Medical device costs seen leveling off

Medical device costs seen leveling off

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Since 1992, the U.S. has consistently spent about six percent of its national health care dollar on medical devices, according to a new report. A med tech lobbying group issued the report as part of an effort to seek repeal of a device tax in recent health care reform legislation.

Prices for medical technology grew at less than half the rate of overall prices in the economy and only one-fifth the rate of prices for other medical goods and services, said the study from the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed).

From 1989 to 2010, spending on medical technology as a percent of total health care spending rose from 5.3 percent in 1989 to 6 percent in 2010. Most of the 0.7 percent growth came between 1989 and 1992.

Since 1992, medical device spending has remained essentially constant at about 6 percent of national health care spending, the report said. In 2010, the last year studied, spending on medical devices and in-vitro diagnostics totaled $156.3 billion.

“Unlike other areas of health care, the prices of medical devices have been growing much more slowly,” said Ann-Marie Lynch, AdvaMed’s executive vice president for payment and health care delivery policy.

Over the past 21 years, device and diagnostic prices have increased at an average annual rate of one percent, compared to the overall Consumer Price Index increase of 2.7 percent, the Medical Care CPI increase of 4.7 percent and the Medical Care Services CPI increase of five percent.

“We are proud of the value we deliver as an industry to patients worldwide and look forward to sharing the results of this new study with Members of Congress and other policymakers as they consider changes to the health care delivery and payment system in the United States,” said Lynch.

Sweeping health care reform legislation passed last year included a provision for a new tax on medical devices to help extend coverage to more Americans.

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TAG:Advanced Medical Technology Association Medical Devices Health Care Medical AdvaMed

TI shows embedded tablet with $70 BoM

TI shows embedded tablet with $70 BoM

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Texas Instruments slashed the cost of tablets for a broad range of embedded markets with a reference design that has a bill of materials of just $70. TI’s Electronic Tablet (eTab) could cost halve the price of an Apple iPad Mini or Kindle Fire and is aimed at a laundry list of vertical markets from hospitals to retailers.

The eTab is based on TI’s Sitara AM335x SoC, a single core ARM Cortex-A8 running at up to 720 MHz that costs as little as $5 in volume. The seven-inch tablet also includes a number of TI analog chips and a TI Wi-Fi/Bluetooth combo device, in total about $13 in TI parts.

“It’s a non-traditional tablet that could be used as anything from a home automation solution to a replacement for a printed menu in a restaurant,” said Troy Coleman, a marketing director at TI.

[Get a 10% discount on ARM TechCon 2012 conference passes by using promo code EDIT. Click here to learn about the show and register.]

The Sitara SoC includes a touch screen controller, graphics engine, Ethernet MAC and industrial comms subsystem with support for standards such as Profibus. The system runs Android 4.0 and Linux.

TI commissioned AllGo Embedded Systems, a design services company based in India, to build the reference design (below). “Its 80 percent of the way there” for OEMs who want to add their own custom features and software, said Coleman.

The eTab “allows developers in industrial markets to quickly customize and differentiate their tablets with minimal risk,” said K. Srinivasan, chief executive of AllGo Systems in a press statement.


TAG:Texas Instruments ETab Tablets Embedded Sitara ARM

翡翠赌石行话解读（三） 玉观音_玉貔貅_价格_图片_收藏_鉴赏—妙瑞可翡翠网

翡翠赌石行话解读（三） 玉观音_玉貔貅_价格_图片_收藏_鉴赏—妙瑞可翡翠网

       翡翠赌石的真实写照，可谓是“疯子买，疯子卖，还有疯子在等待”。多少人可以为之倾家荡产、卖屋麦田，就是为了去赌石。翡翠赌石并不是我们积攒财富的来源，所以望大家珍重。

多看少买

       无论是翡翠成品或者是原石，我们都要坚持一点，就是先看清到胸有成竹的时候，才下手。因为翡翠赌石的水很深，但还是又很多人前去填这样的坑，所以也有人称翡翠赌石是世界上“最复杂的游戏”，所以我们在赌石的和四核，要慎重的反反复复的观察、认认真真的分析翡翠原石的外部特征，看清优势和劣势所在，还要多做调查，对翡翠原石的货源、价格有充分才了解后，做到货比三家才行赌石或者购买。

【价格机制】 ￥16600元 .
【尺　　寸】 高：59.7mm 宽：41.8mm 厚：10mm 
【颜　　色】 黄翡
【透 明 度】 二分之一透明

宝贝描述：冰种黄翡的质地和色泽，水头很圆润。一款能很好将龙的图腾和佛教文化结合在一起的宝贝。

缅甸翡翠A货冰种黄翡祥龙观音吊坠 19546

擦口高三分

       在翡翠原石被开采出来后，会有不少相玉的行家对每一块翡翠籽料进行认真的研究，有的可以解开，有的可以擦口。当然，擦口的翡翠原石，必须是这块原石中种水色最好的部分，所以这样的擦口也叫做是“神擦口”。凡是有这样擦口的翡翠原石，在赌石的时候，会使它和别的原石看起来显得更独特一些，就是所谓的“高三分”。但是我们在赌石的时候，并不能根据这个擦口来判定整块石头内部的情况。

（特惠）缅甸翡翠A货糯冰种黄翡手镯（56mm）19573

宁买一线，不买一片

       翡翠的绿色可以呈现多样的形状，常见的有带绿、星团绿、靠皮绿和均匀绿等等。翡翠颜色的“一线”是指条状绿或者是带状绿；而“一片”则是指靠皮绿。翡翠原石的绿色如果是呈现带状的，则说明其的绿色是有色根的，是很好的。，相对的价值也就很高。而如果是“一片”状的，则会被人觉得是没有色根，价值不高，仅仅可能是靠近翡翠原石才有的绿色而已。

（特惠）四季常青天然翡翠四季豆吊坠（一对） 20472

一刀穷，一刀富，一刀披麻布

       这样的一句话，可谓是翡翠赌石行业的真实写照。翡翠原石中的未知因素太多，赌石的时候，一块翡翠原石中也常会有不同成色的部分，故而子啊解玉的时候，在原石的不同位置和方向切开，所展露的翡翠肉质情况也是不同的。所以一刀切下去可能什么都没有，那么原石的价值就会下跌，也叫做解垮了。而如果再换一刀从另外的位置和方向切割，又有可能出现高绿甚至是满绿，顷刻间翡翠原石的价值就会提升，也叫做是解涨了。

（特惠）缅甸翡翠A货糯冰种飘翠平安扣吊坠 20262

本文由妙瑞可翡翠商城的钟潇云整理编辑，任何公司或个人不得转载，转载必究。

本文主要介绍了：翡翠赌石     翡翠赌石行话解读    文章来源：妙瑞可翡翠商城 （ www.colbao.com ）

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Crowds flock to ARM engineer training

Crowds flock to ARM engineer training

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Free training for engineers who want to qualify under the ARM Accredited Engineer (AAE) program proved a big draw on the opening day of the ARM TechCon exhibition and conference.

AAE is a program of engineer certification been rolled out by ARM Holdings plc (Cambridge, England). The room selected for the all-day training seated about 150 and was full for large parts of the 6 hours of classes.

In July, ARM signed up Prometric Inc. (Baltimore, Md.) to design and deliver the AAE certification program for software and hardware engineers. Demand for this type of certification of engineers is coming from Taiwanese employers in particular, but also appears to be finding traction in Asia-Pacific region in general among employers, engineers and universities, according to sources close to the program.

[Get a 10% discount on ARM TechCon 2012 conference passes by using promo code EDIT. Click here to learn about the show and register.]

Qualification as an AAE is by computerized test that costs between about $100 and $200, depending where in the world the test is taken. The free day of training was valued at $500 and came with a 20 percent discount towards the cost of taking the exam.

ARM offered two days of free training at ARM TechCon based on the AAE syllabus and culminating in the chance to sample a mock test giving a flavor of what the full exam will be like. A source said that registration had been high prior to the opening of TechCon and that a high proportion had shown up on the day, as many as 170 people.

ARM TechCon is organized by UBM Electronics, the publisher of EE Times.


Related links and articles:

ARM to introduce engineer certification

Additional ARM exams coming early in 2013

10 Hot Topics at ARM TechCon


TAG:ARM Accredited Engineer AAE ARM engineer training hardware software

Quad patterning a possibility at 10nm, says TSMC

Quad patterning a possibility at 10nm, says TSMC

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Quad patterning may be needed for 10-nm process technology if extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography is not ready in 2015 or so when Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. expects to start early production of the technology.

That’s the view expressed by Jack Sun, chief technologist at TSMC, in a brief interview after his keynote at the ARM TechCon here Tuesday (Oct. 30). Sun said quad patterning--four passes through a lithography stepper using four different masks--was one of several options TSMC is exploring as it works on path finding for the process.

Earlier, Intel said it has found a way to make 10-nm chips using quad patterning that is still cost effective. It aims to start production of chips in the process in as little as two years.

[ARM TechCon 2012, the largest ARM design ecosystem under one roof, is Oct. 30 - Nov. 1 in Santa Clara. Click here to learn more]

In his keynote here, Sun showed the same near-term roadmap for TSMC the company showed at its own event earlier this month. It includes starting limited test production of 20-nm planar chips by the end of the year and a 16-nm FinFET process starting test production late next year.

Sun said the new 20-nm process holds traditional advances of as much as 35 percent in performance and power capabilities. New transistor structures like FinFETs will provide an even greater boost, he said.

As for 10-nm, TSMC “is in serious path finding development of it,” he said. “In the next five years, we can see down to 5 nm easily, but of course there are some path finding challenges yet to come,” he added.

Sun also reported TSMC has successfully made prototypes of both FPGAs and graphics processors using its Chip on Wafer on Substrate (CoWoS) process. The technique, also known as 2.5-D packaging, links multiple die laid side-by-side on a common substrate.

He also noted SMC reported in June progress making through silicon vias as small as 50 microns, about half the size of previous interconnects.

TSMC and partners in total spent an estimated $11,9 billion on their chip design and manufacturing ecosystem, Sun said. “That’s bigger than any single company, and its open--it is one of the biggest innovation forces” in the industry, he said.


Related story:

• TSMC taps ARM's V8 on road to 16-nm FinFET
• ASML doubles down on EUV
• Chip World Faces Facts: EUV Lithography No Sure Bet
• ASML to buy lithography source vendor Cymer
• Moore's Law threatened by lithography woes

TAG:ARM Tech Con 3 D ICs Quad Patterning Chip Design Jack Sun TSMC Lithography CoWoS Intel

翡翠蝴蝶吊坠的寓意、价格、图片赏析 玉观音_玉貔貅_价格_图片_收藏_鉴赏—妙瑞可翡翠网

翡翠蝴蝶吊坠的寓意、价格、图片赏析 玉观音_玉貔貅_价格_图片_收藏_鉴赏—妙瑞可翡翠网

       翡翠蝴蝶吊坠，顾名思义，就是将翡翠雕刻成蝴蝶的样式，这类型的翡翠吊坠，主要是应用在翡翠首饰的制作中。

       翡翠以灵动活变的特性，将中国的传统文化，演绎得淋漓尽致。蝴蝶也以它的风采，款款蝶翩舞的姿态，受到了世人万间的宠爱。二者的结合在一起，缔造了很多经典不朽的传奇。

       庄生晓梦迷蝴蝶，望帝春心托杜鹃。

       岁月流年沉淀，一场梦魇，一场独望。也许我们都在时间的冲刷中，冲刷去了我们的尖锐。无论是岁月的迷离或者是我们等到尘埃落定的时候，我们愿一场大梦，分不清自己。一蝴蝶，一翡翠，皆是我们浮生若歇的写照。究竟是庄生迷着了蝴蝶，还是蝴蝶迷着了庄生，我们是不懂的。我们所能体会的，只是它背后所寄托的美好愿景，也许无关爱情，无关风月，只关于我们自己一个人的精神世界，我们可以筑造我们的精神花园，在花园中，可以陪着蝶舞翩连。

       复此从凤蝶，双双花上飞。寄语相知者，同心终莫违。

       翡翠蝴蝶吊坠，虽然只为女士单独锻造和佩戴，但翡翠蝴蝶吊坠背后所蕴含的深意，却是很多人所不知道的。我们我们无法在这个物欲横流的社会里，能如梁山伯和祝英台般，化蝶双双飞。可是我们可以为我们心爱的人送上一款翡翠蝴蝶吊坠，借助翡翠明亮纯粹的质地，或者是深沉内敛的色底，寓意我们心底最纯真的爱意。至此，凤尾竹轩蝶双飞，寄语同心复相知。那怕人生路上再如何的风雨交加，吹乱了蝴蝶的踪影，可对你的爱，依旧不变。待风翻竹帘，紫檀香悠然飘起时，亦可以成双飞回。

       古来君子风，不在蝴蝶中。

       这话看着是反，实际上蝴蝶是一种颇具君子之风的动物，无论是独处，抑或是群居，它们都有各自的守望。而翡翠的传入，以其悠远深邃、洁白晶莹的质地，为中国的玉石文化增添了新的活力，也补充了中国玉石文化中渐渐老去的精髓。翡翠蝴蝶吊坠与内敛、沉郁、修性修身为主的中国传统文化内涵恰是不谋而合，所以我们佩戴一款晶莹碧透、内蕴坚实的翡翠挂坠或是吊坠，都是古之君子之风的体现。君子之道，慎独行。并非一定要是男性才可称为君子，女性在独处的时候，更是妇德的体现时候。佩戴一款翡翠蝴蝶吊坠，是能随时告诫我们，不管是身处哪里，只要能做好自己、对自己负责，才能谈得及去对别人好，才能谈得及去对负责。

       自古就对蝴蝶有好感的国人，都将蝴蝶的形象蕴含在中国的一山一水、一草一木、唐诗宋词、水墨丹青之中。而翡翠蝴蝶吊坠，正是国人将这样的心态和追求所雕刻而出的，寓意了夫妻恋人当成双成对，对爱情的忠贞，等待破茧化蝶飞；更寓意了我们当自强不息、珍爱生命及君子慎独行的含义；蝴蝶因与耄耋的意思相近，也寓意了年老长寿，我们将翡翠蝴蝶吊坠送老人，是祝愿老人健康长寿。

本文由妙瑞可翡翠商城的钟潇云整理编辑，任何公司或个人不得转载，转载必究。

本文主要介绍了：翡翠    翡翠蝴蝶吊坠寓意      翡翠蝴蝶吊坠价格     翡翠蝴蝶吊坠赏析     文章来源：妙瑞可翡翠商城 （ www.colbao.com ）

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London Calling: LED genies and the Internet of Things

London Calling: LED genies and the Internet of Things

Has the Internet of Things arrived at last in the shape of a Philips box available for $199 from the Apple store? Perhaps. And for once. I am inclined to agree with a company executive when he says this is a "game hanger."

Still, the advent of wireless, IP-addressable LED light bulbs in a box begs many questions. The technical ones are fairly straightforward.

Philips has engineered a system called "hue," a necessarily complex system requiring multiple, colored LED die, driver ICs, microcontrollers, ac-to-dc voltage converters, wireless transceivers, ZigBee and thousands of lines of software. All this complexity replaces a simple evacuated glass envelope enclosing a strand of engineered metal.

[Get a 10% discount on ARM TechCon 2012 conference passes by using promo code EDIT. Click here to learn about the show and register.]

The complexity does allow the digital control of the color and brightness of household lighting via a connected tablet computer or smartphone anywhere in the world. The scenario also assumes the homeowner also has a Wi-Fi router.

It sounds appealing and looks so seductive in the box, especially since it costs only $199. That's relatively cheap considering the promised functionality. It also is probably no coincidence that a hue LED light bulb is finished in brushed metal and glass just like an Apple iPad.

Still, the social questions raised by hue may not be so easy to answer as the technical ones.
Next: Emotionally challenging
TAG:Internet of Things Peter Clarke London Calling Philips LED Apple lighting IoT

The x86 is dead. Long live the x86

The x86 is dead. Long live the x86

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Technologies never die. Like sine waves, they just rise and fall and rise again.

So it is and will be with the Intel x86 microprocessor architecture. What was once a wimpy core among a forest of superscalar and Reduced Instruction Set Architectures, the x86 came to dominate.

The x86 is now poised awkwardly at a peak after one of the greatest rocket rides in high tech history, entering a phase that will someday be described as a decline. It will decline, but it won’t crash and burn. It will live to a ripe old age and maybe someday experience a re-birth.

[Get a 10% discount on ARM TechCon 2012 conference passes by using promo code EDIT. Click here to learn about the show and register.]

That’s certainly what Rory Read believes. The Advanced Micro Devices CEO hopes to go on creating custom x86 processor cores for a very long time.

Along with Lisa Su, Mark Papermaster and others, Read also has been planning for some time how AMD will also make ARM-based processors He telegraphed those plans from his first analyst event when he talked about the importance of ambidextrous SoC architectures.

I asked him if that meant AMD would make ARM-based chips. He evaded the question and said only, “it’s a slow reveal.”

October 29, 2012, marked another point in that slow reveal. In a small conference room in a hotel at the foot of San Francisco’s Bank of America building, Read announced AMD will ship ARM-based server CPUs starting in 2014. They target the rapidly expanding market of mega data centers, the home of the Web.

It was an historic moment I described with tongue in check on Twitter as “The Death of Wintel, Part 2.” Part 1 came a week earlier when Microsoft announced Windows 8, the first version of the mainstream PC operating system to support ARM as well as x86.
Next: Last man standing
TAG:Rory Read Intel ARM X86 PCs Smartphones Tablets RISC Computers Servers

Custom cores in the cards for AMD, ARM?

Custom cores in the cards for AMD, ARM?

SAN FRANCISCO -- I’m betting Advanced Micro Devices has or plans to get an ARM architectural license. But the big question is whether it will survive long enough to use it.

AMD staked out the unique position of being the first company designing both x86 and ARM server chips. But it’s a dicey position to be in .

Today Intel sells server chips that cost $2,000 or more. AMD struggles to make a business selling chips that have similar performance at half the price. When we get to the ARM server SoC era in 2014 we may be talking about $30 as a high-end part.

[Get a 10% discount on ARM TechCon 2012 conference passes by using promo code EDIT. Click here to learn about the show and register.]

Ouch! Ask AMD CEO Rory Read how he will ride that water slide and he talks about the move from custom designs to SoCs. Sure, you can turn out more chips faster with fewer engineers when building them out of existing intellectual property blocks. But there are still a few hitches to contend with.

IP blocks often have to be re-jiggered when you drop them into a new SoC, especially if it’s in a new process or linking to blocks other than those in the previous design. That’s especially the case if your company is fairly new to SoC design, as is AMD.

Both Read and his general manager of products, Lisa Su, were clear AMD is not getting out of custom design altogether. AMD will still design its own x86 cores—and I suspect custom ARM cores in the future.

Neither Read or Su would answer a direct question about whether AMD has taken an ARM architectural license needed to design custom ARM cores. But the indication I get from both of them is they will do custom cores, given enough time.

Both execs were clear they will retain custom engineering capabilities. Su noted AMD recently hired processor guru Jim Keller, who has worked both on past AMD Opteron custom CPUs and ARM SoCs.

Custom work is certainly not on the near-term horizon. Initially AMD is just licensing ARM’s Atlas 64-bit core to pack into its 2014 chips. But further out it could get a chance to expand its horizon.
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TAG:ARM Servers 64 Bit AMD ARM Servers Intel Facebook X86

Slideshow: Inside IBM’s superconductor lab

Slideshow: Inside IBM’s superconductor lab

SAN JOSE, Calif. – IBM cited progress in its quest for an atomic-level memory technology that could someday replace hard disk drives and said the hunt for room-temperature superconductors continues.

“There’s no barrier [to finding room-temperature superconductors], it’s just a question of finding the route,” said Stuart Parkin, an IBM Fellow and manager of its magnetoelectronics group in an interview with EE Times during a symposium on the topic at IBM Almaden Research Lab here.

Superconductors offer no electrical resistance, opening the door to advances such as high-speed trains and power transmissions, but to date they require cooling to extremely low temperatures using liquid nitrogen. With room-temperature superconductors you could more easily “build quantum computing devices, exquisitely sensitive sensors to explore phenomena such as brain waves, store and transmit energy more effectively and manipulate more objects with levitation,” said Parkin.



TAG:Racetrack Memory Stuart Parkin IBM Memory Superconductors Superconductivity MRAM Racetrack Research

AMD to ship ARM-based server SoCs in 2014

AMD to ship ARM-based server SoCs in 2014

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Breaking with its long history as an x86 PC chip maker, Advanced Micro Devices is formally throwing its hat into the ring of ARM server chip makers. Just how far the chip maker goes down the ARM road, how fast--and how successfully--remains unclear.

The long-time x86 CPU maker will design a 64-bit ARM SoC based on ARM’s own V8-compliant core which it will ship in its own SeaMicro branded systems in 2014. AMD will market the chips as merchant offerings to other OEMs and sell the chips in new versions of oits own SeaMicro servers.

AMD is not designing its own ARM cores initially. It would not comment on whether it will take an ARM architecture license to design custom ARM cores in the future. The decision to use ARM’s own core design—the Atlas 64-bit core that is a successor to the ARM A15—is apparently driven by AMD’s time-to-market goals.

[Get a 10% discount on ARM TechCon 2012 conference passes by using promo code EDIT. Click here to learn about the show and register.]

The effort marries AMD’s deep server expertise with Sea Micro’s unique interconnect fabric to compete in a market for 64-bit ARM server SoCs that is rapidly getting crowded. Whether the products will help AMD pull out of its slump in the x86 sector remains to be seen.

AMD last week announced the layoff of 15 percent of its employees amid 10 percent revenue declines, expanding its focus on embedded systems. Given AMD's dire situation, it’s surprising the company is not moving even more aggressively into ARM-based servers and custom ARM core designs.


Next: Turning point for AMD
TAG:ARM Tech Con ARM Servers AMD ARM CPUs Processors Intel Servers

Windows Phone 8 targets everyone but business users

Windows Phone 8 targets everyone but business users

NEW YORK – The most memorable tag line for Windows Phone 8 announced by Microsoft on Monday (Oct. 29) is: "We reinvented smartphones around YOU."

The question is, who exactly among the "YOU" is Microsoft targeting? Judging from a variety of use-case scenarios for the Windows Phone 8 discussed by Microsoft officials, the new smartphone is tailored to the following demographics:

• Baby boomers with failing eyesight who need “large print” smartphones. Microsoft is bringing to the Windows 8 user interface super-sized “live tiles” that show the latest updates on Facebook posts and other available apps.
• Penny-pinching senior citizens who worry about whether their use of certain apps may exceed a data quota. Microsoft is integrating “Data Sense” to optimize a user’s data plan. It compresses every Web page, automatically takes advantage of Wi-Fi and matches data usage to a user’s data plan.
• Permissive parents who can’t say no to kids when they beg to play with their phones. These hypothetical moms and dads will love Microsoft’s “Kid’s Corner," an isolated space created in the Windows Phone 8 that allows them to eat dinner in peace while the kids mess around on the smartphone.
• Grandparents who want to see mash-up pictures of their grandkids posted on Facebook, which automatically shows up when a lock screen appears.
• Busy parents wants to share calendars or a shopping list within the family. The “Family Room” app is cordoned off from the otherwise universal contact list on a parent’s smartphone. Entries made in the “Family Room” can be updated live so that any family member can access the shopping list and volunteer to pick up Mom’s favorite brand of organic bread – pictured onscreen – on the way home.
• So-called “me-generation” members who want to tailor “titles” on their user interface screen to stuff only they care about.
• Photo enthusiasts who want easy access to Facebook and other social networks when they take pictures. Windows Phone 8 will automatically save the photos in the original high resolution using Microsoft’s Sky Drive.
• Cheapskates who want to talk on Skype instead of using cellphone minutes. Skype is now integrated with Windows Phone 8 so that it is always on, but without running code and consuming power.
• Seniors who can’t find their reading glasses. Windows Phone 8 has apps like “Urban Spoon” that allows voice questions, sparing oldsters from pushing a lot of buttons as they search for the local restaurant with the cheapest “early bird special.”

Windows Phone 8 user interface

TAG:Windows Phone 8 Microsoft

IBM claims carbon nanotube IC breakthrough

IBM claims carbon nanotube IC breakthrough

SAN FRANCISCO—Researchers from IBM Corp. have demonstrated a new approach to carbon nanotechnology that they say opens up the path for commercial fabrication of chips with transistors made of carbon nanotubes.

Many believe that carbon nanotubes will one day replace silicon technology in semiconductors, enabling the continued scaling of chips to smaller feature sizes. Carbon nanotubes have electrical properties that are more attractive than silicon, particularly for building nanoscale transistor devices that are a few tens of atoms across, scientists say.

Claiming a first, IBM (Armonk, N.Y.) said its researchers placed more than 10,000 working nanotube transistors on a single device using standard semiconductor processes. Previously, according to IBM, scientists have been able to place at most a few hundred carbon nanotube devices at a time, not nearly enough to address key issues for commercial applications.

[Get a 10% discount on ARM TechCon 2012 conference passes by using promo code EDIT. Click here to learn about the show and register.]

According to IBM, the new approach paves the way for circuit fabrication with large numbers of carbon nanotube transistors at predetermined substrate positions. Eventually, more than 1 billion nanotube transistors will be needed for future integration into commercial chips, IBM said.


IBM researcher Hongsik Park looks over wafer with 10,000 carbon nanotubes. The wafer was tested in a commercial fab setting at IBM.
Credit: IBM Research/Flickr link

TAG:Carbon Nanotube IBM Transistor

Two burning questions for ARM this week

Two burning questions for ARM this week

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – ARM will flex its muscles at its annual ARM TechCon here this week, an event to which I bring two questions.

One question is, what’s the deal on a 64-bit ARM core design? Last year, ARM announced at the event its 64-bit V8 architecture and Applied Micro tipped plans to design a custom core compliant with it for its X-Gene server SoC.

[Get a 10% discount on ARM TechCon 2012 conference passes by using promo code EDIT. Click here to learn about the show and register.]

Earlier this month, TSMC said it will validate its 16-nm FinFET process using an ARM V8 design. At the time, ARM suggested V8 products would start hitting the market around 2015. So, I fully expect to get some chapter and verse this week about exactly what this ARM 64-bit core will look like and when it might appear in products.

Incidentally, I also expect Applied will demo the first working ASIC version of X-Gene. And my colleague, Peter Clarke, expects ARM CEO Warren East will appear at today’s AMD press conference where there may be discussion of merging x86 and ARM cores in future AMD SoCs.

My second question is, what real value will big/little bring to mobile workloads that a single—say Intel x86 Atom CPU—can’t deliver? We heard a fair amount last year about ARM’s concept for pairing a mix of a Cortex or higher CPU with an ARM 7-ish core to achieve better performance per watt levels that either chip could do on its own.

Nvidia jumped on this bandwagon early with its Tegra 3 that uses four Cortex and one lower end ARM core to reduce energy drain in mobile systems. What’s not clear to me is exactly what sort of MIPS per Watt advantage such big/little designs will have over a straight Intel Atom.

ARM has a whole wealth of microcontroller-level designs that are proliferating in the embedded space from a variety of vendors such as NXP and others. If ARM really can leverage that to get to something an Intel Atom can’t deliver it would further distance the U.K. company from its archrival in Santa Clara. I don’t expect a microcontroller-level x86 from Intel anytime in the future.

No doubt there will be a few surprises along the way this week. We’ll be watching that microcontroller space, looking for any initiatives in the Internet of Things space, for instance.

So, let the fun and the Q&As begin.

Related stories:

London Calling: ARM riding shotgun for AMD?

TSMC taps ARM's V8 on road to 16-nm FinFET

ARM TechCon to tip 'big-little' processors

Red Hat joins Applied in ARM server drive
Next:
TAG:ARM Tech Con 64 Bit ARM Big Little ARM Intel X86 Mobile TSMC

London Calling: ARM riding shotgun for AMD?

London Calling: ARM riding shotgun for AMD?

I am writing this at 38,000 feet on my way to California primarily to attend ARM TechCon, the conference and exhibition organized by EE Times' publisher UBM Electronics on behalf of processor intellectual property licensor ARM Holdings plc (Cambridge, England).

I don't see Warren East, CEO of ARM, on the flight but East flying west would make sense as he scheduled to be in downtown San Francisco on Tuesday (Oct. 30) and to provide a keynote address to ARM TechCon on Thursday (Nov. 1). And I have a hunch these may not be East's only speaking engagements.

On Monday processor vendor Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (Sunnyvale, Calif.) is also holding a press conference in downtown San Francisco. CEO Rory Read and Lisa Su, senior vice president and general manager of global business units are due to present on the company's "ambidextrous strategy" and there will be an as yet unnamed special guest!

AMD is gradually and painfully trying to drag itself away from a dependence on the x86 processor architecture and the personal computer market. The company has been trying to effect this change for some time and for the last several months has referred to a strategy that would build on the company's history of x86 and graphics innovation while embracing other technologies and intellectual property.

In the recent conference call to discuss AMD's latest weak third quarter financial results Read and Su talked about re-applying AMD and third-party IP to embedded markets in servers, gaming, communications and industrial infrastructure. The third-party reference was rather general and the pair barely mentioned, ARM but it could be that they were keeping their powder dry for the forthcoming event.

Back in 2011 it was revealed that ARM had been trying to sell its IP to Advanced Micro Devices for some time and I argued that AMD-ARM made sense. At the time a lot of argument focused on the wisdom of take Intel on in the PC world with ARM. Of course with hindsight – and predictions of a flat or declining PC market – it can be seen that the argument should have been about taking on Intel in embedded markets and not the PC market.

I have no knowledge of whether Warren East is the special guest mentioned by AMD. But if AMD is serious about an "ambidextrous strategy" it should have signed an ARM license or licenses some time ago and this week could be a good opportunity to announce a strengthened AMD-ARM partnership.


Related links and articles:

AMD eyes ARM IP, realignment

AMD, ARM, Imagination, TI, MediaTek form HSA group

AMD creates embedded IC business unit

Why AMD is opening up Fusion: cores are the new gates
TAG:Peter Clarke Warren East London Calling ARM AMD processor IP semiconductor

国内的绿松石等级划分标准

国内的绿松石等级划分标准

　　根据颜色、光泽、质地和块度,我国工艺美术界一般将绿松石划分为三个等级:

　　(1)一级绿松石:呈鲜艳的天蓝色,颜色纯正、均匀,光泽度强,半透明至微透明,表面有玻璃感.质地致密、细腻、坚韧,无铁线或其他缺陷,块度大称极品松石.

　　(2)二级绿松石:呈深蓝、绿蓝、翠绿色,光泽较强,微透明.质地坚韧,铁线或其他缺陷很少,菜黄色:颜色呈油菜籽一样,质地细腻,其颜色可以和翡翠相比美.

　　(3)三级绿松石:呈浅蓝或蓝白,浅黄绿等色,光泽较差,质地比较僵硬,铁线明显.

来源:新浪收藏


TAG:国内的绿松石等级划分标准 翡翠 翡翠手镯 中国翡翠网 翡翠新闻

恒大古玩城展名家玉雕

恒大古玩城展名家玉雕

　　晨报记者徐颖报道 由上海市收藏协会等推出的“非物质文化遗产传人海派玉雕大师作品展”,日前在板泉路的恒大古玩城举办.展览为期一周,国内各地名家书画、高古青瓷精品、海外回流古玩艺术品同时出展.

　　展览中,有70多件国内大师作品露面,其中一件吉祥如意瓶采用整块和田籽料精雕细刻而成,堪称精美,不少罕见玉料也首次亮相.展览期间,主办方还特邀专家为观众做文物古玩的欣赏、投资、收藏讲座.

来源:新浪收藏


TAG:恒大古玩城展名家玉雕 翡翠 翡翠手镯 中国翡翠网 翡翠新闻

London Calling: ARM rides shotgun for AMD?

London Calling: ARM rides shotgun for AMD?

I am writing this at 38,000 feet on my way to California primarily to attend ARM TechCon, the conference and exhibition organized by EE Times' publisher UBM Electronics on behalf of processor intellectual property licensor ARM Holdings plc (Cambridge, England).

I don't see Warren East, CEO of ARM, on the flight but East flying west would make sense as he scheduled to be in downtown San Francisco on Tuesday, October 30 and to provide a keynote address to ARM TechCon on the Thursday November 1. And I have a hunch these may not be East's only speaking engagements.

On Monday processor vendor Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (Sunnyvale, Calif.) is also holding a press conference in downtown San Francisco. CEO Rory Read and Lisa Su, senior vice president and general manager of global business units are due to present on the company's "ambidextrous strategy" and there will be an as yet unnamed special guest!

AMD is gradually and painfully trying to drag itself away from a dependence on the x86 processor architecture and the personal computer market. The company has been trying to effect this change for some time and for the last several months has referred to a strategy that would build on the company's history of x86 and graphics innovation while embracing other technologies and intellectual property.

In the recent conference call to discuss AMD's latest weak third quarter financial results Read and Su talked about re-applying AMD and third-party IP to embedded markets in servers, gaming, communications and industrial infrastructure. The third-party reference was rather general and the pair barely mentioned, ARM but it could be that they were keeping their powder dry for the forthcoming event.

Back in 2011 it was revealed that ARM had been trying to sell its IP to Advanced Micro Devices for some time and I argued that AMD-ARM made sense. At the time a lot of argument focused on the wisdom of take Intel on in the PC world with ARM. Of course with hindsight – and predictions of a flat or declining PC market – it can be seen that the argument should have been about taking on Intel in embedded markets and not the PC market.

I have no knowledge of whether Warren East is the special guest mentioned by AMD. But if AMD is serious about an "ambidextrous strategy" it should have signed an ARM license or licenses some time ago and this week could be a good opportunity to announce a strengthened AMD-ARM partnership.


Related links and articles:

AMD eyes ARM IP, realignment

AMD, ARM, Imagination, TI, MediaTek form HSA group

AMD creates embedded IC business unit

Why AMD is opening up Fusion: cores are the new gates


TAG:Peter Clarke Warren East London Calling ARM AMD processor IP semiconductor

buying_the_best_ski_jacket_for_your_skiing_trip Womens Leather Handbag On Sale

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buying_the_best_ski_jacket_for_your_skiing_trip Womens Leather Handbag On Sale

TAG:

Woods and taller grass are generally Womens Leather Handbag On Sale

Residence burglary is surely an raising issue in the past few years in fact it is simply no wonder many householders want directly into investing their funds directly into buying will save you, security and security alarm devices. In america we have a theft every 13 seconds plus more as compared to 70% of burglaries are usually household burglaries, specifically in tiny suburban locations. For making concerns worse simply 14% individuals even have virtually any kind of security alarm and also a normal theft costs the particular homeowner above $2, 000!

The goal nowadays is always to look at a few techniques for security alarm to see the best way to stop a theft from ever before taking place.

This is certainly anything inside the collections in the adage “fight flame together with fire” and a lot crucial a part of Online game Theory is always to consider like your challenger. In such cases the particular enemy are usually clearly intruders who want to access your property and also rob an individual of your respective things. Benefits phase is always to attempt to consider each of the a weakness your property could have. Take into account changing your a lock, putting in stronger entrances, windows shutters and also car port rollers. What is more recognize an attack ensure you locking mechanism everything way up while you are certainly not at your home rather than depart any 1st floor house windows open while you’re out.

Timber, woods and taller grass are generally not anything you desire inside your lawn and even close to your house windows. Intruders often make use of these regarding cover and you should undoubtedly trim or perhaps lessen whatever obstructs your look at. Do not make the particular thieves’ career any less difficult! What is more recognize an attack confer with your neighborhood friends and possess every one be on the lookout regarding suspicious exercise constantly. Very good cooperation in just a area often assists in keeping that will area resistant to criminal offenses and also this will be even easier to accomplish just in case you are now living in a flat developing.

Even as we mentioned previously quite a individuals security alarm systems inside their residence. It truly is genuine that numerous industry’s offer security alarm monitoring providers that numerous aren’t find the money for, nonetheless it is additionally genuine that you have constantly cheaper choices. Action sensor security alarm systems and also vibration-sensitive alerts cost properly beneath $75 today identified confirmed themselves to get somewhat successful. When something, just know which you have a home security system set-up at your home provides you with satisfaction to help you concentrate on additional concerns.

Woods and taller grass are generally Womens Leather Handbag On Sale

TAG:

Robots making inroads in the home, study finds

Robots making inroads in the home, study finds

WASHINGTON -- As the U.S. population ages, proponents of robotics technology are finding growing acceptance of robotics technology to assist with household chores.

A study by Georgia Tech researchers released this week found growing acceptance of “assistive robotic” help over human assistance for performing routine but taxing chores like cleaning, laundering and taking out the trash. The survey of respondents ages 65 to 93 found a willingness to adopt robotics technology for 48 common household tasks.

Respondents were less enthusiastic about robotic assistance with personal care like getting dressed and eating or social activities.

“The people we interviewed were very enthusiastic and optimistic about robots in their daily lives,” said Georgia Tech researcher Cory-Ann Smarr. “They were also very particular in their preferences, something that can assist researchers as they determine what to design and introduce in the home.”

The results of the robotics study were presented this week at a meeting of the Human Factors Ergonomics Society in Boston.


(Source: Georgia Tech)

TAG:Assistive Robots Georgia Tech Household Chores Robotics

Samsung's Q3 smartphone shipments double Apple's

Samsung's Q3 smartphone shipments double Apple's

SAN FRANCISCO—Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. shipped more than twice as many smartphones as Apple Inc. in the third quarter, as the South Korean company dramatically expanded its lead over its U.S. rival, according to ABI Research.

Samsung's lead over Apple in smartphone shipments has expanded dramatically in the past year thanks to the popularity of its newer models such as the GALAXY S III. In the third quarter of last year, Samsung shipped about 35 percent more handsets than Apple, according to ABI.

"Samsung looks to be running away from the pack, while Apple's new product portfolio continues to eat into its decreasing gross margins," said Michael Morgan, a senior analyst at ABI, in a statement. According to Morgan, to match its 2011 iPhone shipment growth of 96 percent, Apple would need to ship 94 million smartphones in the fourth quarter.

[Get a 10% discount on ARM TechCon 2012 conference passes by using promo code EDIT. Click here to learn about the show and register.]

In the calendar third quarter, Samsung shipped 55.5 million smartphones, up 109 percent from the third quarter of 2011, according to ABI. Apple's smartphone shipments, meanwhile, grew to 26.9 million, up 58 percent from the third quarter of 2011, the firm said.



TAG:Samsung Apple Smartphone Shipments Double

China innovation drive defies conventional wisdom

China innovation drive defies conventional wisdom

WASHINGTON – The widely held view in the West is that the centers of Chinese innovation can be found in Beijing, with its government largesse and tightly integrated university system, and Shanghai, with its gleaming towers and far-flung industrial parks.

The conventional wisdom has it that the Pearl River Delta that includes the booming city of Shenzhen and surrounding Guangdong province is nothing more than China’s sweatshop.

That view is precisely backwards, argues America’s foremost scholar on Chinese innovation policy, Dan Breznitz of Georgia Tech’s Sam Nunn School of International Affairs. Breznitz, the co-author of a landmark 2011 book, “Run of the Red Queen: Government, Innovation, Globalization and Economic Growth in China,” was one of the first western thinkers to probe the inner workings of China’s evolving approach to innovation and what it means for the global economy.

The book’s thesis is that in a world of globally fragmented production, “China does not need to master breakthrough innovations to achieve success.” Instead, like the Red Queen from Lewis Carroll’s “Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There,” China needs only to keep pace with technological innovations elsewhere, then master later stages of innovation.

Therefore, China’s vaunted “indigenous innovation” campaign is really “second-generation innovation,” Breznitz argues.



TAG:Run of the Red Queen Dan Breznitz China Innovation Shenzhen Breznitz

Spansion sees strong embedded, consumer growth for flash

Spansion sees strong embedded, consumer growth for flash

SAN FRANCISCO -- Embedded and consumer markets and a broadeningporfolio of flash memory devices will continue to drive increasedbusiness for memory maker Spansion Inc. in the coming months, butglobal economic uncertainty marked by political change is dampeningindustry growth, Spansion CEO John Kispert said Thursday (Oct. 25).

"Our adoption is up, and we're getting into new markets with broaderproduct lines," Kispert said in an interview, as he announcedSpansion revenues of $239.7 million and profits of $5 million,numbers within a range of financial guidance the company gave duringits second quarter. The quarter continues a strong showing from acompany that only last year came out of a difficult bankruptcy andrestructuring period.

Spansion revenues in consumer markets (home gateways and digitalcameras, for example) were 39 percent, up a full 10 percentage pointsthe same quarter last year and up 2 percentage sequentially. Thecompany's other strong suits, gaming and communications, saw thepercentage of overall revenues rise to 32 percent from 23 percent inthe third quarter of 2011.

Overall, Spansion reported 520 design wins in the quarter, up fromthe 458 in the secondquarter.

Industrial challenge

The company's big challenge came in its industrial andtransportation sector, which dropped to 23 percent of total revenuesfrom 29 percent in the same period a year ago. Automotive was flat,and industrial sales were hampered by government spending.

"We're having record design wins [in industrial], but revenue isweaker and that's a sign of the times," said Kispert (shown, right). "Most of ourindustrial business is driven by government spending, and that'sdried up."



Next: NAND design revenue rolls
TAG:Spansion NOR NAND flash embedded automotive industrial consumer gaming non volatile memory semiconductors

Red Hat joins Applied in ARM server drive

Red Hat joins Applied in ARM server drive

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Red Hat Inc. said it will support X-Gene, the 64-bit ARM server SOC family from Applied Micro Circuits Corp. Applied is expected to demo the first working ASIC version of the SoC at the ARM Tech Con next week.

The annual ARM conference will host a handful of events related to the company’s server initiative to offer lower power alternatives to x86 servers. They include demos of ARM servers from Boston Ltd. and Taiwan’s Mitac using 32-bit ARM server SoCs from Calxeda and Marvell, respectively.

[Get a 10% discount on ARM TechCon 2012 conference passes by using promo code EDIT. Click here to learn about the show and register.]

“We have a multi-year history in the ARM space, and already have our community-powered Fedora Linux distribution running on Applied Micro hardware in our labs,” said Jon Masters, Chief ARM Architect at Red Hat, speaking in a press statement from Applied.

“Red Hat is collaborating with AppliedMicro to enable support for ARM's 64-bit ARMv8 architecture used in the upcoming X-Gene,” said Masters, who is also speaking at next week’s ARM Tech Con. “We aim to have a remix of Fedora 19 available in time to support the roll out of that platform,” he said in the statement.

Applied announced X-Gene at last year’s ARM Tech Con. Since then it has shown working samples of an FPGA version of the design, and at Hot Chips in August non-working samples of the ASIC.

“Open source is a key piece of the equation that delivers the cost efficiency, power and performance needed to serve evolving data center workloads,” said Vinay Ravuri, general manager for X-Gene at Applied. “We believe this collaboration with ARM and Red Hat will transform the cloud server market."

Applied previously secured support from other Linux distributors including Ubuntu.

Also at ARM Tech Con next week, a Russian software group will describe an x86-to-ARM translation tool aimed at servers, said an ARM server director in a blog posting. Samsung is not expected to announce at the event its widely reported plans for an ARM server SoC, but the ARM executive said he will speak at a separate Samsung event in San Jose, Calif., next week.

Related stories:

• AMCC demos 64-bit ARM server chip
• Calxeda roadmap leads to 64-bit CPU in 2014
• ARM gets weapon in server battle vs. Intel

TAG:ARM Tech Con Red Hat ARM Servers ARM Servers Linux X86 Intel Calxeda Marvell

Electronics supply chain unprepared for conflict minerals law

Electronics supply chain unprepared for conflict minerals law

SAN FRANCISCO—The U.S. electronics supply chain is unprepared to comply with federal conflict mineral disclosure requirement that goes into effect in less than two years, according to market research firm IHS iSuppli.

Roughly 90 percent publicly-traded U.S. component manufacturers have thus far not produced the data or documentation to fulfill the new regulatory requirement to detail the presence of so-called conflict minerals in their supply chains, according to IHS. The rule requires firms to file their first disclosure reports by May 31, 2014.

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Conflict minerals—those mined in conditions or armed conflict and human rights abuses—include tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold. These minerals are used in a wide range of components across the electronics supply chain, according to IHS.

In August, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved a final rule that implementing conflict mineral requirements mandated by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act. Under the terms of the SEC ruling, publicly traded electronics companies must disclose whether they use conflict minerals in their products and must state what efforts they have undertaken to ensure that their use of the raw materials does not contribute to human atrocities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and adjoining countries in Africa.

According to IHS, conflict minerals are employed in all kinds of electronics products, from cellphones to hearing aids, to pacemakers and jet engines. For example, the firm estimates that 15 cents worth of tantalum was contained in every smartphone shipped when Dodd-Frank was signed in 2010. In 2012, this would amount to $93 million worth of tantalum in smartphones alone, the firm said.

"Large electronic original equipment manufacturers use tens of thousands of parts that must be examined to determine their conflict mineral content," said Rory King, director, supply chain product marketing at IHS.

Given the size and complexity of the task, King said the roughly 19 months remaining until the rule goes into effect is not a great deal of time for firms to communicate, collect, analyze and prepare information on mineral sources across a globally diverse, multi-tier supply chain.

According to IHS, the SEC rule directly applies to an estimated 5,994 companies that file reports to the SEC and to hundreds of thousands of their suppliers.

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• Accountability Comes to the Boardroom
• Ethics and freedoms are not global

TAG:Conflict Minerals IHS iSuppli Law Requirment SEC

Tech jobs expand, says pre-election report

Tech jobs expand, says pre-election report

SAN JOSE, Calif. – The U.S. high tech industry added nearly 100,000 jobs from January to June 2012, a modest but steady 1.7 percent employment gain, according to a report from TechAmerica Foundation.

The communications services sector was the one weak spot, losing 10,700 jobs in the period, the report found.

The survey was based on an analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. It comes days in advance of the Nov. 6 U.S. presidential election in which the lack of strong jobs growth since the 2008 recession has been a major campaign issue.

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The tech industry group focuses its lobbying efforts on policies and does not endorse candidates. Nevertheless, the timing and generally upbeat nature of the jobs report would appear to be targeted at boosting support in Silicon Valley and elsewhere for President Obama.

The U.S. tech industry saw monthly job gains in 16 of the 18 months examined in the report through June 2012. Total tech employment grew from 5.8 million to nearly 6 million over the 18-month period, an increase of 3.3 percent, or nearly 200,000 jobs, the report found.



Click on image to enlarge.Except for two down months, high tech jobs grew over the last 18 months, TechAmerica said.

TAG:High Tech Jobs U S Elections Presidential Elections TechAmerica Foundation Jobs Comms Obama

Fossil Handbags Encounter the Quality of Fossil Handbags Womens Leather Handbag On Sale

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Fossil Handbags Encounter the Quality of Fossil Handbags Womens Leather Handbag On Sale

TAG:encounter fossil handbags quality

Marvell's Weili Dai to critics: 'Don’t bet against us'

Marvell's Weili Dai to critics: 'Don’t bet against us'

NEW YORK – After warnings last week of falling quarterly sales stemming from weak PC demand, Marvell Technology Group sought to change perceptions about the company’s prospects that one analyst called “less than inspiring.”

Countering several financial analysts who have downgraded Marvell, co-founder Weili Dai stressed in an interview that Marvell is ready for the coming “super-integration era” of storage (controllers for solid state drives), connectivity, video, 3-D graphics and modem technologies for Ultrabooks, tablets, smartphones and smart TVs. According to Dai, not even rival Broadcom has the “ingredients” necessary for broad range of future smart devices.

Dai stopped short of providing specifics as to when she expects the so-called “super-integration” era to start contributing to Marvell’s bottom line.

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Sticking mostly to company talking points, Dai (right) cautioned against betting against Marvell – especially the company’s staying power. “We don’t live by quarters. We are here to stay [for the] long term.”

She noted that Marvell has rebounded several times in the past, proving naysayers wrong. Among the examples: Marvell’s entry into the cut-throat HDD controller business 17 years ago; its decision to buy Intel’s XScale processor division in 2006; and development of its own TD-SCDMA modem chip.

Marvell also stresses its leading position in SSD controllers which will become an important ingredient in a range of products beyond Ultrabooks. The company is hoping other key elements including connectivity, multicore CPUs, modem, graphics and video will also play a critical role in smart devices, including smart TVs, smartphones and tablets.

Marvell - RIM connection

The key issue for financial analysts is that Marvell seems unable to find the right customers.

Gary Mobley of Benchmark Co. called Marvell’s quarterly results and underlying guidance “less than inspiring.” “Some large diversified chip companies such as Broadcom seem to have an uncanny ability to find the right growth end markets (e.g. comm ICs) and the right customers (e.g. Apple)," he said in a research note. "Marvell, on the other hand, continues to struggle with too much exposure to no-growth markets (e.g. HDDs; 47 percent of revenue) and has suffered along with struggling customers (e.g. RIM). We reiterate our Hold rating.”

Indeed, Marvell owes its initial success in mobile phones to design wins in RIM’s Blackberry. As RIM tanked in the smartphone market, so have Marvell's fortunes. Asked about company plans to make up for losses associated with RIM in the global market, Dai stood by her customer, noting, “You should know that I go to the war for my customers. RIM is going through some tough times. Sure, as a part of the ecosystem, we are affected. But I am confident that RIM will be leading the pack with its enterprise software capability.”

Marvell is meanwhile betting big on its multimode, multifrequency band TD-LTE modem chip set for TD-SCDMA and LTE markets. The TD-LTE modem must operate on TD-SCDMA and GSM in the China Mobile network, while offering a roaming capability on 4G and FDD. Marvell’s PXA1802, announced last February is designed to meet those requirements. “This will become a foundation for our global leadership,” claimed Dai.
Next: TD-LTE modem chip set
TAG:Marvell Weili Dai Co founder Smartphones

Apple may falter with faster iPad pace

Apple may falter with faster iPad pace

Apple is running faster to keep ahead of the tablet competition, but that’s not necessarily a good thing.

Releasing one big product a year gave past iPads panache. The new model was more eagerly anticipated. It could leverage a broader set of maturing technologies to make it different from last year’s model.

When you are rolling these babies out every six months they are no longer an iPad2 or 3, just the new iPad. Even now, the view is getting a bit blurry I suspect for Apple fans given Apple generically called the last two models the new iPad.

“Did you get the new iPad? No, I mean the new, new iPad?”

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Now what was new about it again? The current model is mainly distinguished by a faster processor with better graphics, but that’s starting to sound like the old PC market.

In mobile systems, we know the speed that counts is the network. Here Apple is pretty much on par with everyone else adopting 802.11n Wi-Fi and LTE cellular. The company has even been a bit behind the curve adopting the latest wireless nets compared to Samsung, LG and others.

With its iPad Mini, Apple is following competitors from Amazon to Samsung into the new-for-it small form factor. True, they did so with an outsized 7.9-inch display and an ultra thin and light package.

The added inch of display created a 30 percent larger display area. When you compare actual useable space for Web pages—given Android’s use of tool bars—the iPad Mini offers 49 to 67 percent more room, said Apple’s veteran marketer, Phil Schiller who went to pains to show how much better a range of apps look on the new, new iPad than on Android tablets.

“They have phone apps stretched up, not tablet apps,” he said.

Samsung knows how to play the game of quickly rolling out broad portfolios of products. It releases 50 smartphones a year compared to Apple’s still once-a-year iPhone.

Perhaps the new new iPad is a temporary experiment. Apple steps on the gas a bit to see what happens to its markets and supply chains.

“It’s amazing the pace the team is at--the pedal to the metal engineering attitude is amazing,” said Schiller.

In the end, I doubt it is sustainable or helpful. I think the competition will just get tighter and differentiation will become—like the devices themselves—so thin you can barely see it.

I think the six-month tablet cycle could be a short term experiment, and one that doesn’t spread to the iPhone franchise.

Related story:

Apple steps up pace with iPad Mini

TAG:IPad Mini IPad IPhpone Apple Tablets Smartphones Samsung

Broadcom posts first $2 billion quarter

Broadcom posts first $2 billion quarter

GARDEN GROVE, Calif.—Fabless chip vendor Broadcom Corp. Tuesday (Oct. 23) reported quarterly revenue of more than $2 billion for the first time, defying difficult macroeconomic conditions that have plagued rivals to post sales increases across all of its business lines.

"Despite a challenging economic environment, we're benefiting from multiple attractive secular themes, including increasing Wi-Fi attach rates, exponential growth in network traffic and strong adoption of high-definition cable and satellite solutions in emerging markets," said Scott McGregor, Broadcom's president and CEO, in a conference call with analysts following the quarterly report.

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Broadcom becomes just the second fabless company to achieve $2 billion in sales in a single quarter, after rival Qualcomm Inc.

Broadcom's better than expected quarter sales stand in contrast to those of several other chip vendors that whose results were hurt by macroeconomic conditions and sagging PC sales, including Intel Corp., Texas Instruments Inc., Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and Marvell Technology Group Ltd.

McGregor said Broadcom (Irvine, Calif.) is riding a strong product roadmap and design win momentum despite the macroeconomic headwinds. "While we may see some variation in our business in the short term due to macroeconomic conditions, Broadcom is extremely well positioned for the future," McGregor said.

McGregor said the third quarter also marked the first time that the company generated more than $1 billion in sales from its mobile and wireless business segment.

Next: By the numbers
TAG:Broadcom Fabless Billion Quarter

Noise to the outside, silence inwards

Noise to the outside, silence inwards

A major European automaker will integrate the HALOsonic External Sound Synthesis (ESS) equipment from infotainment group Harman in a line of plug-in hybrid vehicles. HALOsonic generates sound outside the vehicle in order to provide an acoustic warning to pedestrians - electric and hybrid vehicles are extremely silent, in particular at low speeds.

Hybrids and electric vehicles present a safety concern at low speed as they often cannot be heard and recognized. HALOsonic ESS generates a synthesized sound, dependent on speed and direction, and projects it from an exterior mounted speaker, giving an early identifiable warning to pedestrians that the car is approaching.

The sound is projected only in the direction of travel, fading away almost instantly once the vehicle has passed. A synthetic engine 'idle' sound is also produced when the vehicle is switched on and placed in gear.

Several countries such as USA, Japan and parts of Europe have either implemented or are currently reviewing legislation to state that hybrid and electric vehicles must emit a recognizable sound above a minimum noise level to help improve pedestrian safety.

Vehicle manufacturers are striving to meet new environmental and emission standards by a variety of means including, for instance, lowering vehicle weight by reducing the amount of noise-dampening insulation in a car's headliner. In doing so, cabin noise often increases. Harman's HALOsonic can produce sounds not only external to the vehicle, but generate noise-cancelling sound inside the vehicle that helps meet environmental goals while increasing driver comfort.

The company did not elaborate as to the availability of the technology for the public.

This article originally appeared on EE Times Europe.

TAG:HALOsonic External Sound Synthesis hybrid vehicle acoustic warning pedestrians

Microsoft launches all-in-one streaming music service across its Windows 8 and Windows RT tablets and PCs

Microsoft launches all-in-one streaming music service across its Windows 8 and Windows RT tablets and PCs

Microsoft has introduced Xbox Music, an all-in-one music service that enables users to stream custom-created playlists for a paid subscription, through the cloud.

In an effort to integrate the music experience across users' tablet, PC, phone and TV. Xbox Music has more than 30 million songs in its global catalog. The service will first be accessible through the Xbox 360 and later this month on Windows 8 and Windows RT PCs and tablets and on mobile phones. To launch the service, the first six months will be free, with limited hours of free streaming after 6 months. Paid subscription would grant unlimited access after the first 6 months.

"The launch of Xbox Music is a milestone in simplifying digital music on every type of device and on a global scale," said Don Mattrick, president of the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. "We're breaking down the walls that fracture your music experiences today to ensure that music is better and integrated across the screens that you care about most — your tablet, PC, phone and TV."

Xbox Music makes music simple by offering immediate and comprehensive discovery across the different types of devices you own, streaming music on Windows 8 and Windows RT tablets and PCs, the ability to purchase songs and albums, a compelling music subscription, and artist-based radio.

Available in the coming year, a scan-and-match feature will take users beyond the 30 million tracks globally offered through Xbox Music. It will add all the music that users own to the Xbox Music cloud catalog, including music acquired through other services. This means users will be able to add almost any content they may have to their personal Xbox Music collection.

Microsoft plans to make Xbox Music available on other platforms in the coming year.

Xbox is Microsoft's premier entertainment service for the TV, phone, PC and tablet.

More information at http://www.xbox.com.

This article originally appeared on EE Times Europe.

TAG:streaming music Xbox Music service cloud Microsoft

Apple steps up pace with Mini, iPad 4, A6X

Apple steps up pace with Mini, iPad 4, A6X

SAN JOSE, Calif. – A new full-sized, fourth generation iPad sporting an upgraded A6X processor was the surprise of Tuesday's (Oct. 23) Apple roll-out event. Apple also surprised users with a slightly bigger than expected iPad Mini with a 7.9-inch display.

The iPad Mini goes on sale Nov. 2 starting at $329 for a Wi-Fi-only version with 16 Gbytes of flash, weighing in at 0.68 pounds and measuring 7.2-mm thick. Otherwise, the new, smaller tablet is a generally unremarkable device that roughly compares in specs to the iPad 2.

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The bigger surprise is that Apple was ready to roll a new full-size iPad just six months after releasing its last version. As with its last model, Apple did not give the new tablet a specific name, such as iPad 4, suggesting the move to shorter product cycles will likely continue.

The new full-sized iPad is powered by a custom A6X with two CPU and four graphics cores. Apple claims it offers twice the CPU and twice the graphics performance as the previous A5X.

As usual, Apple provided no other details about the new chip except to say it would provide performance needed for the tablet’s 5-megapixel camera and its 3.1-megapixel display. The latest iPad will again have the 10-hour battery life of its previous generation.

With the faster product cycles and new form factor, Apple is rolling up its sleeves for tightening competition in tablets. The roll out comes the same week Microsoft will formally release Windows 8 along with its Surface tablet and OEM tablets using the software.

Apple’s launch event here made it clear it has Amazon’s Kindle family and Android tablets squarely in its sights as it tries to expand an already rapidly growing franchise.

Apple CEO Tim Cook extolled the virtues of an updated Apple iBook app and textbook authoring program, clearly aiming at Amazon’s franchise. Phil Schiller, Apple’s marketing vice president, compared the experience of a variety of apps on the new iPads versus on Android tablets.

Apple remains far ahead of the gathering competition. It sold its 100-millionth iPad two weeks ago, two and a half years after it launched the original product, Cook said.

In addition, Apple now has 200 million users of its latest iOS 6 operating system, he added. “This is the fastest upgrade rate of any operating system we are aware of,” he claimed.

Even before the formal launch, market watchers predicted Apple’s iPad Mini would help double the size of the seven-inch tablet market this year.

“The iPad 4 and the Apple A6X announcement caught me completely off-guard,” said Allan Yogasingam, technical research manager at UBM TechInsights, part of UBM LLC, the publisher of EE Times. “Apple is testing the goodwill of their consumers by launching a new, improved iPad 4 with an improved processor just six months” after its last iPad, he said.

The name A6X may suggest Apple’s continued use of the SGX graphics cores of Imagination Technologies, he added. Apple’s A6 used the SGX 543MP3, said Yogasingam who has helped tear down past Apple iPhones and iPads.

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Photo gallery: Inside the Apple iPad 2

Apple Mini may max tablet sales

Why Microsoft Surface will be a no-show in Japan

TAG:Seven Inch Tablets IPad Mini Windows 8 Apple IPad Tablets A6X Processors Amazon Surface