Cobus Loots, CEO of Pan African Resources, on delivering sector-leading returns for shareholders. Watch the video here.
SAM3A series, with the SAM3A4 and SAM3A8, featuring 2x128KB and 2x256KB dual-bank Flash memory, respectively, and available in 100-pin QFP and BGA packages. The SAM3A series includes dual CAN and high-speed USB MiniHost and device with on-chip PHY. A 64KB Flash density version of the SAM3U, the SAM3U1, featuring a high-speed USB device with on-chip PHY and availability in 100- and 144-pin QFP and BGA packages. The SAM3 portfolio offers native support for the Atmel QTouch library for buttons, sliders and wheels functionality, as well as the Atmel 802.15.4-based wireless solution. The device family includes enhanced safety features to preserve data and system integrity. To accelerate the design process, the family comes with a full set of tools; the support of evaluation kits, debuggers, emulators, programmers and software packages; and a worldwide ecosystem of development tools, operating systems and protocol stacks, Flash programming, and software and technical support. Design engineers can take advantage of an easy migration path from Atmel SAM7S ARM7TDMI® processor-based devices to these Cortex-M3 processor-based products, with pin compatibility in the 64-pin package option. AvailabilityAtmel Studio 6 is available as a beta release, free of charge, and can be downloaded at www.atmel.com/atmelstudio . It is 100% backwards-compatible with AVR Studio 5. The IDE supports currently available AVR and SAM3 Cortex-M3 processor Flash-based MCU evaluation kits. Production volumes of the new SAM3 devices are shipping now. Evaluation kits for these devices can be purchased from the Atmel store at store.atmel.com. About AtmelAtmel Corporation ATML +0.49% is a worldwide leader in the design and manufacture of microcontrollers, capacitive touch solutions, advanced logic, mixed-signal, nonvolatile memory and radio frequency (RF) components. Leveraging one of the industry's broadest intellectual property (IP) technology portfolios, Atmel is able to provide the electronics industry with complete system solutions focused on industrial, consumer, communications, computing and automotive markets. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/atmel-simplifies-mcu-design-with-new-atmel-studio-6-expands-arm-cortex-m-series-processor-portfolio-2012-02-28
ARM Cortex-M Series Processor Portfolio: Expanding to Deliver More Design OptionsWith the announcement of its new SAM3 devices, Atmel is continuing its commitment toward expanding its product line for the ARM community. This is a commitment that Atmel began in 1995, when it was one of the first suppliers to license ARM processors. In October 2011, the company announced sampling of its first ARM Cortex-M4 processor-based MCU, the Atmel SAM4S16, and introduced its fifth generation ARM processor-based MCUs. SAM3 Family: Delivering More Scalability, Cost-Efficiency and ConnectivityWith a full range of Flash memory options from 16KB up to 1MB and new peripheral sets for advanced connectivity, including Ethernet, dual CAN and high-speed USB MiniHost and device with on-chip PHY, the SAM3 family brings to design engineers a highly scalable, connected and cost-efficient Cortex-M3 processor portfolio backed by a trusted ecosystem of development resources. The devices will open engineers to more design possibilities in industrial automation, smart grids, medical equipment, building and home control, test and measurement systems, and computer and consumer peripherals. The SAM3 family has established a reputation for streamlining system design while reducing power consumption. The expanded portfolio continues to deliver on these promises while bringing new benefits to the table. Now, design engineers have a single source of high-performance, highly integrated, low-power Cortex-M3 processor-based MCUs for their wide-ranging design requirements. New devices include: Additions to the SAM3N series, the SAM3N00 and SAM3N0, featuring 16KB and 32KB Flash memory densities and 48- and 64-pin QFP and QFN packages. Additions to the SAM3S series, the SAM3S8 and SAM3SD8, featuring 512KB single-bank and 2x256KB dual-bank Flash memory, respectively, and available in 64-pin QFP and QFN and 100-pin QFP and BGA packages. SAM3X series, with the SAM3X4 and the SAM3X8, featuring 2x128KB and 2x256KB dual-bank Flash memory, respectively, and available in 100- and 144-pin QFP and BGA packages. This series also includes new peripherals providing increased connectivity (including Ethernet, dual CAN and high-speed USB MiniHost and device with on-chip PHY).
Atmel Studio 6: Easing the Design Process with 1,000 ARM and AVR Project ExamplesAtmel Studio 6 significantly reduces the cost of creating new designs because it is free of charge, provides professional-quality development tools, and comes with Atmel Software Framework (formerly called AVR Software Framework). With Atmel Software Framework, designers get a large library of well proven and free source code--including about 1,000 project examples. Using this code, design engineers can eliminate writing most of the low-level source code for their projects, significantly reducing time to market while maintaining high-quality solutions. The software framework includes a full set of drivers for on-chip peripherals and external components, wired and wireless communication stacks, audio decoding, graphics rendering, and fixed- and floating-point math libraries. For Atmel's ARM processor-based microcontrollers, the library provides full support for the Cortex Microcontroller Software Interface Standard (CMSIS). Atmel Studio 6 currently supports roughly 300 of the company's MCUs. Faster product development cycles combined with reduced cost for on-chip Flash and the advent of faster MCUs are driving more design engineers to write code in C and C++, rather than in assembly code. Atmel Studio 6 makes it easy for engineers to write, build and debug their C/C++ and assembly code. Atmel Studio 6 also brings together, in seamless fashion, an editor with assisted code writing, a wizard for quickly creating new projects, a GNU C/C++ Compiler, a powerful simulator, and a front-end visualization tool for all of Atmel's Cortex-M series and AVR processor programmers and in-circuit debuggers. The simulator, currently available for AVR designs, accelerates application development by providing an accurate model of the AVR MCUs. The simulator not only models the CPU and interrupts but also the on-chip I/O modules, allowing complete application development without the need for actual hardware. For in-system programming and debugging, the IDE connects seamlessly to a wide range of ARM and AVR debuggers and programmers, including JTAGICE3, AVR ONE! and SAM-ICE. With full debug views, engineers get a transparent view into the CPU and peripherals that supports easy code development and debugging. Atmel Studio 6 is fully integrated with Atmel QTouch® Composer (formerly called QTouch Studio). As such, developers no longer need to toggle between two development environments for MCU applications that include touch-enabled user interfaces. Atmel Studio 6 simplifies the design process by seamlessly tying together the tools needed to edit code in Atmel Studio 6 and to seamlessly integrate and tune the touch design in QTouch Composer.
Feb. 28, 2012, 2:00 a.m. EST Atmel Simplifies MCU Design with New Atmel Studio 6, Expands ARM Cortex-M Series Processor Portfolio - Atmel Studio 6 Integrates ARM and AVR Design in Single Environment - 40 New Atmel SAM3 Devices Deliver More Scalability, Cost-Efficiency and Connectivity SAN JOSE, Calif., Feb. 28, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Atmel® Corporation ATML +0.49% , a leader in microcontroller and touch technology solutions, today continued its commitment to deliver innovative new solutions to the ARM market with the introduction of Atmel Studio 6, the latest version of its popular integrated development environment (IDE) that now supports both Atmel 32-bit ARM® Cortex(TM)-M series processor-based and Atmel 8/32-bit AVR® based microcontrollers (MCUs). For the first time, the extensive AVR customer base of more than 100,000 engineers and the designers of ARM Cortex-M series processor-based applications have all of the tools required to develop and debug Atmel MCU applications in a single, seamless environment. The company today also announced an aggressive expansion of its Atmel SAM3 ARM Cortex-M3 processor-based MCU family with 40 new devices, delivering more scalability, cost-efficiency and connectivity for a broad array of applications, including industrial automation, smart grid, and building and home control. Throughout this year, the SAM3 and SAM4 families will quadruple the Atmel Cortex-M series processor portfolio to nearly 200 ARM processor-based MCUs, and include devices with on-chip memory densities of up to 2MB Flash, 192KB of SRAM and extensive peripherals, such as high-speed USB host and device with on-chip physical layer (PHY), Ethernet and dual CAN. "We're pleased to offer the design advantages of the Atmel Studio 6 IDE to the ARM community, whose engineers can now enjoy the ease of use and seamless integration with other toolsets that our AVR MCU development community has long experienced. With a user base of more than 100,000, our IDE is clearly proven and highly appreciated among AVR designers, so it was only natural for us to extend the environment to support all Atmel MCUs and enable the ARM application developers," said Vegard Wollan, vice president, microcontroller and touch business unit, Atmel Corporation. "Furthermore, by expanding our SAM3 family, we are delivering the first phase of significantly expanding our ARM Cortex-M processor-based MCU offering, providing the ARM community with more choice to meet their unique design requirements." "We welcome Atmel's expansion of their Cortex-M series processor-based MCU portfolio," said Keith Clarke, VP, embedded processors, ARM. "The availability of 40 new SAM3 devices, together with free Atmel tools and software support, is welcome news for developers aiming to bring Atmel's ARM Cortex-M series processor-based devices and applications to market quickly. Atmel's offering further underlines the popularity
2/27/2012 @ 12:30PM At the Mobile World Congress Show in Barcelona, Spain, Huawei has introduced the Ascend D smartphone. Huawei claims it to be the fastest smartphone in the world. Huawei is comparing its phone to Apple‘s (AAPL) iPhone, and Samsung’s (SSNGY) Galaxy Nexus. “We’ve listened to people’s top demands from smartphones: speed, long-battery life, high quality visual and audio capabilities, and a compact, lightweight handset. The Huawei Ascend D quad exceeds these expectations,” said Richard Yu, chairman of Huawei Device. “In January at the Consumer Electronics Show at Las Vegas, we achieved a world record for the world’s slimmest smartphone with the Huawei Ascend P1 S. We are proud to once again introduce a world-first at the 2012 Mobile World Congress with the Ascend D quad, the fastest smartphone.” The secret to the speed of this new smartphone is Huawei’s K3V2 quad-core 1.2GHz/1.5GHz processor. This appears to be a proprietary processor built on ARM Holdings (ARMH) architecture. Apple also uses a proprietary processor design based on ARM architecture. Some analysts had supposed that the Ascend D would be powered by Tegra from Nvidia (NVDA). Steve Jobs recognized that proprietary power management systems were a key ingredient to success in mobile devices. Jobs claimed that he had hundreds of engineers working on lowering power consumption. It appears that Huawei may have beat Apple in power savings. According to Huawei the Ascend D quad comes with an 1800mAh battery, which lasts for one to two days with normal usage. The smartphone’s prowess is enhanced by Huawei Device’s proprietary power management technology which provides a longer battery life of up to 30% compared to industry average by adjusting power consumption according to usage needs. It also ensures higher chipset performance and efficiency by maintaining a low chip temperature. Huawei also introduced the Ascend D quad XL and the Ascend D1 smartphones. The Ascend D quad XL comes with a 2500mAh battery which provides two to three days of normal usage. http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2012/02/27/huawei-hitting-apple-hard-with-fastest-smartphone/
>>> one question who will win the race for hardhare laptops >>> who do you have in your mind?
thanks for the comment...
FEBRUARY 27, 2012, 5:23 P.M. ET Progress at MWC Today was the first day of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, which runs through Wednesday. Yours truly is not in attendance, but some of folks from the Street were there and have filed some dispatches to clients. Piper Jaffray chip analyst Gus Richard today reflects that Qualcomm’s (QCOM) estimates could go higher based on “robust” smartphone demand. A Q&A at the show with Qualcomm prompts Richard to write that “while we believe QCOM’s 28nm chip has yield issues, we expect them to be sorted out by year end, in time for production ramps.” Richard writes that “the performance of its latest processor looks impressive and the company indicated a high level of customer interest.” In addition, he is “seeing a shift to more powerful application processors at Mobile World Congress, benefitting ARM Holdings (ARMH),” which, of course, makes the instruction set architecture and CPU core designs incorporated by Qualcomm and others into their chips for mobile devices. http://blogs.barrons.com/techtraderdaily/2012/02/27/qcom-nvda-make-progress-at-mwc-say-piper-nomura/?mod=BOLBlog
History Repeats in Silicon Valley as Mobile World Congress Begins February 27 2012 History has a way of repeating itself in Silicon Valley. Back in the 1990’s desktops saw a race for market share between Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and a growing band of ‘me-too’ PCs. Now, Apple may have a similar war on its hands — only this time the turf is smart phones and the opposition is Google (NASDAQ:GOOG). Google’s SVP, Mobile and Digital Content, Andy Rubin gloated on the Google Mobile Blog that Android, Google’s mobile platform, is seeing nearly 850,000 activations every day. That’s 250 percent more than last year. Globally there are 300 million Google-sanctioned Android devices in operation, and about 12 million of them are tablets. Saying “it’s all about the ecosystem,” Rubin is confident app developers could soon be producing apps for Android as a priority over iOS. Android Market has 450,000 apps compared to 150,000 it had at the time of the Mobile World Congress last year. http://wallstcheatsheet.com/trading/history-repeats-in-silicon-valley-as-mobile-world-congress-begins.html/
02/27/2012 | 01:47pm Intel Corp. (>> Intel Corporation) unveiled partnerships with handset makers in China and India, and said it is working with Visa Inc. (>> Visa Inc.) on securing mobile payments, continuing the chip maker's push in the fast-growing mobile phone market. "What we hoped to do was show a number of new partners coming into the Intel family around phones, carrier operators and services built on the phones," Chief Executive Paul Otellini said during a presentation at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. "It's something we're doing slowly and surely. You will see more and more capabilities and partners announced over the course of this year and into next year." Among the partnerships unveiled Monday was one with ZTE Corp. (ZTCOY, 0763.HK, 000063.SZ), which will be introducing smartphones and tablets in the China market. The first phone will hit the market in the second half of the year, followed later by tablets, said He Shiyou, executive vice president and head of the terminal division of ZTE. Lava International Ltd., meanwhile, will make Intel-powered phones for India, with the first, dubbed the Lava XOLO X9000, becoming available in the second quarter. "XOLO is going to be all about speed," said Vishal Sehgal, Lava co-founder and director. Meanwhile, Intel will be partnering with credit card processor Visa on securing the use of mobile devices for payments. As part of the agreement, Visa has certified Intel's smartphone reference designs, which will incorporate Visa's payWave payment application. Intel, the dominant supplier of microprocessors for computers, has been struggling for years to move its franchise into handsets. The pocket-sized devices are typically powered by chips based on designs from ARM Holdings PLC (>> ARM Holdings plc), in large part because those chips tend to draw less power and allow longer battery life in phones. But Intel believes the latest version of a chip line called Atom, also known as Medfield, has achieved rough parity with ARM-based competitors on power consumption. Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. (>> Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc) and Lenovo Group Ltd. (0992.HK) in January became the first smartphone makers to announce plans to use the chips, and France Telecom's (FTE) Orange late Sunday said it would be introducing an Intel-based phone this summer. http://www.4-traders.com/INTEL-CORPORATION-4829/news/Intel-Unveils-China-India-Phone-Ventures-Visa-Pay-Partnership-14045301/
ARM today announced the availability of Version 3.0 of the ARM® Cortex™ Microcontroller Software Interface Standard (CMSIS). CMSIS 3.0 is expanded with a standardized API for Real-Time Operating System (RTOS) kernels and support for System View Description (SVD) XML files. The RTOS API is designed to expand existing RTOS kernels with a standardized function set that supports multiple threads, resource control, time management, and data exchange. The RTOS API allows programmers to rely on standard RTOS features that are required in source code templates, middleware libraries, and other software components. The SVD XML files provide detailed information about a specific system and the integrated peripherals. SVD files can be used in various ways, for example to create device header files or peripheral awareness for debuggers. The SVD file format is already widely adopted by silicon vendors and debugging tools. http://www.4-traders.com/ARM-HOLDINGS-PLC-4001660/news/ARM-HOLDINGS-PLC-ARM-Extends-CMSIS-with-RTOS-API-and-System-View-Description-14045367/
Dell has long been synonymous with servers built around the so-called ‘x86′ processors used in personal computers. That might not always be the case, Forrest Norrod, general manager for Dell’s server solutions group hinted Monday. “We’ve had ARM systems in our lab for over a year,” Norrod says, referring to the processor architecture shared by the processors that power most of the world’s smartphones. “If that’s what our customers demand that’s what we’ll offer.” Norrod spoke with Forbes at an event in San Francisco where Dell introduced a portfolio of new blade, rack, and tower servers. A credible threat Of course, signaling that Dell has options gives the Round Rock, Texas company more leverage when negotiating with Intel or AMD for x86 processors. However, the ability to make a credible case that Dell could adopt ARM-based processors — such a those sold by Samsung, Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, and Nvidia — also underscores how different Dell is than it was a decade ago. While Dell once built servers that were little more than rack-mounted versions of the personal computers Dell is best known for, the company has been reshaping to capture surging demand for data center gear. Since 2009, former IBM mergers and acquisitions chief David Johnson has led Dell through a dozen acquisitions to round out its portfolio of networking and data storage products. Dell has also worked to make it easier to manage vast fleets of servers. One of its crown jewels is the company’s lifecycle management technology, which relies on a package of software and proprietary hardware bolted onto the motherboards of all Dell’s servers. 500 engineers work on this feature alone, Norrod says. “Our management is independent of the processor powering the server,” Norrod says. “If we wanted to incorporate ARM into our server lineup, to any management tool it just looks like a PowerEdge server.” Making a switch to ARM processors might let Dell build servers that can offer some interesting options for customers concerned about power consumption. “ARM has some interesting advancements around power density,” Norrod says. Although he also adds that Intel and AMD have both been working to trim down their processors power consumption as well. http://www.forbes.com/sites/briancaulfield/2012/02/27/once-an-intel-stronghold-dell-now-testing-arm-processors/
http://www.fudzilla.com/home/item/26102-windows-8-arm-edition-possibly-delayed-until-q2-2013
Nasdaq hit new high yesterday since dotcom: 2,976.08 http://www.google.com/finance?q=INDEXNASDAQ%3A.IXIC
ARM Releases Guide to Enable 2 GHz Cortex-A9 Manufacturing 6:00 PM - February 26, 2012 by Douglas Perry - source: ARM ARM has begun offering a Processor Optimization Pack (POP) specifically for Cortex-A9-based SoCs that are manufactured in 28 nm at Globalfoundries fabs. The POP enables chips that run at a minimum of 1 to 1.6 GHz and 2 GHz in a "typical" scenario. "As consumer demand for high-performance, energy-efficient mobile devices increases, Globalfoundries and ARM are lowering the risk for customers by delivering optimized Cortex-A9 cores on a proven 28 nm SoC process," said Kevin Meyer, vice president at Globalfoundries, in a prepared statement. "This latest ARM physical IP solution for our 28nm-SLP process delivers industry-leading performance and energy-efficiency, while also decreasing time to market for customers’ latest mobile products." ARM is offering the POP as an upgrade for single- and dual-core Cortex-A9 designs to achieve higher clock speeds and enable Smartphone vendors to maintain a "competitive edge". The package comes with ARM's Artisan Physical IP logic libraries and memory instances, a benchmark report that describes the exact conditions and results ARM achieved for its core implementation, as well as an implementation guide that offers detail about the methodology that was used to achieve the improved result. http://www.tomshardware.com/news/globalfoundries-arm-soc-cortex-a9,14790.html
ARM Holdings plc : MEDIA ALERT: Strong Industry Momentum Builds For AMBA 4 Coherency Extensions Read more: http://www.4-traders.com/ARM-HOLDINGS-PLC-4001660/news/ARM-HOLDINGS-PLC-MEDIA-ALERT-Strong-Industry-Momentum-Builds-For-AMBA-4-Coherency-Extensions-14044137/
February 27, 2012 ChipMOS Shares Should Triple To $30 In 2012 We believe ChipMOS (IMOS) represents a uniquely compelling investment opportunity and should hit at least $30 per share within 12 months. Shares trade at just over 3.5x EV/trailing free cash flow, 3.2x EV/forward free cash flow, have almost $4 in normalized EPS per share, and an ongoing stock buyback. Our price target is NOT based on an economic or semiconductor industry recovery, but should be achievable if the current global economic backdrop simply remains intact. We believe several catalysts could drive upside to our target. http://seekingalpha.com/article/393811-chipmos-shares-should-triple-to-30-in-2012
Feb. 27, 2012, 5:44 a.m. EST (10:45 BST) Rockchip Licenses a Wide Range of ARM IP for Turnkey Solution Targeting Mass Market, Cost-Effective Android Tablets Rockchip RK30xx platform significantly lowers Bill of Materials (BOM) cost and reduces design complexity for customers FUZHOU, China & CAMBRIDGE, England, Feb 27, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Rockchip, a leading Chinese fabless semiconductor company and mobile Internet System-on-Chip (SoC) solution provider, today announced its next generation RK30xx platform, targeting the mass market, cost-effective Android tablets. The new platform is based on wide range of ARM(R) Intellectual Property (IP) that Rockchip has licensed, including dual-core ARM Cortex(TM)-A9 MPCore(TM) processors, ARM quad-core Mali(TM)-400 MP Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) and an ARM Artisan(R) Physical IP Process Optimization Pack (POP) for the Cortex-A9 processor. The RK30xx platform is a turnkey solution that reduces design complexity and enables faster time-to-market for Android tablet manufacturers, enabling them to address fast changing consumer demands. The combination of Rockchip's market-leading design experience for mobile Internet devices and high-performance, energy-efficient processor and GPU technologies from ARM has resulted in a platform that delivers captivating 3D gaming experiences and fluent HD video playback, as well featuring a rich set of memory interfaces and peripherals. "The tablet market is growing rapidly, and putting greater demands on semiconductor companies to deliver cost-effective solutions that can sustain an ever-increasing level of graphics, video and gaming performance, while still being energy-efficient," said Mr. Feng Chen, Chief Marketing Officer, Rockchip. "The partnership enables us to use proven mobile Internet technologies from ARM and provide a high-performance, low-cost and easy-to-design platform. This turnkey solution is ideal for customers to quickly adopt for their Android-based tablet devices. The combination of the ARM Cortex-A9 processor and the POP has enabled the highest performance with the lowest power in the fastest time possible. Rockchip has been able to deliver a highly efficient processor implementation on a 40nm LP process." "ARM is committed to providing advanced processor, GPU and physical IP technologies to our Partners. This enables them to innovate for complex, smart system applications, such as mobile Internet," said Mike Inglis, executive vice president and general manager, processor division, ARM. "We are pleased that Rockchip, whose solutions are already being used in many mobile Internet products, has chosen a range of ARM IP for their innovative, next generation RK30xx platform. We look forward to their continued success in the Android tablet market." Samples of the Rockchip RK30xx platform will be available in March 2012.
Date Title 27 Feb 2012 ARM Holdings PLC New York Roadshow with Credit Suise - With IR 28 Feb 2012 4:30 p.m. CET ARM Investor Event at Mobile World Congress 28 Feb 2012 4:30 p.m.- 29 Feb 2012 5:30 p.m. PT ARM Holdings PLC at Morgan Stanley Tech Conference, San Francisco - With management 01 Mar 2012 - 02 Mar 2012 ARM Holdings PLC West Coast Roadshow with D.A. Davidson - With IR 08 Mar 2012 ARM Holdings PLC at UBS Tech Conference, London - With IR 13 Mar 2012- 14 Mar 2012 ARM Holdings PLC at Bank of America Merrill Lynch Tech Conference, Taiwan - With IR
Feb. 27, 2012 The Samsung Galaxy Nexus is a fine device. Its Android 4.0 OS, dual-core processor and crop of next next-gen radios lead market in the technological sophistication, but at more than $600 without contract, also leads the market in price. But Broadcom claims that all of that hardware and functionality can be available for half of the cost. That’s right, a smartphone for the cost of a feature phone. Monday at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Broadcom is unveiling the silicon component of that low-cost equation. The chipmaker announced three new Android 4.0-optimized integrated chipsets, combining one or multiple ARM (a armh) Cortex A9 processors with 3G radios. At the low-end is a package with a single 1 GHz processor and 7.5 Mbps HSPA modem, which Broadcom said is priced at feature phone levels. Robert Rango, Broadcom EVP and GM of its mobile and wireless group, said the pricing on mobile computing power are scaling so low, that anybody with a feature phone budget can soon afford a smartphone. At the higher end are two 1.3 GHz dual-core chips with HSPA+ radios — the key difference is one supports 1080p video while the other runs on 720p. The higher-resolution multimedia package is priced for devices in the $200 to $300 unsubsidized range, while the lower-resolution chip can scale all the way down to the $100 phone, Rango said. The bottom line, Rango said, is that a handset vendor could replicate the specs and performance of the European Nexus in a phone priced $300 or less. In the U.S. where operators heavily subsidize devices, it’s easy to see the cost to the consumer dropping below $100. What’s even more compelling is the idea that carriers could soon start giving dual-core smartphones away for free with their standard two-year contracts. All three chips are sampling today and will begin shipping in volumes to vendors in the second half of the year. That means we might see that $300 Nexus knock-off before the end of the year. Of course, by that point the industry will have scaled its next performance peak launching the first quad-core smartphones. Still, it’s amazing to see how quickly the top-line technologies of today are dropping down to the mass market. http://gigaom.com/mobile/broadcom-promises-dual-core-power-for-budget-prices/