.’s succession plan has been so orderly it was boring. With this week’s unexpected announcement that Paul Otellini will step down in May as CEO, the field to replace Otellin is wide open with a strong possibility of the first chief executive coming from outside the company.
  
  
• Decrease in Third Quarter 2012 Silicon Wafer Shipments (Monday Nov. 19, 2012)
  Worldwide silicon wafer area shipments decreased during the third quarter 2012 when compared to second quarter 2012 area shipments according to the SEMI Silicon Manufacturers Group (SMG) in its quarterly analysis of the silicon wafer industry
  
  
• ISSCC: Samsung big.little, but no Intel, Nvidia CPUs (Monday Nov. 19, 2012)
  Samsung will describe the first mobile applications processor to use ARM’s big.little concept at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference in February.
  
  
• Globalfoundries eyes IPO as ATIC sets expectations (Friday Nov. 16, 2012)
  Foundry chip manufacturer Globalfoundries Inc. is expected to be a profitable and self-sustaining business by 2015, one that does not require additional funding from its present parent Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC).
  
  
• North American Semiconductor Equipment Industry Posts October 2012 Book-to-Bill Ratio of 0.75 (Friday Nov. 16, 2012)
  North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $743.2 million in orders worldwide in October 2012 (three-month average basis) and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.75, according to the October Book-to-Bill Report published today by SEMI.
  
  
• Semiconductors negative in 2012, may grow 9% in 2013 (Thursday Nov. 15, 2012)
  September WSTS data shows the 3Q 2012 semiconductor market increased 1.8% from 2Q 2012. The year 2012 semiconductor market will certainly show a decline. 4Q 2012 would need to grow 11% to result in positive growth for 2012.
  
  
• Apple A6X uncovered (Thursday Nov. 15, 2012)
  After conducting a full teardown analysis of Apple Inc.'s iPad mini and iPad 4 tablets shortly after the devices hit the street Nov. 2, engineers from UBM TechInsights put the Apple A6X processor—available for the first time in the iPad 4—under the knife (and microscope).
  
  
• Apple, HTC patent deal may not open Android door (Thursday Nov. 15, 2012)
  Apple's deal to license smartphpone patents to Taiwan's HTC does not necessarily indicate it is ready to end disputes with larger Android rivals Google, Motorola and Samsung, according to two experts.
  
  
• Sharp said to be in talks with Intel, Qualcomm (Thursday Nov. 15, 2012)
  Japan’s cash-strapped Sharp Corp. is reportedly in detailed talks with both Intel Corp. and Qualcomm Inc. for an investment of up to $500 million, the Kyodo News agency reported Tuesday (Nov. 14).
  
  
• AMD says it's not for sale (Thursday Nov. 15, 2012)
  Chip vendor Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) said Tuesday (Nov. 13) its board of directors is not actively pursuing the sale of the company after a national news service reported the firm hired financial experts to explore strategic options, including the possible sale of the company.
  
  
• Gartner Says Worldwide Sales of Mobile Phones Declined 3 Percent in Third Quarter of 2012; Smartphone Sales Increased 47 Percent (Wednesday Nov. 14, 2012)
  Worldwide sales of mobile phones to end users reached almost 428 million units in the third quarter of 2012, a 3.1 percent decline from the third quarter of 2011, according to Gartner, Inc. Smartphone sales accounted for 39.6 percent of total mobile phone sales, as smartphone sales increased 46.9 percent from the third quarter of 2011.
  
  
• Apple, HTC patent deal seen as first of many (Tuesday Nov. 13, 2012)
  The licensing deal between Apple and Taiwan’s HTC will be the first of many to come, according to patent watchers who see the deal as a turning point in a two-and-a-half-year mobile war.
  
  
• ARM CEO talks about IoT, platforms (Monday Nov. 12, 2012)
  "The Internet of Things for us is about the sale of microcontrollers. We think it is likely to follow a similar path to mobile phones," said Warren East, CEO of processor intellectual property licensor ARM, in an interview with EE Times conducted at the ARM TechCon exhibition and conference.
  
  
• Qualcomm overtakes Intel in market capitalization (Monday Nov. 12, 2012)
  Qualcomm's standing as the leading supplier of application processors for mobile devices – and the fact that it is fabless – has boosted its market capitalization past Intel Corp., the world's largest chip maker.
  
  
• Teardown: Apple iPad 4 (Monday Nov. 12, 2012)
  UBM TechInsights peers inside the fourth-generation iPad to find out if there is anything new under the hood.
  
  
• Most OEMs Plan to Reduce Number of Contract Manufacturers, IHS iSuppli Survey Reveals (Thursday Nov. 08, 2012)
  More than half of all electronic original equipment manufacturers (OEM) worldwide plan to reduce the number of contract manufacturers they work with during the next year, according to the IHS iSuppli Survey.