semiconductors

Globalfoundries takes 'huge step' with Chartered merger

The proposed merger of Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing and Globalfoundries will help the AMD manufacturing spinoff propel forward in its bid to become a foundry leader, according to analysts.

Earlier this week, Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC) and Chartered Semiconductor announced that they entered into a definitive agreement, in which ATIC would acquire Chartered for $1.75 billion. ATIC owns about two-thirds of Globalfoundries--the joint venture that the investment firm created with Advanced Micro Devices.

The deal is subject to Singapore's High Court and Chartered's shareholders, but according to market analyst iSuppli, chances are good the deal will go … Read more

As chip sales plummet, which software vendors will survive?

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) is now projecting that global chip sales will drop 21 percent in 2009, reflecting a souring view since its last projection in November 2008, according to The Wall Street Journal. Fewer chips means fewer new servers and fewer personal computers sold, which is consistent with IDC's report of a 25-percent decline in server sales in the first quarter of 2009.

Against the backdrop of these hardware declines, which software vendors are best-positioned to withstand CIOs' spending frigidity?

Recent earnings reports from Novell and from Red Hat suggest that Linux and open-source vendors may clean … Read more

'Android' Eee PC: The un-Intel Netbook

An Eee PC Netbook based on a Qualcomm processor that runs Google's Android operating system looks promising as an alternative to the millions of Netbooks out there tethered to Intel Atom processors and Microsoft Windows.

Asus was showing a Netbook at the Computex conference in Taipei running the Android OS on top of Qualcomm's Snapdragon processor, according to this TweakTown video.

When Asus plans to ship a Netbook based on Qualcomm's Snapdragon processor isn't clear and Asus is not disclosing its plans (later this year?), but it becomes even less clear when you add Google's … Read more

April chip sales: Good news, bad news

This was originally posted at Between the Lines.

Global chip sales rose to $15.6 billion in April, up 6.4 percent from March. That's the good news. The bad: chip sales are still down 25 percent from April sales of $20.9 billion a year ago, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association.

The SIA provides the following color (statement):

• PC demand is better than expected as inventory is replenished;

• PC sales in 2009 are expected to fall 6 percent better than estimates that expected a decline of 12 percent;

• Cell phone sales also aren't as bad as … Read more

Qualcomm, Freescale say 'smartbooks' to rival Netbooks

CARLSBAD, Calif.--Qualcomm and Freescale Semiconductor are ready to begin pushing a category of devices that they say are cheaper, lighter, and more connected than Intel-based Netbooks.

And just to make sure that the difference is crystal clear, both companies are calling the category "smartbooks."

"We are relabling with the term 'smartbook.' We are joining others in using this term," said Glen Burchers, director of global consumer segment marketing at Freescale, in a phone interview Thursday. "The manufacturers that are using ARM-based devices are cooperating in using this terminology," according to Burchers.

"The … Read more

Toasting the birthday of the integrated circuit

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--Like any good 50th birthday party, Friday night's soiree included wine, hors d'oeuvres, and a gathering of old friends toasting a half century of fond memories and achievements. But as the event wore on at the Computer History Museum here, it became clear that with a birthday of this magnitude, it was hard to overstate the impact of the integrated circuit not just on the technology industry, but on modern society.

It was in 1959 that the men of Fairchild Semiconductor first created the planar integrated circuit. On Friday, two of the most famous surviving … Read more

IBM, Samsung, others team up on next-gen chips

IBM, Samsung Electronics, STMicroelectronics, and others are teaming up on the development of next-generation chip technology for small, low-power devices with one wary eye on Intel, which is expediting its move to chips with smaller geometries.

IBM and its semiconductor technology alliance partners are announcing the availability of 28-nanometer (nm) chip technology, a little more than a generation beyond the 45nm technologies currently used by Intel and Advanced Micro Devices in their latest chips.

The first products using chips based on this technology are expected in the second half of 2010, an IBM spokesman said. Devices will include smartphones and … Read more

National Semiconductor acquires Act Solar

National Semiconductor on Thursday announced that it has delved deeper into its energy efficiency efforts with the acquisition of Act Solar.

National Semi, which expanded into the solar business last year, plans to use the privately held company's technology for monitoring solar arrays with its SolarMagic product line.

Under the deal, whose financial terms were not disclosed, Act Solar's business for monitoring technology, which is designed to improve the efficiency of solar panels by balancing, or recirculating energy, will be folded into National Semi's SolarMagic business.

Power efficiency is an issue with electronic devices, given that it … Read more

AMD-Intel dispute over patent licensing heats up

This post was updated at 8:23 a.m. PDT with comments from Intel and AMD and at 8:33 a.m. PDT with The Foundry Company's new name, Globalfoundries.

Advanced Micro Devices announced Monday that Intel plans to pull its 2001 cross-licensing patent agreement in the next 60 days, unless concerns surrounding AMD's joint venture chip foundry are addressed.

Intel's warning is an escalation of concerns it expressed more than five months ago, following AMD's announcement it planned to spin off its manufacturing assets to a joint venture with the Abu Dhabi government.

The joint-chip … Read more