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March 13, 2012 1:31 pm Arm unveils chip for ‘internet of things’ By Maija Palmer, Technology Correspondent Arm Holdings, the British microchip design company, has unveiled an ultra low-power chip that could pave the way for a multitude of devices from washing machines to parking meters to be wirelessly connected into an “internet of things”. The Cambridge-based company, whose designs dominate the mobile phone sector, said on Tuesday that it had created the world’s most efficient microprocessor design. The chip is capable of the same kind of fast processing power as the chips in smartphones, but uses just a third of the power of a very basic, 8-bit microprocessor. Chips using Arm’s “Flycatcher” design would be just 1mm by 1mm in size and be able to run off a small battery for very long periods of time, meaning they could be embedded in products such as blood pressure monitors that could transmit information wirelessly to doctors’ surgeries. The chips might also be able to connect home appliances such as washing machines to a home network, switching them on and off to regulate energy consumption, for example. Some home appliances today may contain 8-bit or 16-bit processors but these cannot handle very complex functions. “The internet of things will change the world as we know it, improving energy efficiency, safety, and convenience,” said Tom Halfhill, a senior analyst with The Linley Group. “Ubiquitous network connectivity is useful for almost everything – from adaptive room lighting and online video gaming to smart sensors and motor control. But it requires extremely low-cost, low-power processors that still can deliver good performance.” Ericsson, the telecoms equipment company, recently forecast that there would be about 50bn connected devices by 2020, rising from about 15bn today. Arm said it expected Flycatcher-based chips to sell for around 13p to 20p per chip, from which it would gain a 1-2 per cent royalty. Although the percentage is low, the sheer volume of chips potentially coming to the market could make this a valuable revenue stream for Arm. NXP Semiconductors and Freescale, two semiconductor manufacturers, have already licensed the design. Arm will face some competition in the ultra low-power market, however. A number of other chip designers, including Microchip Technology and Atmel in the US, are also developing low-power, high performance chips. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7e5f6a4c-6d07-11e1-ab1a-00144feab49a.html#axzz1p0Q65IQr
March 13, 2012 Intel turns to TV. In a major departure from its historical focus, Intel (INTC) is developing an Internet-based TV service to sell to consumers, and has been talking with media companies about creating a "virtual cable operator" that would offer channels in a bundle. The TV service would rely on Intel-built set-top boxes that feature the company's own processors. However, building a new TV service would be a costly gambit for Intel, and shows how desperate the chip giant is to establish a strong presence in the TV processor market, after abandoning it last year to ARM (ARMH). http://seekingalpha.com/article/429611-wall-street-breakfast-must-know-news
“NXP is the only MCU vendor to have adopted the complete ARM Cortex-M processor series, and we’re excited to be able to add the Cortex-M0+ processor to our portfolio,” said Alexander Everke, Executive Vice President and General Manager of High-Performance Mixed-Signal businesses, NXP Semiconductors. “We have already proven the success of our Cortex-M0 processor portfolio with over 70 part types shipping in high volume today, this new Cortex-M0+ processor further accelerates our momentum into the 8/16-bit market.” The Cortex-M0+ is fully supported from launch by the ARM Keil Microcontroller Development Kit, which integrates the ARM compilation tools with the Keil µVision IDE and debugger. Together with the ULINK family of debug adapters this now supports the new trace features available in the Cortex-M0+ processor. The processor is also supported by third-party tool and RTOS vendors including CodeSourcery, Code Red, Express Logic, IAR Systems, Mentor Graphics, Micrium and SEGGER. http://www.electronics-eetimes.com/en/News/full-news.html?id=222911689&news_id=222911689&cmp_id=7
March 13, 2012 ARM is aiming to encourage 8bit and 16bit microcontroller users to move to its architecture with a new core optimised for low cost devices that will cost from 30 to 60cents. The Cortex-M0+ processor core, codenamed 'flycatcher', has been re-designed from the ground up to be low power but also to provide the ease of use that 8 and 16bit system designers require, especially for controlling the 'Internet of Things'. The execution pipeline has been reduced to two stages from three in the previous M0 core, splitting the instruction decode between the fetch and execution units. This has provided more responsiveness for cycle intensive operations and branches, as wel as reducing energy loss through unused branches as only one instruction is lost. The move to a two stage pipeline hasbeen possible with the improvements ot the process technology so that more functions can be handled within the cycle time as the frequency remains around 50MHz. More gates are available and these have been used for power gating in the core to reduce the power of sections that are not in use. The result is power consumption of 9µA/MHz on a low-cost 90nm LP process, around one third of the energy of any 8- or 16-bit processor available today with the same 12,000 gates as the preious M0 core. The memory interface has also be optimised, allowing two 16bit transfers in a cycle so that the on-chip flash memory can be accessed half the time. The core still uses the same 16bit Thumb-2 instruction set as the M0, making it upwards compatible with the M3 and M4 families. The compiler handles M0, M3 and M4 code all together for ease of use and there are options to include debug and trace hardware alongside the core. The Cortex-M0+ processor features enable the creation of smart, low-power, microcontrollers to provide efficient communication, management and maintenance across the 'Internet of Things’, which is a specific target for ARM. “The Internet of Things will change the world as we know it, improving energy efficiency, safety, and convenience,” said Tom Halfhill, a senior analyst with The Linley Group and senior editor of Microprocessor Report. “Ubiquitous network connectivity is useful for almost everything - from adaptive room lighting and online video gaming to smart sensors and motor control. But it requires extremely low-cost, low-power processors that still can deliver good performance. The ARM Cortex-M0+ processor brings 32-bit horsepower to flyweight chips, and it will be suitable for a broad range of industrial and consumer applications.” The Cortex-M0 processor has been licensed more than 50 times by leading silicon vendors and early licensees of the Cortex-M0+ processor include NXP Semiconductor and new licensee Freescale, which expects to be the first in the market with low cost M0+ devices.
US Competition Arm says it expects the microcontrollers will sell for around 13-20 pence per device - and it will charge its clients about a 1-2% royalty fee from that price on top of a licence charge. Although the sums may appear small, the firm notes that Ericsson recently forecast there would be 50 billion connected devices by 2020 compared to 10-15 billion at present. Arm says much of that growth will come from types of equipment that are not connected to the net at present - presenting the firm and its customers with a huge growth opportunity. However the Cambridge-based company does not have the market to itself. Arizona-headquartered Microchip Technology designs and builds a rival range of 32-bit "Pic" microcontroller, while California-based Atmel offers 32-bit "Avr" products. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-17345934
13 March 2012 Last updated at 07:32 GMT Arm's latest processors aim to stretch internet's reach Arm Holdings has unveiled what it describes as the "world's most energy-efficient microprocessor" design. The Cortex -M0+ architecture is designed to provide chip-makers with the means to build microcontrollers that require "ultra low power" but are capable of 32-bit processing. Arm says it paves the way for "the internet of things" - the spread of the net to a wider range of devices. Two firms have already licensed the technology from the British firm. They are NXP Semiconductors and Freescale. "It opens up all devices to the potential of being connected all the time," Freescale's Geoff Lees told the BBC. "It's allowing us to provide connectivity everywhere. So anything from consumer appliances, MP3-music audio docks, kitchen equipment with displays right through to remote sensors in rain monitoring equipment or personal medical devices - an area where ultra-low battery life allied to high performance and safety is becoming more and more important." Smarter energy appliances Arm says it went back to the drawing board to create the new processor cores - dubbed Flycatcher - which measure 1mm by 1mm in size. It says the microcontrollers should draw around a third less energy than their predecessors, which only offered 8 and 16-bit capabilities. It adds that its design has been created to be a low leakage part - meaning it consumes almost no power when it is in sleep mode. The firm says that means devices can offer wireless connectivity when paired with modern bluetooth or radio equipment, offering years of life from a single battery-pack rather than months. Arm's director of embedded marketing Gary Atkinson says it could herald a new generation of smart energy systems. "Every developed nation country has a graph showing electricity demand is going to outstrip supply at some point in the next 20 years unless we do something different," he said. "What we need to do is something called design response - where all the devices on the network can make a decision as to whether or not to come on in order to smooth out peaks and troughs in electricity demand. "So you should add connectivity to things like fridges, washing machines, freezers and dishwashers. If the wider electricity network is being very heavily used and if the element in your dishwasher could go off for two or three minutes to alleviate that - well then that would make a big difference."
MARCH 12, 2012, 10:54 A.M. ET ThinkEquity’s Sujeeva De Silva and Avian Securities’s Arnab Chanda take differing tacks on Intel (INTC) this morning, the former trumpeting Intel’s prospective growth, the latter initiating coverage with a Neutral rating and a cautious stance. De Silva, who maintains a Buy rating on Intel shares and a $30 price target, writes that recent meetings with management and investors suggests to him that the areas of strength, including data center, embedded technology, and emerging market PC sales can offset a slowdown in the mature PC markets. And investors underestimate the company’s prospects in mobile chip sales for smartphones and such: We believe that Intel’s efforts in mobile are being underestimated, and expect rapid product cadence over the next three years to improve the company’s position versus competitors relying on trailing edge foundries, and address concerns about tablet/smartphone cannibalization of the company’s PC franchise. We expect 1Q12 to be the bottom for Intel, with easing hard drive constraints and steady improvement driven by data center, emerging market PC growth and embedded. De Silva estimates $56.2 billion in revenue this year and $2.45 per share in profit. That is below the average $56.76 billion Street consensus for revenue but in line with Street GAAP EPS estimates. But De Silva thinks that Intel can deliver double-digit growth further out. Chanda, on the other hand, with a $29 price target, writes that the main issue is not what Intel is doing right, but what happens with arch-rival ARM Holdings (ARMH). He thinks ARM will increase its presence in notebooks and servers, Intel’s principal areas of success: We believe that the key to Intel’s future success is not whether Intel succeeds in mobile, but whether ARM succeeds in computing. Given the dramatic ASP differences between Intel’s core notebook CPUs (5x) vs handset/tablet application processors, Intel’s future revenue growth will be predicated much more on maintaining share in notebooks/servers. We expect that WoA will drive ARM into Windows8 tablets and low-power notebooks in late Q4:12, with the possibility of gaining server share in C13/14 since multiple players (Calxeda, NVDA, AMCC, CAVM) are developing 32/64-bit ARM based server CPUs. In somewhat related news, The Wall Street Journal’s Benn Rooney this morning pens an overview of Intel’s efforts in the smartphone chip market, quoting CEO Paul Otellini about how the company’s first priority in recent years was beating back Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) in the server market, not developing mobile. As Otellini explained to the Journal, the battle for mobile processors is “a marathon, not a sprint,” and Intel intends to be a contender by an approach that is “steady and sure.” Intel shares today are down 13 cents, or half a point, at $26.94. http://b
03/12/2012 The recently launched Orange Santa Clara smartphone at Mobile World Congress was spotted recently at Germany’s CeBIT trade show complete with its single-core Atom processor from Intel known as the Medfield chipset. The chip, which is capable of HyperThreading, is clocked at 1.4 GHz and a trade show visitor was able to run some benchmarks on the phone using the browser. Using the BrowserMark benchmarking tool, the Orange Santa Clara posted a score of 90,000, which narrowly beats out Apple’s iPhone 4S with its proprietary ARM-based dual-core A5 processor. In comparison, the dual-core CPU on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, which runs on a more efficient Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich browser, scored over 100,000 points. Given that the Orange Santa Clara is running on Gingerbread, we can expect to see the phone’s performance, especially where it comes to browsing speeds and rendering, improve once the handset is upgraded to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Using the Vellamo benchmarking test, the Orange Santa Clara with its Intel Medfield processor was able to outpace the Galaxy Nexus and trailed behind the quad-core Tegra 3-powered Asus Transformer Prime. The results here match what we’ve seen from early leaked Medfield benchmarking results prior to the start of Mobile World Congress late last month. Though these impressive early scores definitely show that Medfield will be a strong contender in the smartphone and tablet race where performance and battery efficiency will be examined, browser-based tools are not as good at testing the CPU and GPU in the fullest. At Mobile World Congress, Intel and Orange had alleviated some concerns about battery life by touting impressive battery numbers for the phone. Additional Android-powered Medfield phones and tablets are expected this year. The most notable manufacturer to support Medfield will be Motorola Mobility, which is currently being acquired by Google, which may help deepen Intel’s and Google’s relationship. http://www.gottabemobile.com/2012/03/12/intel-atom-medfield-cpu-shown-to-outpace-dual-core-arm-on-galaxy-nexus/
Chip switches Fast-forward to this week's event, where Apple took the wraps off the latest and greatest iPad and a new Apple TV STB. While many watchers, including me, were expecting a full-blown quad-core A6, rumors leading up to the launch that Apple was going to use a ramped up A5X chip turned out 100% accurate. Cupertino opted to use a modified version of the previous chip, with the A5X sporting a dual-core CPU but moving the GPU up to quad cores to handle all 3.1 million of those pixels. Quietly behind the headlines, Apple decided to use a single-core A5 chip in the new Apple TV STB -- an entirely different flavor that's never been used before. On top of that, many analysts (again including me) expect that Apple will choose to bust out the mythical quad-core A6 in this year's sixth-generation iPhone. Chip analysts Linley Gwennap of The Linley Group and Dean McCarron of Mercury Research both told MacWorld that the A5X is likely to be an iPad-only affair. If true, this would mean that by year's end Apple would be using three distinct chips for three distinct products, a departure from the single-chip strategy before it. http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2012/03/11/how-apples-chip-strategy-is-evolving.aspx
March 11, 2012 Some things get better as they age, and Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL ) mobile processor strategy is no different. The Mac maker designs its custom ARM Holdings (Nasdaq: ARMH ) -based A-family of chips in-house, and with the unveiling of the new iPad earlier this week, the company showed that its chip strategy is beginning to evolve. Setting the stage Apple acquired small chip shops P.A. Semi in 2008 and Intrinsity in 2010, laying the foundations for it to begin custom-designing its ARM-based chips on its own in the name of good old integration instead of relying on third-party chipmakers. It still taps contract manufacturers to do the fabricating, as most chip players nowadays are apt to do, and arch-frenemy Samsung currently pumps out A5 chips in its facilities in Austin, Texas. A brief history of A-chips The first member of its A-family of chips was the A4 that made its debut in the original iPad in 2010. In characteristic Apple marketing, there was a lot of hoopla over this chip's capabilities and the low-power advantages it boasts by being custom-designed. Apple is one of the few ARM players that really add a layer of differentiation beyond standard ARM cores, so in fairness, credit is due here. This same A4 chip subsequently found its way into the iPhone 4, fourth-generation iPod Touch, and the second-generation Apple TV set-top box, or STB, that were all released later that year. That means this single-core A4 chip powered four different product lines that were updated or introduced in 2010. Next was the A5 chip, which was bumped up to dual cores and was similarly introduced in the iPad 2 in early 2011 and then found its way into the iPhone 4S, which was released in October. The iPod Touch released in 2011 really saw no notable upgrades or changes to its processor or otherwise, assuming you don't consider the addition of a white model a meaningful upgrade. That makes two major products -- the iPad 2 and iPhone 4S -- released in 2011 that run the same dual-core A5.
03/09/2012 | 11:58am IHS: Media Tablets To Become 4th Largest Market For Semiconductors By 2014 Media tablets are set to become the world's fourth-largest application for semiconductors by 2014, led by Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) iPad, said industry researcher IHS iSuppli. Sales of semiconductors for tablets are expected to surge to $18.2 billion in 2014, up from $2.6 billion in 2010, the year that Apple launched its iPad. By 2014, semiconductor sales for tablets are expected to be exceeded only by mobile handsets, mobile personal computers and desktop PCs, IHS said. Media tablets ranked as the 35th largest market for semiconductors in 2010, they jumped to the No. 8 position in 2011 and will climb to fifth place this year, IHS said. "The speed of the media tablet's rise from near insignificance to top-tier prominence is unprecedented in the history of the global semiconductor industry," said Dale Ford, IHS's head of electronics and semiconductor research. "Driven primarily by Apple's iPad, the media tablet in four years is expected to scale semiconductor heights that took more than a decade for other products to attain, such as notebook PCs and cellphones. This meteoric ascension will have major repercussions for the global semiconductor industry, as it realigns to accommodate the fast growth and vast size of the media tablet market." IHS also said mobile handsets will become the world's largest semiconductor application this year, exceeding mobile PCs for the first time ever. The rapid rise of media tablets will also spread growth opportunities among a wider set of suppliers than previous platforms did, IHS said. "While there will be a handful of suppliers that will stand out as the leading suppliers of semiconductors for media tablets, there are many component markets that represent highly attractive opportunities for a diverse group of suppliers," Ford said. "Interestingly enough, media tablets and handsets are a key driving force in reducing some of the consolidation in the semiconductor industry that has developed in more mature markets like PCs." http://www.4-traders.com/IHS-INC-13057/news/IHS-Media-Tablets-To-Become-4th-Largest-Market-For-Semiconductors-By-2014-14207846/
03/09/2012 | 12:46pm Apple Inc. : Apple to build $304 million campus in Texas, add 3,600 jobs (Reuters) - Apple Inc is expanding its presence in Texas with a $304 million investment to build a new campus in Austin, which will add 3,600 jobs over the next decade, more than doubling its workforce in the city. The Cupertino, California, consumer device giant already employs thousands in Austin, whose tasks include handling customer complaints and support. "Our operations in Austin has grown dramatically over the past decade from less than 1,000 in 2004 to more than 3,500 today," Apple spokesman Steve Dowling said. Apple plans to add jobs in customer support, sales and accounting. The company is receiving an investment of $21 million over 10 years from a state fund and also possible incentives from Austin and Travis County, according to Texas Governor Rick Perry, who announced the news on Friday. http://www.4-traders.com/APPLE-INC-4849/news/APPLE-INC-Apple-to-build-%24304-million-campus-in-Texas-add-3-600-jobs-14207977/
03/10/2012 | 04:11pm Apple Inc. : WSJ UPDATE : Apple Says Preorders For New IPad 'Off The Charts' Customers hoping to preorder the new iPad from Apple Inc. (AAPL) may have to wait a little longer to get one. Apple said in a statement that supplies of the new tablet it had set aside for preorders have already sold out, and that the only way customers will be able to buy one when it's released on March 16 will be through an Apple retail store or through one of the company's authorized resellers. "Customer response to the new iPad has been off the charts," an Apple spokeswoman said. The company declined to release specific sales figures. (This story and related background material will be available on The Wall Street Journal website, WSJ.com.) Apple's U.S. website now indicates that new iPad preorders will ship by March 19, three days after the official launch day. Earlier, the site said the newest tablet would arrive at customers' homes on its launch day. The delay would seem to indicate strong demand for the new iPad, which was announced Wednesday to a positive response from partner companies, analysts and potential customers alike. Apple typically has allotments prepared for its online preorders, but they often are depleted within days. Game and app makers said there's a good reason for the high demand: the developers say the device's new high-resolution screen, which the company calls a "retina" display, and increased processing power would allow them to make more appealing programs. Analysts also lauded the addition of next-generation wireless technology, known as 4G, which allows customers to surf the Web at dramatically faster speeds than in the past. Analysts, such as Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster, expect Apple to sell roughly 9 million iPads in the current quarter. http://www.4-traders.com/APPLE-INC-4849/news/APPLE-INC-WSJ-UPDATE-Apple-Says-Preorders-For-New-IPad-Off-The-Charts-14209083/
Sat Mar 10, 2012 1:56pm EST (Reuters) - Consumers planning to pre-order Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) new iPad to avoid the release-day crowds at the company's retail stores will have to wait a little longer to get their hands on one of the devices. The latest version of the company's tablet, which was unveiled on Wednesday, is scheduled to hit shelves on March 16. But tablets pre-ordered online won't ship to buyers until March 19, according to the company's website. The Wall Street Journal reported in Saturday's edition that Apple's website had earlier promised the newest tablet would arrive at customers' homes on the launch date. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Apple's new product releases are some of the hottest events on the tech calendar, scrutinized by investors, the media and industry insiders alike. To the company's hard-core fans, who vie to be the first to own the latest device, a three-day delay would be an eternity and could add to the crowds and chaos at the company's retail stores. In January, enraged Chinese shoppers pelted Apple's flagship Beijing store with eggs and shoving matches broke out with police after customers were told the store would not begin sales of the iPhone 4S as scheduled. The new iPad sports a crisper display and an array of technology advances and tweaks. Apple said it will continue to sell the iPad 2 but dropped its price by $100. The older tablet now starts at $399 while the new third-generation wi-fi only iPad starts at $499. The high-end model of Apple's latest iPad starts at $629 and will be capable of operating on a high-speed 4G "LTE," or Long-Term Evolution, network. At speeds roughly 10 times faster than current 3G technology, that may help banish the sometimes shaky video quality of older devices. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/10/us-apple-ipad-idUSBRE8290EJ20120310
March 10, 2012, 1:47 p.m. EST Apple plans to double Texas facilities SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Apple Inc. AAPL +0.59% plans to build a $304 million campus in Austin, Texas, doubling its presence there over the next decade. The Cupertino, Calif., company said it will add 3,600 jobs in the next 10 years to its existing work force of 3,500 employees there. Apple said the move is part of a rapid expansion from 1,000 employees in 2004. Texas Gov. Rick Perry's office said most of the jobs will be in sales, customer support and accounting for the area. In exchange, the state offered Apple a $21 million investment over 10 years through its business development efforts called the Texas Enterprise Fund. "Apple is known for its bold innovation and game-changing designs, and the expansion of their Austin facility adds to the growing list of visionary high-tech companies that have found that Texas' economic climate is a perfect fit for their future," Perry said in a statement. "Investments like this further Texas' potential to become the nation's next high-tech hub." The announcement follows numerous media reports about Apple's vast and growing supply chain, some of which have focused on employees at manufacturing contractors in countries such as China, as well as how they are being treated. In response, the company has released detailed internal reports and paid for an outside firm to perform an audit. Apple also invited a news crew to one of its manufacturing facilities, and published a study saying its slate of devices and services had created 514,000 jobs throughout the U.S. Apple said the jobs created were in a variety of industries from shipping and receiving to application development. Apple shares recently traded up 0.6% at $545.24. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/apple-plans-to-double-texas-facilities-2012-03-10
Demand for ARM-based chips has risen sharply of late, as the cell phone architecture made its way into disk drives, printers, cars, Internet-connected TVs, microcontrollers, and tablets. This year, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ, Fortune 500) is introducing its first server running on ARM-based chips, and Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) will release a version of Windows 8 that will run on tablets powered with processors designed by ARM. As a result, ARM's share of the overall semiconductor market has soared, doubling in just three short years. Smartphone and tablet sales will continue to help ARM's share rise, and the new markets ARM is entering could help the company arrive at its goal of doubling its share again three years from now. For instance, IHS iSuppli predicts ARM will grow its share of the PC processor market to 22% by 2015, up from practically nothing today. Meanwhile, semiconductor behemoth Intel (INTC, Fortune 500) tried -- and failed -- for many years to get a foothold in the mobile marketplace, as ARM's 21-year old expertise in power management gave it a leg up. But recently, Intel scored some big wins after finally convincing handset makers that its chips could play nicely in mobile. Global telecom giant Orange and Indian carrier Lava announced last week that they are planning on shipping a device based on an Intel reference design next quarter, and Lenovo launched a similar phone last month. Motorola Mobility (MMI), which is being acquired by Google, said last month that all of its future devices will run on Intel chips. And Chinese smartphone giant ZTE said last week that it too would soon begin to ship phones with Intel inside. Despite Intel's deep pockets and recent surge, ARM isn't fazed. The company believes its power-sipping, mobile-friendly architecture will ultimately become the world's most pervasive. "Intel's offerings today are better than they were years ago, and undoubtedly there are going to be some Intel design wins," East said. "But I look at the capabilities of those products and see the same kind of capabilities that were in ARM products several years ago." First Published: March 9, 2012: 12:32 PM ET http://money.cnn.com/2012/03/09/technology/arm-ipad-intel/
IPad chip designer ARM wants to crush Intel By David Goldman @CNNMoneyTech March 9, 2012: 2:02 PM ET ARM CEO: Intel is years behind us BARCELONA, Spain (CNNMoney) -- The company behind the lightning-fast processor in the new iPad thinks it can soon become the predominant microchip business in the world. Chips designed by ARM (ARMH), the British microprocessor company you've probably never heard of, are in a stunning 95% of the world's mobile phones and tablets, including the new iPad Apple announced this week. ARM's chips represent 30% of the entire semiconductor market sales, which is nearly double Intel's 16%, according to IHS iSuppli. But ARM's ambitions are even grander. "We want to see that doubled to 60%," said Warren East, ARM's CEO, in an interview conducted at last week's Mobile World Congress. "We think we've got the right sort of technology for everything from very, very tiny intelligent sensors, through the consumer electronic swathe, right through to servers." ARM is in a unique position in the chip industry because it doesn't actually make microprocessors. Instead, ARM designs chips and licenses those different architectures to more than 300 companies around the world, including giant players such as Samsung, Nvidia (NVDA), Texas Instruments (TI) and Qualcomm (QCOM, Fortune 500). The company is particularly successful in the rapidly growing mobile market, partially because it is good at what it does, but also because of the dumb luck of being in the right place at the right time. ARM got its start in 1991 designing modem chips for cell phones. They were fairly limited microchips that were built for one purpose: to communicate with cell towers without sucking up too much of the phone's battery. But around the turn of the century, handset manufacturers began to realize that there was excess computer power left over in those ARM-based chips that could be used to build a user interface. Soon after that realization, the "feature phone" was born, which ultimately evolved into the modern day smartphone. Taking advantage of the situation, ARM now designs chips for two purposes: the same-old modem processor and an applications processor that controls the user interface for Android, iOS, Windows Phone, BlackBerry OS and the like.
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In November, another successful challenger appeared: Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) The Internet retailer figured out that people would buy a device other than an iPad if the price was considerably lower. It put together a Spartan tablet with a minimum of frills and started selling it at $199. Amazon doesn't make a profit on its Kindle Fire, according to IHS iSuppli, but it hopes the device will help boost sales of movies, music and electronic books at its online store. Analysts estimate that Amazon sold 3.9 million to 6 million Kindle Fires in the first six weeks, making it the third-largest seller of tablets last year. Looking solely at the last three months of 2011, Amazon beat Samsung as the second-largest seller of tablets. Barnes & Noble Inc. adopted a similar strategy and was also successful, at least considering that it's a bookseller venturing into consumer electronics. It updated its Nook Color e-reader to make it more of a general-purpose device and called it the Nook Tablet. ISuppli estimates that it sold 3.3 million Nook tablets last year. During this year's holiday shopping season, a new raft of challengers will appear: tablets powered by Microsoft Corp.'s Windows 8. Microsoft has provided software for PC-style tablets before, but they've never been more than a niche product. Now, the company is creating a version of Windows that runs on phone-style processors such as those used in the iPad. Reviews of the pre-production software have been positive. It will allow users to do some things they can't on an iPad, such as running two applications side by side on the same screen. Still, analysts expect Apple to regain market share, after losing some because of the unsustainable discounting by competitors late last year. On Wednesday, Apple said it would keep the iPad 2 in production and cut the starting price to $399 - the same price as Samsung's Galaxy Note Tab 10.1. http://www.maximumedge.com/cgi/news/article.cgi/20120308/D9TCJG6G2