Pulse2 Technology and Social Media News » Intel

iSuppli: Apple To Spend $27 Billion On Semiconductors In 2012

Amit Chowdhry — Wed, 23 May 2012 16:32:18 +0000

iSuppli’s head of electronics and semiconductor research Dale Ford is predicting that Apple will spend $27 billion on semiconductors in 2012. He presented his prediction at the company’s Technology, Media, and Telecommunications Summit. Apple is set to maintain a huge lead over Samsung through at least 2013. Apple went from being the third largest buyer of semiconductors in 2009 to the front in 2010. According to iSuppli, Apple spent $23 billion on semiconductors in 2011, which is over 50% more than their closest rivals. Ford also pointed out that Apple’s microprocessor spending has grown from $9 billion in 2009 to $27 billion this year. Ford is predicting that Apple will spend $29 billion on semiconductors next year.

Intel remains the largest chipmaker with a 15% marketshare of the semiconductor market. The market was estimated to be at $311 billion last year. Samsung has 9% of the market. When Apple acquired Intrinisty, the company designed the A4 system-on-a-chip processor that made its way into the original iPad and the iPhone 4. Apple also has a stake in Imagination Technologies, the company that provides graphic processors for the A-series chips.

Intel Windows 8 Tablets Coming To Retail Stores This November

Amit Chowdhry — Mon, 14 May 2012 15:14:20 +0000

The first set of Intel-based Windows 8 tablets are expected to arrive in retail stores this November. “The schedule is tight,” said sources with CNET. “Looking at what Windows is trying to achieve not only with a new OS, but a new OS that needs to run four to five architectures — three ARM, Intel, and AMD.”

The Intel-based devices will not just be tablets. They will be hybrids, convertibles, and keyboard-based laptops. All of the devices will most likely use Intel’s “Clover Trail” Atom chip. Clover Trail is Intel’s first dual-core Atom design based on their 32-nanometer process technology. The single core version of the chip powers a phone from India-based Laval and is expected to be for phones from Orange, Lenovo, and Motorola.

Hybrid Windows 8 designs with Ivy Bridge processors are also expected in November. “It is a gigantic performer, with similar battery life to Clover Trail. It will also have a lot of security features built in and Infineon [3G/4G] silicon inside,” said CNET’s source.

Intel Reports $12.9 Billion In First Quarter Revenue

Amit Chowdhry — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 21:26:34 +0000

Today Intel Corporation has reported quarterly revenue of $12.9 billion, operating income of $3.8 billion, net income of $2.7 billion, and EPS of $0.53. Intel generated $3 billion in cash from operations, paid dividends of $1 billion and used $1.5 billion to repurchase stock.

“The first quarter was a solid start to what’s expected to be another growth year for Intel,” stated Paul Otellini, Intel president and CEO. “In the second quarter we’ll see the first Intel-based smartphones in the market, ship products based on 22nm tri-gate technology in high volume, and accelerate the ramp of our best server product ever, providing a tremendous foundation for growth in 2012 and beyond.”

Intel Announces Plans To Develop Two Different-Sized Windows 8 Tablets

Amit Chowdhry — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 22:15:19 +0000

Intel announced at a conference in Beijing that they will have two sizes of Windows 8 tablets with 3G/4G connections and will have Atom processors. One of the tablets will have a 10-inch model and the other will be an 11-inch hybrid with a physical keyboard. Inside of it will be a dual code Atom Z2760 Clover Trail chip with a “burst mode” that allows for short periods of high level performance. They will also come with a nine-hour battery, NFC, and WiFi Direct. WiFi Direct allows devices to connect to each other without a traditional network. The tablets will be under 1.5 pounds and less than 9mm thick.

Intel Announcing Ivy Bridge Details On April 23

Amit Chowdhry — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 15:30:39 +0000

On April 23rd, Intel is going to make the first series of Ivy Bridge announcements. Ivy Bridge is a series of Intel chipsets that has an emphasis on graphics and multimedia processing. Ivy Bridge is the first Intel chip to utilize the new 3D transistors that support USB 3.0. There is also a rumor that Apple will power thinner 13-inch and 15-inch MacBooks with Ivy Bridge chips.

Intel and 10 Vendors To Release Windows 8 Tablets By End Of Year

Amit Chowdhry — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 18:50:41 +0000

Intel is working with 10 Chinese and global vendors to design Windows 8 tablets. “You’ll probably see many Intel-based tablets by the end of this year,” stated Intel China chairman Sean Maloney at the Intel Developer Forum in Beijing.

Maloney has been working on expand their chips into smartphones and tablets. Intel’s Atom processor was built for smartphones and tablets. Intel promised to give high computing performance while providing longer battery life.

The Medfield chip created by Intel will be used in the Lenovo K800 handset, which is the first smartphone to use an Intel processor. The K800 will go on sale in China at the end of May. Lenovo’s marketshare of China’s smartphone market last year was less than 5%.

Intel is also creating another mobile chip that is code-named “Clover Trail,” which is designed for tablets and it is scheduled to arrive this year. The Clover Trail chip features a 1.8GHz processor.

Intel Develops A Small Tablet For Educational Purposes

Amit Chowdhry — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 21:10:56 +0000

Intel has developed a device called the studybook, which is a tablet with a 7-inch touchscreen enclosed in rugged plastic. Even though Intel designed the device, but they expect it to be branded, customized, and sold by hardware companies to reach students in third world countries. Pricing will be determined by their partners, but it is expected to cost less than $200. The software becomes a challenge because they need custom-tailored educational software. “They want it in their local language and with their local content,” stated Kapil Wadhera, general manager of Intel’s education market platforms group. The studybook uses an Intel chip called Atom and it will support Google Android.

Samsung Merging Bada With Tizen

Amit Chowdhry — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 23:12:28 +0000

Samsung’s smartphone platform Bada that launched in 2010 was used on a wide range of devices. It was rumored that Samsung was going to make Bada open-source in 2012, but it turns out that they will be merging the platform with Intel’s Tizen project. Bada apps will be compatible with Tizen once the integration is complete. Developers will get a new integrated SDK and API. After the two Linux-based systems are merged, most likely Bada will be phased out. [Forbes]

ARM CEO Warren East Not Worried About Intel’s Smartphone Chips

Amit Chowdhry — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 03:03:50 +0000

Arm Holdings plc CEO Warren East was interview at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas about competition with Intel. Intel has started getting into the low-power processor market to provide chips for smartphones and tablets. East said that ARM is not worried about the competition.

“It’s inevitable Intel will get a few smartphone design wins — we regard Intel as a serious competitor,” stated East at CES in Las Vegas. “Are they ever going to be the leaders in power efficiency? No, of course not. But they have a lot more to offer.”

“They (Intel) have taken some designs that were never meant for mobile phones and they’ve literally wrenched those designs and put them into a power-performance space which is roughly good enough for mobile phones,” he added.

Intel will be providing their new “Medfield” chips for phones manufactured by Lenovo and Motorola Mobility running on Android going forward. ARM currently licenses their designs to 275 chip maker companies, software companies, and hardware companies. They control the majority of the mobile market, but Intel’s entrance into the market is not being ignored either.

ARM has some exciting things in their pipeline. ARM’s new Cortex A7 design will have the same performance as chips in smartphones of only a few years ago, but has 20% of the power consumption. ARM will also be powering tablets that run on the Windows 8 operating system.

[Reuters]

Apple Applies For Patents To Have Thunderbolt Connectivity On iOS Devices

Amit Chowdhry — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 20:24:05 +0000

Apple has filed three new patent applications that hint that the company is planning to add Thunderbolt connectivity in future iOS devices. Thunderbolt was developed by Intel and brought to market with the help of Apple. When Thunderbolt is integrated into Apple iOS devices, the iPod, iPhones, and iPads will allow faster data transfers and recharging. [Patently Apple]