Nanotech - The Circuits Blog

Qualcomm is proving that a phone doesn't have to be quad-core to be fast.

"Scoring 25 percent higher than its older siblings...in [central processing unit] performance benchmarks, shows Qualcomm has delivered on its promise for higher performance CPU," Jim Mielke, vice president of engineering at ABI Research, said in a note today, referring to the HTC One S.

That phone comes with the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) operating system.

The HTC smartphone taps the first Qualcomm 28-nanometer (nm) chip -- the "Snapdragon" MSM8260A. That's a big step up in chip … Read more

Intel officially announced the high-end, third-generation Core "Ivy Bridge" processor today, and confirmed that more mainstream processors will be coming later.

As expected, Intel said that 13 quad-core i5 and i7 Ivy Bridge processor models are available starting today, aimed at high-end desktop, laptop, and all-in-one designs.

And the chipmaker confirmed that dual-core processors for ultrabooks and mainstream designs will be announced "in the coming months."

Those processors will ultimately find their way into Windows 8 hybrids. "There's a whole new wave of convertible designs coming, where you can get the best of a … Read more

Ivy Bridge will highlight Intel's emphasis on power-efficiency and graphics performance, but one key ingredient will be missing -- Windows 8.

Intel's Ivy Bridge chip is expected to be announced Monday, opening the floodgates for new desktops and laptops built around the chipmaker's first 22-nanometer processor. Generally, the smaller the chip geometries, the faster and/or more power efficient the silicon is. Intel's current Sandy Bridge processors use "fatter" 32-nanometer technology.

How small is 22 nanometers? More than six million 22-nanometer transistors could fit in the period at the end of this sentence, according … Read more

Sony's slow but sure descent is also about Japanese companies' obsession with doing things their way, even if it's the wrong way.

I lived in Japan during the peak of its technological and manufacturing heyday -- from 1983 till 1993. The final eight years in Tokyo. Not only did I visit scores of Japanese electronics and computer companies as a journalist (and analyst) but I was also irresistibly drawn to (read: I spent way too much time in) Akihabara -- Japan's electronics retail Mecca at the time.

The reason for the success of companies like Sony and … Read more

Windows 8 running on small devices using chips from Qualcomm, Nvidia, and others is not just a consumer play, as Microsoft made clear in a post this week.

In a blog posted Thursday, "Managing 'BYO' PCs in the enterprise (including WOA)", Mircrosoft's Jeffrey Sutherland, a program manager lead in the company's Management Systems group, addresses the "drive towards consumerization of IT" and how consumer technology is "bleeding into business organizations." In short, employees are bringing their personal laptops, tablets, and smartphones to work rather than using the devices assigned to them by … Read more

Apple's next iPhone may tap into new touch panel technology, allowing for a lighter device, according to an Asia-based report.

An improvement in production "yield rates" of "in-cell touch panels" has induced Apple to begin working with two Japanese companies, DigiTimes said, citing sources.

Those panels are being made by Japan-based Sharp and a division of Toshiba.

In-cell multitouch technology integrates touch into the thin-film transistor (TFT) LCD manufacturing process, obviating the need for additional sensors and glass. This reduces the weight of the device, among other benefits.

Upcoming display conferences in Taiwan will highlight … Read more

As expected, the first smartphone powered by an Intel processor launched this week: the Lava Xolo 900.

Intel and India-based Lava International today announced the general availability of the Xolo X900, built around the Intel Atom Z2460 processor. The phone will be available for purchase in the India market on April 23 at a street price of approximately 22,000 rupees, or about $420.

Lava also announced a partnership with Croma, a national Indian chain of megastores, which will sell the X900.

In addition to the 1.6GHz Atom processor with a 400MHz graphics chip clock, the phone features full … Read more

Intel's CEO believes that ultrabooks and Windows 8 will combine to spark PC market growth. Is he right or is it just wishful thinking?

Here's what Paul Otellini said yesterday during the company's earnings conference call responding to an analyst's question about ultrabooks:

"The Ultrabook...we said that's going to be 40 percent of consumer notebooks at year end...[The market] has not had a lot of new and exciting products the last few years."

He continued. "And so this year, you've got a one-two punch with Intel and Microsoft, both … Read more

Ivy Bridge chips for laptops like the MacBook Air, the Dell XPS 13 ultrabook, and HP Envy series will come in a second wave, Intel's CEO said today during the company's first-quarter earnings conference call.

"The first versions of Ivy Bridge that we're shipping are quad-cores," CEO Paul Otellini said during the call today. "And then the second launch of the products is the dual core, which is the mainstream notebooks," he added.

The first launch will happen on Monday, the second launch is likely in June. That's the timeframe that a … Read more