ARM processors gaining momentum in sub-notebook market

NEW TRIPOLI, USA: Since Qualcomm officially coined the term “Smartbook” in late May 2009 to differentiate between Intel’s Atom-based netbook and ARM’s ARM-based subnotebook (now the Smartbook), the IT industry is moving in high gear to supplant Atom’s dominance in the lucrative netbook/subnotebook market.

We pointed out on March 9, 2009 in press releases and blogs that ARM processors, not Intel’s Atom, will benefit from the current technology-economic cycle. We noted that while Intel’s Atom dominate the market in 2009, a movement is underway that will enable the ARM processor to gain a 55 percent market share in 2012.

The term Smartbook now makes it easy for us analysts to differentiate between the two. Below is our forecast of the market:

Netbook/Smartbook Market ForecastSource: The Information Network

Already, Lenovo, Nokia, Foxconn, Sony Ericsson, and Sharp are planning smartbooks. ARM runs under the Linux operating system. Linux is free, whereas Microsoft charges a licensing fee up to $35 on each netbook. To further keep cost down near the intended $100 price point, enter cloud computing.

Google's Linux-based Chrome OS offers an improved suite of productivity applications, which will influence netbook purchasers toward the ARM system. There is a wide array of open-source software that all Linux distributions share. It is reshaping the software industry by reducing the overall cost structure and represents the future of enterprise software.

As cloud computing becomes more sophisticated, we will see an Internet protocol-based convergence of audio, video, productivity applications, and IT data run on ARM-based netbooks.

Smartbook/Netbook FeaturesSource: The Information Network

We also envisioned on March 9 that subsidized netbooks would start appearing. “Along with the growing competition among software service providers, we will see a new infrastructure taking hold, modeled after Hewlett-Packard (cheap printer, expensive ink) and the mobile service providers (cheap cellphone, expensive monthly wireless charge). This subsidized bundle model will grow the ARM netbook to greater market shares.”

We were correct and AT&T seemed to think it was a good idea. The wireless provider started offering subsidized netbooks for as little as $49.99 in two markets, Atlanta and Philadelphia.

Netbooks are showing 3G connectivity rates ten times that of notebooks. Kindle 2 from Amazon is basically a mobile phone platform. The processor is a Freescale Semiconductor i.MX31 with an ARM11 core, and the 3G communication module uses a chipset from Qualcomm.

Sales of netbooks bundled with 3G services in the Taiwan market reached 15,000 units in August, accounting for 50% of total retail sales. Smartbooks, because of their design and need for cloud connectivity, will grow even stronger.

Intel leads PC processor market -– does it matter?

NEW TRIPOLI, USA: There has been a great deal of press lately regarding market shares of Intel and AMD, and a bit of VIA Technologies, in the PC processor (CPU) space.

Since it is really a two-horse race (VIA has less than a 1 percent share), does it really matter? Do PC OEMs like Dell, HP, or Apple wait patiently for the quarterly shares to come out before making a decision to purchase from Intel or AMD? We think not, notes The Information Network.

As market shares between Intel and AMD are not even close (a 4:1 ratio) does it matter to the investor community whether shares change a few tenths of a percent one way or the other? Only perhaps, if there is a trendline or abrupt anomaly.

Our analysis shows that Intel had almost a 79 percent share in the overall PC space that includes desktops, netbooks, notebooks, and servers in Q2. This share was up 1.5 percent from Q1, but down 3 percent from Q4 2008. Clearly, there is no trendline, so we need to look deeper.

In the mobile PC space, which includes notebooks and netbooks, Intel held an 86.9 percent share, up 2.5 percent from Q1 but down 2.1 percent from Q3 2008. Again, no obvious trendline.

The netbook sector is dominated by Intel’s Atom CPU and is growing strongly, as our forecast below shows. AMD has no CPU to compete in the netbook sector. Could the Atom be a factor?Source: The Information Network, USA

In CY2007, before the Atom and netbook took off, Intel held an 82.2 percent share, which grew to an 87.2 percent share in CY2008, as shown in our analysis of shares in the table below.

In Q2 2009, Intel’s share was 86.9 percent. If the netbook market does double in 2009, why isn’t Intel’s share of the mobile sector increasing? Could it be that AMD is gaining share in the notebook space while Intel’s unit shipments of Atom CPU’s increases?Source: The Information Network, USA

"I stated publically before that Intel’s margins have been decimated in the past several quarters, particularly in calendar Q4 2008 and Q1 2009. Intel reported slashed revenues of about a billion dollars for Q4. Could it be that Intel misjudged the success of the Netbook and its Atom processor? Let’s take a look at some figures.

"The Atom is processed with 45nm feature sizes on 300mm wafers and measures 25 square mm. It is priced at about $29. A total of 2,436 Atoms can be made on one wafer for a total selling price of $70.6K (neglecting edge loses and yields for this quick calculation)," noted Dr. Robert Castellano, president of The Information Network.

Intel’s Penryn Core 2 processor is used in notebooks. It is also processed with 45nm feature sizes on 300mm wafers and measures 107 square mm. It is priced at about $279. A total of 660 Penryns can be made on one wafer for a total selling price of $184.1K.

So, even though the Atom is propping up Intel’s unit shipments in the mobile PC sector, so what! It’s making little or no money on the Atom anyway. A more important issue is that it may be losing market share in the notebook market. Why, because Intel had to fill orders for netbooks in Q4 2008 and Q1 2009 and made Atoms instead of Penryns, resulting in lowered margins on a $29 CPU. Once PC OEMs migrated to the AMD CPU, they stayed with it.

And we’ve also forecast previously that while Intel’s Atom will hold more than an 80 percent share of the 23.5-million netbooks sold in 2009, a movement is underway that will enable the ARM processor to gain a 55 percent market share in 2012.

Google’s Linux-based Chrome OS offers an improved suite of productivity applications, which will influence netbook purchasers toward the ARM system.

There is a wide array of open-source software that all Linux distributions share. It is reshaping the software industry by reducing the overall cost structure and represents the future of enterprise software.

As cloud computing becomes more sophisticated, we will see an IP-based convergence of audio, video, productivity applications, and IT data run on ARM-based netbooks.

That could present a dilemma for Intel in the fast growing mobile PC space -– losing market share to AMD in the notebook market and to ARM in the netbook market. As the server PC market comes back to life AMD is positioning itself with the Six-Core AMD Opteron processor.

Except for the bean counters who consume market shares with their cappuccinos, what then is important in the PC space? Clearly, for the investment community it’s profits and outlook. The chart below is a comparison between Intel and AMD for two key financial line items, R&D and gross margins.Source: The Information Network, USA

In the R&D space, AMD is consistently investing greater than 20 percent more of revenues than Intel. This to us is a leading indicator as AMD positions itself in the future. In fact, it is already paying off.

Dirk Meyer, AMD president and CEO noted that "New platform, microprocessor and graphics introductions planned for the second half of 2009 position us well to improve margins and meet our financial goals for the year." This includes the Six-Core AMD Opteron processor months ahead of schedule.

AMD reported that leading enterprise computing providers, including Dell, HP, IBM and Sun Microsystems announced new servers based on the new Six-Core AMD Opteron processor, which is a drop-in replacement for the Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor and delivers up to 34 percent more performance-per-watt in the exact same platform.

Gross margin is another issue and AMD got slammed after announcing its gross margin was 37 percent in Q2 2009 compared to a Q1 gross margin of 43 percent and 38 percent a year earlier.

Intel's closely watched gross margin increased to 50.8 percent from 45.6 percent in Q1 and 53.1 percent in the fourth quarter. VIA Technologies’ gross margin nearly mirrors AMD’s over the past several quarters but we’re still waiting for Q2 to be released.

Investment managers have decided that gross margins are significant. I question that when there are numerous factors affecting margins from one quarter to another.

In fact, Intel concurs, according to their statement “Revenue and the gross margin percentage are affected by the timing of new Intel product introductions and the demand for and market acceptance of Intel's products; actions taken by Intel's competitors, including product offerings and introductions, marketing programs and pricing pressures and Intel's response to such actions; and Intel's ability to respond quickly to technological developments and to incorporate new features into its products.”

Global PC microprocessor market rebounds in 2Q09, but IDC recommends caution for 3Q09

SAN MATEO, USA: Worldwide PC microprocessor shipments in the second calendar quarter of 2009 (2Q09) rose notably, according to new data from IDC.

While the increase is unusually positive for the second quarter of a year, IDC analysis of the results indicate that Intel and OEM inventory refreshes drove this performance and not the return of significant end demand for PCs.

In 2Q09, worldwide PC processor unit shipments rose 10.1 percent from 1Q09 to 2Q09, compared to –10.9 percent from 4Q08 to 1Q09. Unit shipments declined 7 percent year over year.

Market revenue increased 7.9 percent from 1Q09 to 2Q09, compared to –11 percent from 4Q08 to 1Q09. Second quarter revenue declined 15.3 percent compared to the same quarter in 2008.

Intel's overall PC processor shipments increased 12.5 percent from 1Q09 to 2Q09. AMD's overall PC processor shipments increased 1.8 percent in the same period.

Intel's shipments of Atom processors designed for mini-notebook PCs (which Intel calls "Netbooks") increased 34 percent in 2Q09 compared to 1Q09. This results indicates that mini-notebook OEMs, having held off buying Atom processors in 1Q09 and depleted their inventories, began refreshing those inventories in 2Q09.

IDC estimates that the inexpensive Atom processors for mini-notebook PCs represented 25 percent of Intel's mobile PC processor shipments in 2Q09 and 8.1 percent of Intel's mobile PC processor revenues in 2Q09.

"The percentage of Intel's revenue earned in Asia/Pacific grew from 51 percent in 1Q09 to 55 percent in 2Q09," noted Shane Rau, director of Semiconductors: Personal Computing research at IDC.

"This fact, combined with the significant sequential 'snap-back' rise in Intel's overall processor shipments—particularly Atom shipments—while AMD's overall shipments were about flat, indicate that the PC processor market didn't recover in 2Q09. Instead, the market balanced out due to Intel driving Atom processors into ODMs who manufacture the systems, particularly in China and Taiwan."

2Q09 vendor highlights
In 2Q09, Intel earned 78.9 percent unit market share, a gain of 1.6 percent, while AMD earned 20.6% percent, a loss of 1.6 percent, and VIA Technologies earned 0.5 percent.

In 2Q09 by form factor, Intel earned 86.9 percent share in the mobile PC processor segment, a gain of 2.6 percent, AMD finished with 12.6 percent, a loss of 2.4 percent, and VIA earned 0.5 percent.

In the PC server/workstation processor segment, Intel finished with 89.9 percent market share, a gain of 0.5 percent and AMD earned 10.1 percent, a loss of 0.5 percent. In the desktop PC processor segment, Intel earned 70.2 percent and AMD earned 29.4 percent; share changes were negligible.

Market outlook
Having identified Intel and OEMs refreshing inventory as the major factors in 2Q09 and not the return of end demand, we cannot yet say that the PC processor market is recovering, it still is in weak condition.

"Going forward," added Rau, "IDC believes that ODMs and OEMs have balanced out their inventories and so we can't rely on inventory replenishment to drive market improvements. Instead, we can only rely on what actual end demand really is, and that means we have to be cautious not to be over-exuberant that, say, the traditional back-to-school PC buying season will materialize into a bullish second half. It won't."

IDC's forthcoming report, Worldwide PC Processor 2Q09 Vendor Shares, will provide worldwide market share results for PC processor vendors on an overall unit and revenue basis, as well as by form factor (desktop, mobile, and PC server).

Semico’s executive briefs provides in-depth, quick guide to 30 key electronic markets

USA: The naysayers and skeptics believe it will take two years, maybe more, to return to 2007 electronic and semiconductor sales levels and that growth will never reach high double digit rates again. Semico believes otherwise!

Jim Feldhan, president of Semico Research does see a change in consumer buying patterns. The new consumer is a “value consumer”. We may no longer be buying bigger homes, but instead, opting for goods that improve our lifestyle, such as a smartphone or a netbook.

Semico’s new report, “The Executive Briefs”, validate this conclusion. At Semico, we track more than forty end use markets in Consumer, Computing, Wired and Wireless Communication, as well as the automotive and industrial applications. The Executive Briefs covers 33 of the markets. Semico believes there are applications within these market segments that will enjoy double digit growth in the years ahead.

Netbooks have recently made a “splash” in the computing arena. Consumers seeking more portable, lower power, lower cost options for internet connectivity, emailing, and social networking have jumped all over these smaller form factor computing devices.

In 2009, netbook shipments will reach an estimated 12.5 million units. By 2013, Tony Massimini, Semico Chief Technology Officer, projects netbook shipments to reach 59.5 million units. Revenue during this timeframe will see a 27.4 percent CAGR increase.

Memory and Micro Logic chips within a netbook, account for over 67 percent of total netbook semiconductor content. Regionally, China and Asia Pacific will dominate netbook production by 2013, with over $15 billion in revenue production.

All this demand also translates into manufacturing capacity needs. Worldwide production at the 65nm process technology node will increase from a projected 1.9 million wafers in 2010 to 6.5 million wafers in 2013.

Netbooks are only one of a number of end applications within the computing end use market. As a whole, the computing segment will grow 12.4 percent, or over $200 million, between 2009 and 2013.

For those charged with analyzing data and the consequential decision making for semiconductor companies up and down the supply chain, wouldn’t you want to find out where the growth will be in the future rather than dwelling on ‘the good ‘ole days?

The aforementioned data is only a small sampling of what’s included in Semico’s latest installment of its Executive Briefs.

Within each of these markets are a total of 30 end-applications, which are tracked by the Semico Map Model database. All of this data has been organized into one cohesive report. The Executive Briefs provide in-depth, semiconductor rich, detail for the years 2008-2013 and include up to 40 tables and figures with expert analysis and explanation.

Intel Q2 results: Revenue $8 billion, up 12 percent sequentially

SANTA CLARA, USA: Intel Corp. reported second-quarter revenue of $8.0 billion. Excluding the effects of the European Commission fine, the company had non-GAAP operating income of $1.4 billion, net income of $1.0 billion and EPS of 18 cents.

On a GAAP-basis, the company reported an operating loss of $12 million, a net loss of $398 million and a loss per share of 7 cents.

“Intel’s second-quarter results reflect improving conditions in the PC market segment with our strongest first- to second-quarter growth since 1988 and a clear expectation for a seasonally stronger second half,” said Paul Otellini, Intel president and CEO.

“Intel's strategy of investing in new technologies and innovative products, combined with ongoing focus on operating efficiencies, continues to yield benefits that are evident in our strengthening financial performance.”

Key financial information
* Microprocessor units were higher versus the first quarter.
* Gross margin was 50.8 percent, higher than the company’s expectation.
* The average selling price (ASP) for microprocessors was down sequentially.
* Excluding shipments of Intel Atom microprocessors, the ASP was slightly down sequentially.
* Revenue from Intel Atom microprocessors and chipsets was $362 million, up 65 percent sequentially.
* Inventories were down by $240 million in the second quarter.
* Spending (R&D plus MG&A) was $2.6 billion, slightly higher than the company’s expectation.
* Restructuring and asset impairment charges were $91 million, better than the company’s expectation.
* The net loss from equity investments and interest and other was $38 million, better than the company’s expectation.
* The company recorded a tax provision of $348 million. The EC fine is not tax deductible.

Business outlook
Intel’s Business Outlook includes the effects of the Wind River Systems Inc. acquisition, but does not include the potential impact of any other mergers, acquisitions, divestitures or business combinations that may be completed after July 13.

Q3 2009:
* Revenue: $8.5 billion, plus or minus $400 million.
* Gross margin percentage: 53 percent, plus or minus 2 percentage points.
* Spending (R&D plus MG&A): approximately $2.8 billion.
* Restructuring and asset impairment charges: Approximately $40 million.
* Amortization of acquisition-related intangibles and costs: Approximately $40 million.
* Net loss from equity investments and interest and other: Approximately $80 million.
* Depreciation: Approximately $1.2 billion.

Full-Year 2009:
* Spending (R&D plus MG&A): Between $10.6 billion and $10.8 billion, up from the prior outlook of $10.4 to $10.6 billion. This figure excludes the $1.45 billion expense associated with the EC fine recognized during the second quarter.
* Capital spending: Expected to be $4.7 billion plus or minus $200 million, down from $5.2 billion in 2008.
* Depreciation: $4.8 billion plus or minus $100 million, unchanged.
* Tax rate: Approximately 23 percent for the third and fourth quarters, versus the company’s prior expectation of 24 percent.

Status of Business Outlook
During the quarter, Intel’s corporate representatives may reiterate the Business Outlook during private meetings with investors, investment analysts, the media and others.

From the close of business on August 28 until publication of the company’s third-quarter earnings release, Intel will observe a “Quiet Period” during which the Business Outlook disclosed in the company’s press releases and filings with the SEC should be considered to be historical, speaking as of prior to the Quiet Period only and not subject to an update by the company.

Chrome OS will strengthen ARM’s assault in netbook market

NEW TRIPOLI: USA: Intel’s Atom will hold more than an 80 percent share of the 23.5-million netbooks sold in 2009. However, the ARM processor will gain a 55 percent market share of the 96 million netbooks sold in 2012, according to The Information Network.
Technology changes are underway to undermine Atom’s grip on the market during a recessionary time when people don’t want, and can’t afford, a second laptop just to carry around. The movement is toward the original intention of a netbook – an inexpensive device for accessing the Internet.

“We see two technology factors converging with the poor macroeconomic situation that will create a market for ARM – the release of the Cortex-9 microarchitecture and the emergence of cloud computing. Chrome OS is the first operating system built with cloud computing in mind,” noted Dr. Robert Castellano, President of The Information Network

ARM runs under the Linux operating system. Linux is free, whereas Microsoft charges a licensing fee up to $35 on each netbook.

Linux systems have struggled against Windows in the netbooks market because of the lack of adequate productivity software that is familiar to consumers, particularly Office-based solutions running on ARM-based platforms.

Google’s Linux-based Chrome OS offers an improved suite of productivity applications, which will influence netbook purchasers toward the ARM system.

In addition, to further keep costs down near the originally intended $100 price point of a netbook, enter cloud computing. Cloud computing is a web-based service that resides on the web, and is much cheaper than software packages that are purchased and stored on a netbook’s hard drive or solid state drive. Eliminating a drive will reduce the price of a netbook a further $55.

There is a wide array of open-source software that all Linux distributions share. It is reshaping the software industry by reducing the overall cost structure and represents the future of enterprise software. Some applications require a monthly fee, such as what is available from Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)-leader Salesforce.com, which recently recorded a record financial quarter and its first billion-dollar year. As cloud computing become ubiquitous, competition will drive down monthly SaaS fees.

Along with the growing competition among software service providers, we stated in a Press Release in March 2009 that we will see a new infrastructure taking hold, modeled after Hewlett-Packard (cheap printer, expensive ink) and the mobile service providers (cheap cellphone, expensive monthly wireless charge). This subsidized bundle model will grow the ARM netbook to greater market shares. This strategy is now underway.

As cloud computing becomes more sophisticated, we will see an Internet Protocol-based convergence of audio, video, productivity applications, and IT data run on ARM-based netbooks.

Chinese Academy of Sciences selects Vivante as GPU partner for netbooks

SUNNYVALE, USA: Vivante Corp. announced a collaborative relationship with the Institute of Computing Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (ICT).

This long-term, development partnership will enable ICT and Vivante to integrate their respective CPU and GPU designs into a cost-efficient, low-power SoC and advance the state-of-the-art in netbook technology for the next generation.

ICT, which specializes in comprehensive research into computer science and technology in China, successfully produced China's first general-purpose digital computer and is an R&D base for high-performance, low-power computer technology in China. ICT research focuses on strategic, advanced, and fundamental contributions toward industry innovation, national needs, and market demands.

"As we look toward making netbooks both more capable and more accessible, we find Vivante GPUs to be the perfect solution for small size and low power while providing robust, fully featured graphics and fast performance," said Dr. Weiwu Hu, chief architect of the ICT's CPU division.

Adds Wei-Jin Dai, President and CEO of Vivante: "Our ability to deliver the highest performing GPU per square millimeter and per milliwatt across the spectrum of mobile computing, handheld, and home entertainment device requirements is once again validated by ICT selecting a Vivante GPU design.

"The Vivante ScalarMorphic GPU architecture flexes and scales to address a wide range of price/performance requirements and silicon budgets. We look forward to ongoing collaboration with ICT, as we apply leading edge Vivante technology to power next generation wired and wireless embedded applications in new and interesting ways."

Netbook PCs: A platform battleground!

USA: Netbooks are a new emerging category of Personal Computers. It has also become a new emerging battleground. There are two battles shaping up. The first is among the chip vendors –- x86 vs. ARM. The second battle is the operating system – Microsoft vs. Linux.

In its latest report, “Netbook PCs: A New Platform Battleground”, Semico Research examines the usage models, market dynamics and key players for this emerging market. What are “smartbooks?” What are the market and technology trends? What has been the impact of netbooks on the MPU market? Learn more about the competition among both chip vendors and operating systems for netbooks, such as Windows and Android.

There have been several efforts over the years for a low-cost and compact mobile PC. The introduction of the Intel Atom microprocessor in 2008 spurred the growth of netbooks, reaching 12.5 million units in 2008.

The success of Atom-based netbooks has spurred interest in competing designs. Via Technologies has been shipping its 80x86 compatible Nano. Several companies have ARM-based designs that hit the market or are expected to launch in 2009. The processor vendors for these netbooks include Nvidia, Texas Instruments, Freescale, and Qualcomm.

The netbook PC market is opening up new opportunities for chip vendors other than Intel.

Nokia-Intel agreement: An endorsement for Intel’s Atom processor for mobile devices

Adam Leach, Device principal analyst, Ovum

UK: Since Intel’s launch of its Atom family of processors it has made no secret that it intends to make a serious play in mobile. The company hopes that taking a slice of the mobile device market will provide an engine for growth outside of its traditional PC and server markets.

However, the current family of Atom chipsets is not suitable for use in handsets and instead Intel has developed a new market segment for larger form factor mobile internet devices (MIDs) positioned above smartphones and below notebooks.

To reach further down into the volume part of the mobile market and start reaching the expanding high-end smartphone segment, Intel needs to produce a chipset which can match the power/performance ratio of processors based on the designs of ARM Ltd.

This week’s announcement is a sign that at least Nokia believes that Intel’s roadmap is credible and that the company can in time provide a competitive offering against ARM-based alternatives.

Nokia, Intel to collaborate on open source
This announcement follows Intel’s acquisition of Wind River, a supplier of operating systems for embedded devices.

The Wind River acquisition has given Intel a significant foot-hold in embedded and mobile devices, it provides them with the expertise to ensure that its chipsets are optimized towards embedded devices and gives the company access to a wide range of existing Wind River customers in this space.

Intel understands the strategic advantage of maintaining control of the software stack that sits above its processors; this acquisition is a kin to Intel buying Microsoft in the early days of the PC market.

The agreement with Nokia continues Intel’s focus on software and strengthens its position. The two companies have agreed to cooperate on key open source projects and use these common technologies in Moblin (Intel’s Linux-based software platform for Atom) and Maemo (Nokia’s Linux-based software platform for its Internet Tablet products).

This is good for Nokia as its platform will become more suited for the growing segment of mobile internet devices and netbooks; good for Intel as its platform will become more suited for smaller mobile devices and good news for developers as it will, to an extent, reduce fragmentation in Linux-based devices.

However, the real opportunity here is for Nokia and Intel to combine their efforts and back a single Linux-based platform for mobile devices. This could provide device vendors with a credible open alternative to existing smartphone and netbook platforms.

Intel to license Nokia’s 3G modem technology
To date, Intel has focused on WiFi and WiMax radio technologies. The announcement gives Intel the capability to produce 3G capable chipsets that will make its products more relevant the wider mobile market.

It may also be the first sign that Intel is prepared to work with alternative 4G technology in addition to WiMax. It should be noted that this is not the first agreement between Nokia and Intel; in 2006 Nokia agreed to supply a HSDPA module for Intel’s Centrino platform, however, it never resulted in any commercial products.

The fact that the current agreement to supply HSPA modem technology is in the context of a broader agreement, should increase the likelihood of commercial success this time.

Opportunity for Nokia in MID and netbook markets
For Nokia, this announcement also makes sure that it can compete on equal terms with PC and notebook vendors entering the mobile market with Atom-based mobile internet devices and netbooks.

Intel, Nokia to shape next era of mobile computing innovation

SANTA CLARA, USA & ESPOO, FINLAND: Further uniting the Internet with mobile phones and computers, Intel Corp. and Nokia today announced a long-term relationship to develop a new class of Intel Architecture-based mobile computing device and chipset architectures which will combine the performance of powerful computers with high-bandwidth mobile broadband communications and ubiquitous Internet connectivity.

To realize this shared vision, both companies are expanding their longstanding relationship to define a new mobile platform beyond today's smartphones, notebooks and netbooks, enabling the development of a variety of innovative hardware, software and mobile Internet services.

Taking advantage of each company's expertise as leaders in their respective fields, these future standards-based devices will marry the best features and capabilities of the computing and communications worlds and will transform the user experience, bringing incredible mobile applications and always on, always connected wireless Internet access in a user-friendly pocketable form factor.

The Intel and Nokia effort includes collaboration in several open source mobile Linux software projects. Intel will also acquire a Nokia HSPA/3G modem IP license for use in future products.

The companies expect many innovations to result from this collaboration over time.

"This Intel and Nokia collaboration unites and focuses many of the brightest computing and communications minds in the world, and will ultimately deliver open and standards-based technologies, which history shows drive rapid innovation, adoption and consumer choice," said Anand Chandrasekher, Intel senior vice president and general manager, Ultra Mobility Group. "With the convergence of the Internet and mobility as the team's only barrier, I can only imagine the innovation that will come out of our unique relationship with Nokia. The possibilities are endless."

"Today's announcement represents a significant commitment to work together on the future of mobile computing, and we plan to turn our joint research into action," said Kai Öistämö, Executive Vice President, Devices, Nokia. "We will explore new ideas in designs, materials and displays that will go far beyond devices and services on the market today. This collaboration will be compelling not only for our companies, but also for our industries, our partners and, of course, for consumers."

Open Source Software collaboration
The effort also includes technology development and cooperation in several open source software initiatives in order to develop common technologies for use in the Moblin and Maemo platform projects, which will deliver Linux-based operating systems for these future mobile computing devices.

The companies are coordinating their Open Source technology selection and development investments, including alignment on a range of key Open Source technologies for Mobile Computing such as: oFono, ConnMan, Mozilla, X.Org, BlueZ, D-BUS, Tracker, GStreamer and PulseAudio. Collectively, these technologies will provide an open source standards-based means to deliver a wealth of mobile Internet and communication experiences, with rich graphics and multimedia capabilities.

Hosted by the Linux Foundation, Moblin is an optimized open source Linux operating system project that delivers visually rich Internet media experiences on Intel Atom processor-based devices including MIDs, netbooks, nettops, in-vehicle infotainment (IVI), and embedded systems.

Maemo is a Linux operating system, mostly based on open source code and powers mobile computers such as the Nokia N810 Internet Tablet. The Maemo platform has been developed by Nokia in collaboration with many open source projects.

Enabling common technologies across the Moblin and Maemo software environments will help foster the development of compatible applications for these devices – building on the huge number of off-the-shelf PC compatible applications. The open source projects will be governed using the best practices of the open source development model.

Intel to license Nokia's HSPA/3G modem technologies
Building on today's announcement, Intel and Nokia have signed an agreement that will enable Intel to license Nokia's HSPA/3G modem technologies with the aim of developing advanced mobile computing solutions that deliver a powerful and flexible computing experience – combining the best-in-class 3GPP modem technology with the high performance and low power consumption of future Intel Architecture-based platforms.

Intel supports multiple mobile broadband standards on its platforms to address the needs of service providers worldwide, and to provide people with an always-connected experience.

The Nokia modem license complements Intel's broadband wireless technologies and will enable the company to extend chipset solutions incorporating Nokia's modem technologies across its mobility offerings in the future.

Nokia is continuing to develop its leading modem technology, which includes protocol software and related digital design for the full suite of 3GPP standards through WCDMA/GSM and its evolution, and then licenses the technology to chipset manufacturers to develop and produce chipsets for device manufacturers.

Nokia's licensable modem technology is the trusted connectivity choice, providing credible and reliable options for the industry based on Nokia wireless modems' embedded history and experience. The Intel license of Nokia's modem technologies is another step in executing Nokia's chipset strategy to create multiple, competitive chipset choices to the industry.

Intel 'Rockstars' show off future research concepts, projects

Research@Intel Day, MOUNTAIN VIEW, USA: A sneak peek of tomorrow was provided by Intel Corporation today at the company’s annual Research@Intel Day. Nearly 40 futuristic projects and concepts were showcased in such areas as eco-technology, 3-D Internet, enterprise IT and wireless mobility.

Intel also has a made public a beta Web site where users can play “point, counterpoint” by submitting a statement found online and learning whether he or she has been duped.

Two researchers on hand included Ajay Bhatt, the co-inventor of USB, the standard to connect devices to computers, and Joshua Smith, a pioneer in wireless power and robotics. Both are currently featured in a new commercial called “Rock Star,” which is part of the company’s current Sponsors of Tomorrow marketing campaign.

“I hope attendees get a chance to speak with and meet our very own rock stars from Intel Labs today,” said Justin Rattner, Intel’s chief technology officer. “What the researchers are developing today in the labs will ultimately make future computing and communications faster, easier and more energy efficient, and have a significant impact on people’s work and home life in the coming years.”

Rattner, also an Intel Senior Fellow and vice president and director of Intel Labs, discussed recent changes to Intel’s research agendas and priorities. The goal is to improve the likelihood of impact and tightly align with the company’s overall growth vectors such as mobility, visual computing and system-on-chip design, where many more computing and communications functions are placed on a single piece of silicon.

The new organization, called Intel Labs, will identify game-changing opportunities for tech innovation and deliver breakthrough discoveries in those areas.

Several of these research innovations were on display at the event. Demonstrations covered power efficiency for mobile devices, immersive connected experiences, mobility and enterprise IT.

Future Atom-based MIDs and smartphones to implement new technique from Labs
Platform power management (PPM), a research effort first discussed in this same forum last year, is one of the innovative power management technologies behind “Moorestown,” the codename of a future member of the Atom family that targets mobile Internet devices (MIDs).

Rattner was joined onstage by Ticky Thakkar, Intel Fellow and director of platform architecture for the Ultra Mobile Group, to disclose that this research has helped enable up to a 50x reduction in platform idle power over today’s Atom-based platform, which translates to much longer battery life.

The power reduction technique is a fundamentally new approach that introduces changes to silicon for enabling hardware to play a major role in reducing power consumption. In this new approach, hardware implements power policies set by the operating system to manage power in much less time and at much finer granularity.

The computer will be able to quickly, aggressively and intelligently reduce power or even power down portions of the system not in use -– as with wireless radios or I/O subsystems -- and immediately power back on when needed with zero impact to the user experience. Platform power management could someday benefit the full range of Intel products, from MIDs to high-performance servers.

Dispute Finder: Are you being duped?
"The Web" is nearly synonymous with "information." While much of this information is useful, a significant amount could be characterized as false, misleading or biased. Dispute finder is an early research effort from Intel Labs that enables Internet surfers to navigate through a minefield of contradicting information much easier.

While a user is reading an online news article, blog or Web site, text snippets are automatically highlighted if information found elsewhere contradicts a given claim made. Clicking on the highlighted snippet, like “a glass of wine a day is good for you,” reveals an argument graph showing sources on either side of the issue. Every single claim and evidence has been user generated, similar to how Wikipedia works, and are maintained in a central venue online where anyone can contribute.

Future of the Internet: Much less text
As future Intel chips scale from a few cores to many, researchers at Intel Labs believe the transition to mainstream parallel computing will lead to a future Internet that is rich in 3-D graphics and relies a lot less on text, making possible a more immersive Internet experience with ultra-realistic 3-D visualizations and natural human-computer interfaces.

Picture a travel Web site that allows you to check out your vacation destination, like New York City, before you actually get there. So in addition to a virtual walk around the hotel room, users could also check out Times Square, restaurants, nearby theaters and even walk the route to estimate how far they are from the hotel.

Intel has begun prototyping the 3-D Internet in the scientific world first, using a tool called ScienceSim. This is a common place on the net where scientists can create visual simulations online and collaborate more effectively using these capabilities. The idea is to advance research through visualization, like a model of coastal margins and tides in order to study the impacts of human activity.

Creating a more flexible Internet, running on a general purpose computer
The Internet’s original designers never anticipated its astounding growth and success. Consequently, the Internet relies on highly specialized network equipment often with hard coded support for a pre-defined set of packet routing capabilities.
This presents challenges given the rapidly evolving demands of new applications.

Intel researchers propose Router Bricks as a simple, but radical solution, allowing networks to be built from general-purpose computers rather than specialized equipment. The prototype demonstrated builds a high-speed router from clusters of Intel Xeon-based servers running open-source software.

Rather than wait years for specialized routing hardware to evolve, network programmers in the future could cheaply and rapidly program new router functions using the familiar general purpose computer as their platform.

COMPUTEX TAIPEI wraps-up with record size, scale and turnout

TAIPEI, TAIWAN: For five days the organizer of COMPUTEX TAIPEI had only one fear; that the dreaded swine flu would strike at and possibly shut down their event, the world's largest ICT procurement hub. But the only flu at this venue was a fervent fever for everything to do with ICT that established fresh records for the size, scale and turn-out.

While other IT shows around the world had cut back, the visitors in Taipei were astonished to discover COMPUTEX TAIPEI 2009 running at max capacity. In fact, even in the face of adverse market conditions this show still managed to squeeze in growth by hosting 1,712 exhibitors who used 4,498 booths. During its first four days, the show welcomed 32,178 international buyers (+ 1 percent) from 214 countries and more than 100,000 international and local visitors (+ 5 percent). The top five countries for international buyers are from United States, Japan, Hong Kong, Mainland China and Korea with Australia new in the top 10 this year.

Top event in ICT shifts into multi-industry info-hub
This year's show was very different. Convergence was the keyword here. Yes, the venue continued to shine as the worlds top ICT procurement center, but it has also become apparent that its increasing taking on the function as an information hub for numerous industries, including for those one doesn't immediately link to IT.

It is here where everyone came from areas as diverse as medicine, automobiles, aerospace and education to create a multi-industry, multi-faceted venue that reflects the true diversity of the smart revolution.

The show's multi-cultural industry link was reflected with Acer teaming up with Google to unveil the Android Notebook. And it was here where AMD launched the world's first DirectX 11 graphics processor. Asus unveiled 11-inch Eee PC Seashell. Intel introduced Core i7. Microsoft announced the wide adoption of Window 7. Mio demonstrated its Litepad series and MSI displayed its latest line of X-Slim Series Notebook. Meanwhile, Thermaltake launched its Level 10, the latest high-end gaming tower designed by BMW.

Netbooks grab the limelight
Netbooks consolidated their status as the real show grabber especially since Taiwan serves up the perfect combo of computing and mobile Internet tech at affordable prices. Lightweight Netbooks with their long battery life are now part of the next hi tech wave. And with Taiwan way out front in the netbook market, COMPUTEX TAIPEI is the natural venue for international tier-one companies to seek partnerships with local companies.

Companies have spared no effort pushing Netbooks to perfection with the best in design and functions all embedded with core processors such as CPUs and GPUs. Numerous international big brands have introduced products for Netbooks: Ion by Nvidia, the new Atom processors by Intel, and Snapdragon by Qualcomm. They team up with well-known companies from Taiwan such as Asus, HTC, Inventec, and Winstron to render the latest user-friendly Netbooks.

Green technologies on display
The theme "Mobile Technologies for a Green World" of COMPUTEX TAIPEI CEO SUMMIT FORUM serves as a great warm-up for the green technologies and products at the show, including CPU, HDD, PCB, power supply, LED backlight and NB. Intel's Ultra-Low Voltage Intel Core 2 dual core processor and 50 percent less power consumption HDD from Hitachi's EcoTrac Travelstart5K500.B new range are some examples.

The power savers introduced by Compucase and Gigabyte as well as SSD by A-Data, Apacer, and Transcend all reflect the green concept. Also, solar power products, fuel cells and LED applications are also going green. Vivitek's H9080FD Home Theater is the world's first LED Full HD Projector.

Self branding
At COMPUTEX TAIPEI the writing is on the wall. Taiwanese are increasingly heading for self branding. That's seen as Acer readies to overtake Dell as the worlds second-largest PC maker after Hewlett-Packard. Taiwanese started by making products for everyone else which carried foreign labels. But a quick cruise through COMPUTEX TAIPEI reveals That Taiwanese companies are rapidly building their own reputations as technology leaders.

Perhaps, the best example would be Eee PC from Asustek which has rendered the netbook, the hottest selling PC on the market. And nearby is Mediateck which brands their own driver chips, storage chips, designing chips for wireless communications and high-definition digital televisions.

Design and innovation soaring with high-tech trends
COMPUTEX TAIPEI design & innovation awards Ceremony announced its five Gold Award Winners at the international pre-show press conference on June 1. The event highlights the importance of design and innovation in today's ICT world. Thermaltake launched Level 10 Extreme Gaming Station of strong performance and brilliant designa brainchild by the company, AMD, and design consultancy BMW Group DesignworksUSA. Acer introduced its Netbook with Google's Android.

Microsoft strongly promotes Window 7, while around 60 hardware and software partners introduce a number of outstanding operations features onto a variety of practical consumer products. Real-time, interactive, graphic interface are some key features for next generation communications.

Procurement match-making meetings generating $700 million
This year, TAITRA arranged more than 2,000 1-on-1 procurement match-making meetings in three show days. These procurement meetings generated on-site business worth a projected $ 100 million dollars and create $700 million in follow-up business. (This year's three-day affair added an extra day to previous two-day events and attracted 256 overseas companies from 42 countries).

Leader talks were 256 representatives from top firms (invited by Taiwan's Foreign Ministry and TAITRA) with annual sales exceeding US$10 million from 42 countries. Many firms represented emerging markets such as Turkey, Argentina, Russia, India and the UAE. Among them, 20 were from key names such as SIEMENS and Alcatel-Lucen (Germany), Best Buy and Future Shop (Canada), ESPRINET (Italy), and Ryoden (Japan) all globally recognized buyers.

Most buyers showed great interest in notebooks, netbooks, GPS, LCD Monitor, POS, etc. And for them visiting COMPUTEX TAIPEI always lets them source the latest ICT products from the best suppliers. Small- and medium-sized exhibitors agree that COMPUTEX TAIPEI offer the best opportunity for them to approach the SVIP buyers, so key players such as A-Data, Asus, Ritek, and Genius were also at the meetings to seek new clients.

Newest technologies discussed and insights exchanged
This year's COMPUTEX TAIPEI CEO SUMMIT FORUM enjoyed the presence of high-ranking executives from Asus, ARM, Google, HP and TI as keynote speakers and panelists. Around 200 people participated in the event themed "Mobile Technologies for a Green World." COMPUTEX TAIPEI FORUM also had numerous high-ranking officials share their new ideas. Nearly 7,000 participated in 90 forum sessions:

Microsoft forum featured a keynote speech entitled "Windows Makes Life Simpler" by Steven Guggenheimer, Corporate Vice President, Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) Division attracted 3,300 attendees. There was also the "Future NOW" presentation at e21FORUM 2009 led by Sean Maloney, Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing at Intel, and green technology panel discussion to share green business strategies with Taiwan enterprises.

DRAMeXchange Compuforum 2009 "Survival Battle - Process Migration and Performance" discussed hot topics surrounding the DRAM, NAND Flash, and SSD industries and was joined by 250 leading memory makers, module manufacturers, PC OEMs and financial analysts.

"Enabling the 3C World of Quadplay" was the theme for NGN Forum 2009. 660 people participated in the event discussing how in an all- IP network era, fixed line, mobile, Internet and television have begun to carry out an unprecedented large integration, leading us to whole new life experience, multiple services and business models.

For this year's DIGITIMES COMPUTEX FORUM, the theme of June 3 was Mobile Technology and Design, bringing in the latest mobile market and technology. The discussion on June 4 focused on industrial trends and application of digital signage. In total, around 600 people participated in the show.

COMPUTEX TAIPEI to celebrate 30th anniversary in 2010
First held in 1981, COMPUTEX TAIPEI will celebrate its 30th birthday in 2010. For the past 29 years, COMPUTEX TAIPEI has transformed itself into not only the world's leading ICT procurement platform, but also a perfect world stage for new product and technology launches from home and abroad.

Step into the ICT future next June 1 to June 5 when TAITRA turns on COMPUTEX TAIPEI 2010.

Source: ACN Newswire

COMPUTEX TAIPEI shows influences on global hi-tech industry

TAIPEI, TAIWAN: On the strength of Taiwan's exceptional manufacturing and innovation competence for ICT products, COMPUTEX TAIPEI has become the best occasion for international tier-one companies to showcase their latest technologies and their strategic partnerships with local manufacturers.

At this year's COMPUTEX, several heavyweights, including Sean Maloney, Executive Vice President of Intel and Chief Sales and Marketing Officers, Jen-Hsun Huang, NVIDIA CEO, Warren East, ARM CEO, Steven Guggenheimer, Microsoft's OEM Division Corporate Vice President, Daniel Alegre, Vice President of Asia Pacific Sales & Operations for Google, and Woody Hobbs, CEO of Phoenix Technologies, all actively participates to unveil the latest technology trends.

Taiwanese companies also make endeavors to launch innovative products with leading technologies. Those enthusiastic efforts not only bring rich and splendid contents for COMPUTEX, but also demonstrate its increasing influences on global ICT industries.

New technologies drive netbook to evolve
Netbook, which has been rising quickly in past one year, is still the brightest focus at the showfloor. Characterized with a perfect combination of computing and mobile Internet as well as affordable price, lightweight, and long battery life, Netbook concept products, for sure, will be the most important force to drive the next-wave growth for hi-tech industry.

With comprehensive ecosystem and innovation capabilities, Taiwanese companies are considered the pioneers of creating Netbook market. Consequently, COMPUTEX TAIPEI has become a crucial base for international tier-one companies to seek for partnerships with local companies, in a bid to grab the enormous opportunities.

Taiwanese players trigger the Netbook revolutionary battle. And now, the competition has escalated from form factors and features to core processors such as CPUs and GPUs. For example, GPU vendor NIVIDA teams up with COMPAL Communications, IVENTEC, PEGATRON, and WISTRON to unveil 12 new high-definition MIDs (mobile Internet devices) powered by its Tegra processor.

NTEL, which has the dominating position in Netbook processor market, particularly debuts its next-generation code named "Pine Trail" Atom processor at the COMPUTEX. Through integration processing core and graphic core into one single die, the new chip will be able to help companies develop new-generation Netbooks with lighter weight and longer battery life.

To rival in the market, the Snapdragon platform developed by QUALCOMM has also gained supports from local manufacturers including ASUS, COMPAL COMMUNICATIONS, FOXCONN, HTC, INVENTEC, and WISTRON. QUALCOMM tries to reshape the traditional x86-based market landscape with its ARM-based processor. In addition, QUALCOMM and ARM also unveil the brand new concept of mobile device, Smartbook, claiming that, with all-day battery life, the new class of devices can bridge the functional divide between smartphones and laptops.

New era of diversified software technologies
Eyeing on the huge business opportunities for Netbooks, software vendors also jump on the bandwagon to compete with each other. The software giant MICROSOFT is very active during the show. It officially announces the release date of its long-waiting Windows 7 operating system at COMPUTEX TAIPEI, in an effort to assert its leading position to other vendors.

Meanwhile, the Android platform, which is backed by Google, also causes a stir at COMPUTEX. After Android has successfully moved into smartphone market, the industry is eager to know when it will be designed into Netbooks. ACER answers the question. The company takes the lead to announce at COMPUTEX that it will launch Android-based Netbook in third quarter this year. ELITEGROUP (ECS) also demonstrates a mockup of MID enabled by Android and TI OMAP3 processor.

On the other hand, processor IP core vendor MIPS TECHNOLOGIES announces at COMPUTEX the availability of MIPS architecture for Android platform. Within 60 days, optimized MIPS source code will be available, and MIPS Technologies has built up an ecosystem with partners to realize the development supports for Android.

Furthermore, the Moblin platform, which was initiated by INTEL and had finalized 2.0 version specifications in May, has also gained momentum in the industry. At the Mobiln Executive Summit held during COMPUTEX, both ACER and ASUS endorse this technology and will adopt it in various product lines. It is expected that Moblin-based Netbooks will enter the market in the short term.

Regardless of hardware or software market, we can see that a new era of sprawling technologies has quietly started at COMPUTEX TAIPEI. Consumers will benefit from more diversified choices in the future.

Turning crisis into opportunities with innovations
Even though mobile market shows greater growing momentum recently, desktop manufacturers still try to open new opportunities by launching AIO (All-in-one) PC and Nettops. In particular, in line with the introducing of MICORSOFT's Windows 7, which supports touch screen function, many companies, such as ACER, BENQ, ASUS, ECS, MSI, and GIGABYTE, display various Windows 7-enabled new products, in a bid to grab the long-expecting replacement market opportunities.

And, in traditional NB market, many local companies showcase series of ULV (ultra-low voltage) models, echoing the requirements of ultra-portable, power-saving, and affordable price. Having over 80 percent of worldwide NB shipments, Taiwanese manufacturers will soon drive the ULV NBs to the mainstream.

Sean Maloney, Executive Vice President of INTEL, mentioned in the keynote speech of COMPUTEX TAIPEI that Taiwan has made an outstanding record of shipping more than 1 billion Intel-based desktop motherboards. He recognizes that Taiwan industry has unmatched sense of urgency, cost focus built into DNA, drive for innovation, and ambition for growth, the advantages that other countries can't never surpass.

Maloney emphasizes that DT is dead is just a fallacy. Driven by the new technologies including Windows 7, HDMI, AIO PC, and Nehalem processors, Taiwanese companies will be able to create next billion DT requirements.

Many tier-one international companies such as INTEL and MICROSOFT make use of COMPUTEX TAIPEI to unveil new technologies and to seek for partnership with local manufacturers, a fact that highlights Taiwan's great advantages and influences on global ICT industries.

Many foreign heavyweights admire the optimistic atmosphere and dynamics here, as well as Taiwanese companies' confidence in turning the crisis into opportunities. With various new products and technologies launching, the impact of global financial turmoil is hardly seen at the showfloor. For the ICT industries all over the world, COMPUTEX TAIPEI is not only the No. 1 procurement platform, but also an important stage to showcase future industrial trends and the outstanding capabilities of Taiwan's hi-tech industry.

Source: ACN Newswire

Freescale drives innovation around future netbook concepts, form factors

TAIPEI, TAIWAN: Smartbook devices based on ARM technology are rapidly emerging to fill the gap between smaller-screened smartphones and traditional, PC-like netbook or notebook products.

To develop groundbreaking product concepts for this new device category, Freescale has teamed with a top North American industrial design program, resulting in an array of visionary smartbook prototypes on display this week at the Computex show in Taiwan.

Sporting larger screens than traditional smartphone devices, smartbooks are cloud-computing-centric and characterized by all-day battery life, instant-on functionality and persistent connectivity. They are commonly powered by processors based on ARM technology, such as Freescale's i.MX515 device.

To demonstrate compelling new concepts that leverage these advantages, Freescale engaged with the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) for a program to explore requirements related to ergonomic issues, user interfaces, alternative form factors and even accessories for next-generation smartbook devices.

"As the smartbook market emerges, new form factors and product categories will evolve to support and better align with user needs, and our engagement with SCAD demonstrates Freescale's intention to lead this evolution," said Glen Burchers, Consumer Segment marketing director for Freescale. "This initiative has given Freescale valuable insight into how end-users prefer to interact with smartbooks, and this knowledge will be fed back into our chip design processes, ultimately resulting in future i.MX processors that enable compelling consumer experiences and entirely new classes of consumer devices."

Tasked with creating new models and paradigms that improve on the designs and user interfaces common to most first-generation netbook products, the participants developed a range of highly innovative, yet practical, designs optimal for leveraging the small, fanless dimensions and low-power operation of Freescale's i.MX515 processor. Students whose designs are selected as truly exceptional will travel to Computex in Taipei to showcase their prototypes with Freescale. They will also participate in a special panel presentation on June 4.

DRAMeXchange Compuforum ' 09: Decipher memory and storage industry

TAIPEI, TAIWAN: Deemed as one of the most successful international events at this year's Taipei Computex show, DRAMeXchange held its annual conference at the Taipei international convention center. Conference participants, ranging from leading memory storage to professionals to numerous related industry experts, came from more than 20 countries.

Two key analysts from the Industry Research Division of DRAMeXchange discussed the opportunities and challenges facing the DRAM and NAND Flash sectors:

Joyce Yang, Vice President of Industry Research Division, estimated that the DRAM supply bit growth in 2009 to be under 10 percent, and the demand bit growth to be lower than 20 percent.

Looking at the capex and fund raising of DRAM makers in 2010, Yang estimated the global DRAM capacity to remain stable year on year, and the 50nm migration progress will be a key factor to more supply growth. She further noted the supply bit growth will likely reach 20 percent ~ 30 percent in 2010, while demand bit growth may be under 20 percent, due to low content growth of Microsoft's new Windows7 operating system as well as the rising popularity of netbooks.

Yang pointed out that if demand shifts to DDR3 faster than the supply shift to DDR3, it could cause a DDR3 shortage, which could stimulate ASP growth in 2010.

Meanwhile, Wayne Chen, Director of Industry Research Division, pointed out due to the suppliers' output reduction and timely drive of demand from the Chinese market, the NAND Flash price has bottomed out of the steep drop in 2008 and rallied back to near the cost. He also added that the demand for NAND Flash will continue to recover in 2009.

The capacity and new technologies of manufacturers will see adjustments, balancing the demand and supply in the market, while the applications of Flash will expand to new fields like SSDs. He also predicted that from 2009 to 2012, the annual output value of global NAND Flash industry will continue to grow, with the yearly growth rate to reach near 30 percent by 2012.

Separately, three guest speakers also shared their valuable industry experience and professional viewpoint at the event:

SanDisk: Operator netbooks to take off in 2010
Doreet Oren, Director Product Marketing of SanDisk, US , shared the viewpoints and suggestions based on the company's long-time cultivation in the SSD field, which will mainly concern the market tendency of Netbooks. SanDisk believes that operator Netbooks to take off in 2010.

Sandisk introduced its nCache, the SSD efficiency improving technology, which has some advantages over the traditional DRAM cache. In addition the vRPM, a new guideline for measuring SSDs which regards higher IOPS to provide better user experiences.

JMicron: SSD transforming interface will continue to advance forward
The world's leading NAND flash controller provider, JMicron Technology's CEO, Tim Liu, addressed the elementary keys and possible problems on the efficiency of SSDs.

The company estimates that the SSD transforming interface will continue to advance forward, while the process technology of NAND Flash will evolve to 2X NM amid the development of the mainstream 3X nm. Compatibility of the controller IC with the Flash chip is important;the fault-tolerance of ECC should be improved to 15bit or 24bit.

Hitachi GST: By 2010, server field will account for 70 percent of global enterprise-level SSD market
Steven Liu, General Manager of Taiwan & Shanghai Region of Hitachi Global Storage Technology, pointed out that in the enterprise-level storage system pyramid, the top portion will be occupied by SSDs, the middle will be the 2.5 inch, 15,000 round SAS system for significant applications as well as 2.5 inch or 3.5 inch 7,200 round SATA/SAS for regular applications, and the base will be the magnetic tapes and optical hard disk storage devices for storing copies.

Hitachi estimated that by 2010, the server field will account for 70 percent of the global enterprise-level SSD market, and the storage array field will take up 30 percent. The company also forecasts the price of each GB in the SSD to fall to USD 3 in 2012 from the current USD20.

SanDisk release
The challenge to deliver low cost computing devices with a user experience that meets the intended usage scenario continues to segment the netbook market and introduce innovative solutions. The netbook market is expanding from the traditional retail channel to sales via the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs).

The storage device, being a significant part of the BOM, takes a front seat in this discussion. The known SSD value proposition of reliability, performance, form factor and power consumption is now complemented by lower cost than HDDs at the required lower capacities

At the CompuForum 2009, a global seminar to be hosted by DRAMeXchange, SanDisk, the inventor and world's largest supplier of flash storage cards will introduce a revolutionary method specifically geared to enhance performance when faced with an actual typical Netbook usage scenario.

SanDisk's second generation pSSD being introduced at Computex employs a new technology called nCache to improve user responsiveness and address incidence of "stalling" or "shuddering" seen in first generation Netbook SSDs. This non-volatile write cache feature is capable of supporting burst performance up to 5 times the steady state performance, to further enhance the user experience. In addition because nCache is non-volatile the user's data is always protected.

Atmel intros powerful maXTouch touchscreen technology

SAN JOSE, USA: Atmel Corp. announced a new, fully integrated, capacitive touchscreen technology -- the maXTouch -- providing touchscreen performance which significantly exceeds today's leading edge solutions.

Atmel's patented capacitive touch technology combined with an optimized and touch-sensing enabled AVR microcontroller provide unlimited touch capability, the fastest response times and the highest acquisition precision.

The general release of products based on the new maXTouch technology is scheduled for September 2009, and is already being demonstrated to major OEMs around the world.

"The initial reception of those customers who are already designing with the maXTouch technology exceeds our highest expectations," said Vegard Wollan, Managing Director and General Manager of Atmel's Microcontroller Business Unit. "Many of our mobile handset customers have commented that maXTouch clearly provides better performance than any touchscreen phone in the market today and is superior compared to products and technologies currently being offered by other suppliers. In addition, it provides the lowest power consumption and a solution with a significantly smaller form factor than the existing solutions," concluded Vegard Wollan.

maXTouch represents the market's first fully integrated, unlimited touch, low power touchscreen solution. An unlimited number of unique touch points can be read and utilized through Atmel's advanced maXTouch algorithms. Advanced chip functions related to user gestures such as zoom, rotate, flick and tap are also recognized and reported.

More complex functions are also derived from the on-chip shape recognition capabilities. Unintended touches are detected and rejected through the technology's unique ear/cheek/grip suppression algorithms.

The maXTouch technology provides excellent multiple touch finger adjacency for screen sizes surpassing 10". In addition, it enables extremely fast reporting of touch positions to the host, which means that there is no compromise in the user experience enabling advanced features such as handwriting recognition. The maXTouch technology also reports 'size of the touch' and 'width of line', and is the first capacitive technology based solution that recognizes stylus and finger nails as touch input.

The innovative maXTouch technology is based on a touch optimized version of Atmel's industry leading XMEGA(TM) AVR(R) microcontroller CPU, coupled with a new advanced and fully-integrated analog sensing front-end to capture the charge image from the touchscreen sensor. Two on-chip dedicated DSP systems are used for the precise X-Y matrix position calculations.

Atmel's patented Capacitive Charge Transfer technology provides the best possible signal-to-noise ratio and excellent linearity, and enables extremely robust performance even in noisy environments such as a mobile phone.

Atmel's first single-chip product utilizing the maXTouch technology is offered in an ultra-thin 5x5mm BGA package enabling customers to build the thinnest possible high-performance touchscreen products. The highly integrated maXTouch solution only requires three bypass capacitors to form the complete sensing solution, minimizing board space significantly compared with existing solutions which usually require in the range of 25-40 external components.

Touchscreens have become the user interface of choice for electronic devices and the market opportunity for capacitive touchscreen solutions is recognized as one of the fastest growing in the electronics industry. According to iSuppli, touchscreen shipments are projected to rise from approximately 300 million units in 2008 to well over 800 million units by 2013.

The maXTouch technology is focused directly on the heart of this market and is ideal for customers building touchscreen solutions across a broad range of end markets including mobile handsets, netbooks, printers, GPS, portable media players, digital cameras, and point of sale terminals.

Products based on the maXTouch technology are scheduled for general release in September 2009 and are currently available for demonstration and design-in purposes.

Pine Trail -- Intel's next-gen Atom platform for netbooks, nettops

Last week, Intel had announced the first new details around a next generation Atom platform for netbooks and nettops, while also reiterating that Moblin version 2 beta is available for download.

Welcome Pine Trail
The next Atom platform, due out later this year and codenamed Pine Trail, will feature a three-to-two chip partition for better performance and lower average power, plus increased graphics performance and a smaller overall footprint.Source: Intel

This morning, Sujan Kamran, Regional Marketing Manager, Intel Asia Pacific, introduced the Pine Trail to India as well! The image here presents the Pine Trail roadmap.

According to Kamran, the netbook and nettop categories are now firmly established and the Intel Atom processor has become the is processor of choice. This has led to an unprecedented ramp of tens of millions of units, backed by significant momentum and ecosystem support. There have been nearly 300 design wins across netbook and nettop segments.

Entering the next phase indicated that while netbooks are still a growth driver, opportunities are still lying untapped with large markets being underserved. Hence, Intel expected a strong year ahead for nettops with broad adoption likely. This presents a perfect scenario for a new Atom processor platform!

Kamran said that with the Pine Trail, Intel had moved on to a two-chip solution. The graphics and memory controller now move into the processor, leading to package area and power savings. There is now an increase in the performance of the core CPU. The two-chip architecture enables 4L PCB routing. The fanless potential enables reducing the BOM. All of this leads to easier design with package area reduction.

Moblin project and v2.0
Kamran also touched upon the Moblin -- an optimized Linux operating system project that delivers a visually rich Internet and media experience on Intel Atom processor based devices, such as MIDs, netbooks/nettops, in-vehicle infotainment, and embedded systems.

Currently, Moblin-based netbooks are already in the market. The Moblin v2 alpha and beta releases expand the community's innovations. Moblin v2.0 Beta is now released!

It is optimized for Intel Atom processor-based devices -- fast boot, improved footprint and battery life optimization. It also features a complete user interface for Intel Atom processor-based netbooks and nettops now and extending to all Intel Atom processor-based devices. Besides, it has a broad ecosystem momentum.

Elaborating the Moblin v2.0 beta experience, Kamran said that the M-zone replaces the desktop -- it is the entry point to the netbook and the nettop. It allows easy and personalized social networking, as well as simplified internet and rich media consumption. The solution is customizable for OEMs and service providers.

For those interested, Moblin v2.0 Beta is available for download!

PS: Intel today previewed the Intel Xeon 'Nehalem-EX' processor. Hope to bring you an overview soon!

Intel outlines future Atom chip for netbooks, nettops

USA: Intel announced the first new details around it's next generation Atom platform for netbooks and nettops, while also reiterating that Moblin version 2 beta is available for download at moblin.org.

The next Atom platform, due out later this year and code-named Pine Trail, will feature a 3-to-2 chip partition for better performance and lower average power, plus increased graphics performance and a smaller overall footprint.

Click here to download the PDF presentation.

DRAMeXchange expects 10 million units CULV in 2009

TAIPEI, TAIWAN: While considering the supply and timeliness of the CULV CPU and its related components, the CULV CPU NB shipment scale is estimated to reach 8 to 10 million units worldwide in the year 2009, and account for 7-9 percent of the traditional NB market share. Acer is expected to gain 50 percent or more market share of the CULV, says DRAMeXchange.

Since the hot selling netbook influenced its profitability and revenue, and in order to prevent the traditional NB market being eroded, Intel strongly promoted its Consumer Ultra Low Voltage Processor (also abbreviated as CULV). The supporters including the Taiwanese PC vendors such as Acer, Asus, and MSI, all are ready to have related products launched in 1H09. Especially, Acer possesses the most complete product line.According to DRAMeXchane.

The Acer NB product line equipped with CULV CPU is named “Timeline”. The screen size of Timeline starts from 13.3 inch to 15.6 inch, and the price is between 699 USD to 899 USD. Acer currently launched 13.3 inch and 14 inch model,which ODMed by Inventec and Wistron respectively. Including the 15.6 inch model, the Timeline shipment target of 2009 is between 5 million to 6 million units. Achieving the target will depend on whether the supply of components is sufficient.In DRAMeXchange’s point of view.

Acer has been through close range battles in the NB market with HP and Dell. After their CULV launching schedules have been delayed for almost a quarter, HP and Dell do concern about the overlapping issues between CULV and their existing products. If they don’t act as fast and flexible as Acer does, they might only get the Q4 hot season shares and let Acer gets the first touch down.

DRAMeXchange is confident with that global NBs shipments to grow 10-15 percent QoQ in 2Q09, and the momentum in 3Q09 depends on the response of consumer market after new models lauched in June.DRAMeXchange believes that NBs shipment will grow sequentially in 2009.

Intel continues to expand pirate (Shan Zhai) netbook market share

TAIPEI, TAIWAN: Since the Chinese pirate (Shan Zhai) netbook trend is inevitable to stop and in order to prevent VIA from gaining market share, Intel clarified its stance of supporting the pirate NB at the beginning of the year.

Intel provides Atom CPU to the Chinese vendors, such as Unicomp, and Jwele, and helps them with reference board designing. The purpose of these actions is enabling the Intel alliance to compete with the VIA Global Mobility Bazaar Alliance. DRAMeXchange says.

DRAMeXchane states that from April, since there were no worries about component supply and design, the pirate NB Intel parts adopting rate surged up in spite of the 10 USD premium of Atom CPU over the VIA C7. The performance advantages attracked the vendors to adopt Intel CPU. As far as the April pirate netbook shipment is concerned, the Intel market share had already reached 75 percent.

Chinese pirate NB is at the early stage of its product life cycle and attracting all kinds of market participants. This resulted in grey import Intel Atom CPU flowing all over the place, and interfering the normal CPU price. Therefore, the actual story about the recent sayings that Intel will stop providing Atom to pirate netbooks is just one way of controlling the supply and bringing it back on track again.

Currently, the monthly CPU shipment supplied to Chinese pirate netbooks through Synnex and WPI reaches 200K per month. Intel is also providing extra support to BYD and Top Star in order to help them entering the netbook ODM business, according to DRAMeXchange.

The popularity of pirate netbooks in the Chinese market has caused component shortage, and currently the components can only fulfill 50-70 percent of demand. The shortage situation is expected to be eased in June. The April shipment was about 300K and expected to double in Q3 or Q409. Optimistically, the 2009 annual pirate netbook is expected to reach 4 million units.

Even with conservative estimation, the shipment of 2.5 million units will be easily fulfilled.