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On Monday, Samsung and Intrinsity jointly announced one of the fastest processors to date aimed at devices like Apple's iPhone.

Samsung-Intrinsity chip bound for iPhone and/or iPhone-class devices?

(Credit: Apple)

The new 1GHz chip co-developed by Austin, Texas-based Intrinsity and Samsung is similar to the processor that currently powers the iPhone 3GS: a 600MHz Samsung processor based on the ARM Cortex A8 design. U.K.-based ARM licenses its low-power chip designs to many of the world's largest chip suppliers including Samsung, Texas Instruments, Qualcomm, and, more recently, Nvidia.

The new Samsung-Intrinsity chip, code-named "Hummingbird," could be bound for a future iPhone or like device. "Yes, I think it's possible," said Tom R. Halfhill, senior analyst at the Microprocessor Report.

"Samsung could drop Hummingbird into the existing S5PC100 design with few or no changes," Halfhill said in response to an e-mail query, referring to the S5PC100 processor now used in the iPhone 3GS. "Bingo! A next-gen iPhone that could run at speeds up to 1.0GHz," he said.

Halfhill added that Samsung will likely use Hummingbird for future smartphones and discussed Hummingbird at length in an article that appeared Monday in the Microprocessor Report, where he also addressed the possibility of the chip making its way into a future Apple device.

Increasingly sophisticated smartphones will demand faster processors, according to Halfhill. One way to get there is cranking up the chip's speed--referred to as "clock speed"--something that ARM has not emphasized in the past because its designs, to date, have been all about power efficiency not about high-performance.

But that is changing. "The biggest challenge in mobile processor core design and implementation is to achieve high clock speed performance while keeping the power consumption low," said Jae Cheol Son, vice president, SOC Platform Development, System LSI Division, Samsung Electronics, in a statement.

And there's plenty of competition--one of the hallmarks of the ARM chip industry. Qualcomm is currently shipping a 1GHz ARM chip that is used in the recently-announced Toshiba TG01 smartphone. And Texas Instruments has announced that its future OMAP chips will pack multiple processing cores and hit GHz speeds.

In Intrinsity's case, to get to 1GHz it uses a 45-nanometer manufacturing process. Most ARM chips on the market today use a 65-nanometer or "fatter" process. Typically, the smaller the chip's geometries, the faster and more power efficient it is.

According to market researcher Forward Concepts, the ARM's Cortex-A family could account for about half of the total market for mobile application processors by 2013. The main processor in a smartphone is called an application processor.

Nvidia on Monday confirmed that Samsung will bring out a Netbook based on the graphics chipmaker's Ion chipset, another design that breaks the Netbook mold.

"Ion really transforms these small laptops, like the upcoming Samsung and Lenovo Ideapad S12, into fully capable notebooks," Rene Haas, general manager of notebook products at Nvidia said Monday in a statement.

Ion brings mainstream PC graphics to Netbooks, including 1080p high-definition video support and better gaming, according to Nvidia.

The disclosure of the Samsung Netbook follows the Lenovo IdeaPad S12--due in August--the first Netbook announced from a major PC maker to employ the Nvidia chip.

Upcoming Samsung Netbook based on Nvidia's Ion chipset and Intel Atom processor

(Credit: Nvidia)

Though Nvidia would not confirm specifications, Netbook Choice is reporting that the Netbook, branded the Samsung N510, is due in July and will sport an 11.6-inch screen--large for the Netbook category, where screens typically top out at about 10 inches.

The Samsung Netbook would be another manifestation, following the Lenovo IdeaPad S12, of Nvidia's efforts to break the Netbook mold as defined by Intel: a low-performance device with a screen under 11 inches in diagonal size. Nvidia claims designs like Samsung's and Lenovo's are more notebook than Netbook.

Samsung's Netbook bears Nvidia badge

(Credit: Nvidia)

"The Netbook term was created by Intel to define a segment offering a limited experience, but with Ion you don't have those same limitations," Nvidia's Haas said. "These systems can handle mainstream gaming, HD video, and new GPU-powered applications. You might as well call them notebooks, because that's what they are."

The N510 will also pack an Intel 1.66GHz N280 Atom processor, according to Netbook Choice. The N280 is Intel's latest Atom processor that, ironically, is offered to Netbook makers with supporting Intel silicon that delivers better graphics performance than previous Intel Atom technology. That Intel feature, however, is not available when a PC maker uses Nvidia's higher-performance Ion silicon that integrates Nvidia's 9400M graphics chip--the same chip used in Apple's MacBook line.

Other Samsung Netbook features include a 160GB hard disk drive, 1GB of memory, and Wi-Fi (draft-n), Bluetooth, and a Webcam, according to Netbook Choice.

Nvidia's Ion is also used in tiny desktop PCs such as the Acer AspireRevo and ASUS eeeTop.

In the midst of a tight market for flash memory, SanDisk and Samsung Electronics have renewed two key agreements that both companies expect will strengthen their positions.

(Credit: Business Wire)

In the first of the two deals, SanDisk and Samsung announced on Wednesday an agreement to renew the cross-licensing of certain semiconductor patents. The agreement means that each company has the right to use each other's patents in producing cell flash memory and flash storage systems, such as solid-state drives. It does not include patents related to 3-D memory, a new technology that could eventually replace traditional flash memory in portable devices.

Both companies also signed a flash memory agreement that guarantees a specific portion of Samsung's flash memory chip output to SanDisk.

The deals will "enable both parties to focus on the growth markets at hand," Eli Harari, chairman and chief executive officer of SanDisk, said in a statement. "We are excited about our opportunities in mobile, computing and consumer flash storage markets. Furthermore, continued access to Samsung's flash capacity under competitive terms gives us greater flexibility in managing our future capital expenditures for captive capacity."

Samsung also expressed faith in the agreement. "The renewal agreements enable Samsung and SanDisk to each focus their energies on restoring flash market growth," Oh-Hyun Kwon, president of the semiconductor business at Samsung, said in a statement. "It is clear that these renewal agreements are aimed at strengthening the on-going business relationship between Samsung and SanDisk, and we are pleased that the two companies have worked hard to achieve a significantly improved balance on the patent license."

The new agreements go into effect when the current cross-license and supply agreements expire on August 14 and will run for seven years from that date.

SanDisk and Samsung have a checkered history together. Last year, Samsung had pursued a buyout of SanDisk but eventually withdrew the offer when the two companies couldn't agree on terms. Both companies are battling for a slice of the growing market for solid-state drives. SanDisk is pursuing the consumer Netbook segment, while Samsung is focused on the server arena. SSDs use flash memory for storage to provide greater speed and efficiency over mechanical hard disks.

SanDisk has been under intense pressure because of slower consumer spending and a dour market for flash memory. In February, the company reported a loss of $1.86 billion for its fiscal 2008 fourth quarter. But Samsung's latest results have been strong, thanks to cost cutting and its hot mobile phone business. In April, the company reported a first-quarter profit of $349 million versus a loss of $550 million in the year-ago quarter.

TV makers worldwide saw their revenues slide 12 percent in the last year, according to a report set to be released Tuesday by DisplaySearch.

A total of 43.3 million TVs were sold worldwide in the first quarter of this year, a 6 percent drop compared to the same quarter a year ago, and prices dropped 6 percent, too, according to the Quarterly Global TV Shipment and Forecast Report.

Even Samsung, which collects more money in its coffers for TVs than any company in the world for the past 13 straight quarters, saw its revenues drop 8 percent since the same time last year. But it still held its lead in the industry, maintaining a 21.5 percent share of dollars spent on TVs worldwide.

The biggest shake-up in the last quarter came from LG Electronics which, at 2 percent growth from a year ago, was the only one of the top five manufacturers to see an uptick in revenues. It was able to leapfrog Sony into second place, claiming 13.3 percent of the TV market. Sony garnered 13.1 percent, followed by Sharp with 7.2 percent, and Panasonic with 6.1 percent.

Panasonic appeared to have the most trouble in the most recent quarter. It saw revenues from TV sales drop 22 percent over the last year.

These kinds of slumping progress reports from all sectors of the technology industry have become practically commonplace. Declining revenues are particularly a problem in consumer electronics as shoppers are finding themselves with less discretionary income.

Micron Technology is entering the graphics memory business, going up against heavyweights Samsung and Hynix.

Micron is targeting its memory at the upper mid-range of the graphics chip market

(Credit: Nvidia)

Micron, which recently vaulted to the No. 3 spot in global sales of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), is now aiming at the market for DRAM chips used with graphics processors from Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices' ATI graphics unit.

The market for DRAM used with graphics processors is about 4 percent of the bits shipped into the DRAM market, according to Micron. DRAM is typically used as the main memory in PCs. This type of DRAM is also referred to as Synchronous DRAM, or SDRAM.

"Our upcoming 50-nanometer technology is very competitive when it comes to power consumption and performance," Robert Feurle, Micron's VP of DRAM marketing, said in a phone interview Thursday.

"I think it's a good point in time to begin discussions with big enablers Nvidia and AMD and get started with some design-ins," Feurle said.

Micron is making its debut with Double Date Rate 3 (DDR3) memory. This is the same type of memory used for the main memory of currently shipping PCs, which have gravitated from DDR2. In the future, Micron will look at making more proprietary graphics memory, referred to as GDDR3 and GDDR5. "No decision has been made yet but we're looking into that very seriously," Feurle said.

Initially, Micron is targeting the "upper mid-range" of the graphics processor market.

Micron says its DDR3 has a distinct power consumption advantage over GDDR3: standard DDR3 can go down to 1.35 volts. "GDDR3 is still running a 1.8 volts. We have a giant power savings advantage," he said.

Micron is targeting memory with speeds of 1600MHz "to get started with and going up from there," Feurle said.

The DRAM market overall has seen sliding sales, falling 20 percent in the first quarter from the fourth quarter and 44 percent from the year-earlier period, according to iSuppli. The problem is overcapacity, which has most notably brought Taiwan memory makers to their knees. In that country, some manufacturers have faced possible bankruptcy.

"Micron now has renewed its competitive vigor, mainly due to its acquisition of a 300mm fab from Inotera in Taiwan," iSuppli said recently. Fab refers to fabrication facility or factory.

The weak economy hasn't stalled the American consumer's flat-panel fix.

Following a decline last year, North American sales of flat-panel TVs surged during the first quarter of 2009, according to a report released Monday from market research company DisplaySearch. With demand often outpacing supply on some models, 7.2 million flat-panel TVs flew off the shelves, an increase of 23 percent from the first quarter of 2008.

Aggressive pricing followed by Circuit City's liquidation tempted consumers in search of bargains, according to the DisplaySearch report titled "Quarterly Global TV Shipment and Forecast Report."

Former small fry Vizio earned the No. 1 spot as the best-selling LCD vendor for the first quarter, a status it hasn't held since the second quarter of 2007. Vizio's share of the market jumped to 18.9 percent and was the only company to show a sales gain from the fourth quarter of 2008. "Vizio is a relatively young TV brand in the U.S. marketplace, but their strong alignment with mass merchant and warehouse club retailers seemed to put them in the right place at the right time with growing channels," said Paul Gagnon, DisplaySearch director of North America TV Research.

Funai, another company with low-cost offerings, also showed growth in market share--from 7 percent to 8.5 percent. Funai sells the Sylvania and Emerson brands in North America, and added the Philips and Magnavox brands last quarter. Companies with premium flat-panel models, such as Sony and Samsung, saw their market shares decline as consumers flocked to better deals and lower prices.

Last year gloomy sales were predicted for the industry as flat-planel TV shipments dropped during the second half of 2008. Sales continued their downward dip over the fourth quarter, showing a 2 percent decline over the previous year.

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.

(Credit: IBM)

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 consumer electronics products.

The largest, single countervailing force to the IBM-led group is Intel. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based chip giant's chief executive, Paul Otellini, said Tuesday in a first-quarter earnings conference call that Intel is "pulling in" the release of "Westmere" chips based on 32nm technology and will ship silicon later this year.

Generally, the smaller the geometry, the faster and more power efficient the chip is.

The IBM alliance--which also includes the AMD manufacturing spin-off Globalfoundries, Chartered Semiconductor, and Infineon Technologies--are jointly developing the 28nm chipmaking process based on the partners' "high-k metal gate" (which minimizes current leakage), low-power complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process technology.

The technology "can provide a 40 percent performance improvement and a more than 20 percent reduction in power, in a chip that is half the size, compared with 45nm technology," IBM said in a statement. "These improvements enable microchip designs with outstanding performance, smaller feature sizes and low standby power, contributing to faster processing speed and longer battery life in next-generation mobile Internet devices and other systems."

IBM said customers can begin their designs now using 32nm technology and then transition to 28nm for density and power advantages without the need for a major redesign.

One prominent customer is U.K.-based ARM, whose basic chip design has been used in billions of devices all over the world. ARM is collaborating with the IBM alliance to develop a design platform for 32nm and 28nm technology and is tuning its Cortex processor family and future processors to exploit the technology's capabilities, IBM said.

Samsung's NC20 Netbook shows that Via Technologies' Nano processor can keep up with the Joneses. But will Nvidia be given the chance?

CNET Reviews' Dan Ackerman reviewed the new Samsung NC20 Netbook and found it not wanting in a matchup with the Asus Eee PC 1000HE, packing Intel's latest and greatest Atom N280.

Samsung NC20 Netbook packs a Via Nano processor--not an Intel Atom.

(Credit: CNET Reviews)

Though Nano is a necessary industry antidote to Intel's grip on the Netbook market, in the scheme of market share numbers, Via's chip is a blip at best.

I find it almost amusing when Intel lists Via as one of two competitors (Advanced Micro Devices being the other) in its Form 10-K filings. It's a fair analogy to say it's like a mom-and-pop coffee shop among a dense cluster of Starbucks stores. You may draw a few customers but 99 percent of the market is going to go to Starbucks.

Via helped pioneer the Netbook market in early 2008 by powering one of the earliest high-profile products, the Hewlett-Packard 2133 Mini-Note. In fact, Via was already supplying the inexpensive, low-power Via C7M--Nano's predecessor--in 2005 when the Atom concept was just a glimmer in Intel's eye.

The Netbook market vacuum didn't last long, however. Within months of Atom's arrival, the Via C7M was squashed by the Intel juggernaut, not to rise again. (Largely due to the fact that the C7M was slow, as one reader points out.)

The sober reality is that Via faces the same daunting challenge that Nvidia does: competing with Intel. The largest Netbook vendors--Asus and Acer--are wedded to Intel processors and chipsets, as are most of the other major players. An incremental increase in processor performance from Via won't necessarily tempt PC makers to drop Atom.

Nvidia's predicament is even more difficult because the GPU supplier can offer something that Intel can't: great graphics performance in a Netbook.

Nvidia faces a Catch 22. It needs a lot of Netbook design wins to make decent profit margins but customers won't sign up for Nvidia's Ion in the face of Intel's bundling incentives.

Alas, Nvidia's Ion seems destined only for tiny desktops for now. Nvidia has been shopping its Ion platform (Atom + Nvidia 9400M graphics) around and has had some success with top-tier PC companies looking to design diminutive desktops. But not any success to date in the Netbook space (although some smaller Asia-based Netbook makers are expected to announce Ion-based Netbooks at Computex in June).

Then there's Tegra. This Nvidia chip platform may have more success in the category of so-called "$99" Netbooks that are more akin--in the way they are offered to customers--to cell phones than laptops. These Netbooks, as depicted by Qualcomm, would be always-on and not part of the WinTel (Windows-Intel) ecosystem.

Nvidia went out of its way this week to demonstrate a concept device at CTIA in Las Vegas running Windows CE. Nvidia basically tore out the guts of an Intel-based HP Mini 1000 Netbook and replaced it with Tegra parts, according to a Nvidia spokesman Derek Perez, who attended CTIA this week.

SanDisk shares rose sharply Friday morning, as speculation surfaced that Samsung and Toshiba are interested in a buyout of the company.

SanDisk soared 11 percent to close at $11.05 a share, following a report in the EETimes.

The article, citing unnamed sources, said Samsung, which last year launched an unsuccessful bid for the company, and SanDisk's joint-manufacturing partner Toshiba are both interested in making a bid for the flash memory maker.

Last year, when Samsung made an unsolicited bid for the company, it offered SanDisk $5.85 billion for the company. SanDisk had rejected Samsung's overtures, citing the $26 a share offer as inadequate.

In late October, Samsung withdrew its offer, saying it had made no progress in its six-month effort to acquire the company.

A SanDisk spokesman declined to comment Friday. Representatives from Samsung and Toshiba were not immediately available for comment