iPhones and iPads, the Largest Chip Buyers in 2010

In the past year, apparently apple has been the super star in electronic world. People all over the world are all crazy for their products like Iphones. Naturally, apple has surpassed HP being the largest chip buyer in electronic field.

 

It said that driven by the booming demand for the iPhone and iPad, Apple Inc. has become the largest buyer of semiconductors among original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) for the ?rst time ever in 2010.

 

Let’s see some data first. In 2010, apple bought Rs.78,125 crore worth of semiconductors, a 79.6 per cent increase from Rs.43,303.57 crore in 2009. This represented the highest rate of increase among the world’s Top 10 OEM semiconductor buyers, allowing Apple to rise up two positions to take the no. 1 rank in 2010. However, when looking back, in 2009 Apple was the third-largest semiconductor purchaser, behind Hewlett-Packard Co. of the United States and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd of South Korea while it was only sixth in 2008.

 

There are facts to explain this changing rank.

 

Firstly, Apple in 2010 was the world’s no. 1 purchaser of NAND flash because Apple’s surge to leadership insemiconductorspending in 2010 was driven by the overwhelming success of its wireless products, namely the iPhone and the iPad. These products consume enormous quantities of NAND flash memory, which is also found in the Apple iPod.

 

Although Apple and Hewlett-Packard have been rivals in the computer space for many years, an examination of their respective semiconductor expenditures shows that the two companies are fundamentally different.

 

Secondly, thanks to iPhones and iPads, Apple is more a maker of wireless devices than a computer manufacturer. The company spent approximately 61 per cent of its semiconductor budget in 2010 on wireless products such as iPhones and iPads. In contrast, 82 per cent of Hewlett-Packard’s 2010 semiconductor spending was dedicated to computer products like desktops, notebooks and servers.

 

Also, according to IHS, Apple’s strength in hardware sales lies in its device and media ecosystem—every Apple product is connected through iTunes/iOS and is synergetic with all other Apple products. Through this common ecosystem, Apple leverages each device to sell other devices, with the rising device sales to consumers in turn leading to increased semiconductor purchasing by Apple.

 

According to IHS, Apple is likely to continue increasing its semiconductor spending during the coming years at an above-average pace, allowing the company to extend its lead over Hewlett-Packard, Samsung and other OEMs in 2011 and beyond.

 

 

 

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Get closely to Unveiled Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory

According to the industry news, many expected that the 3^rdquarter would see quite optimistic conditions in electronics markets, and by the end of last month,ON  Semiconductor ,the premier supplier of high performance silicon solutions for energy efficient electronics convinced us electronic markets is continue to expand that they have released new electrically erasable programmable read-Only memory (EEPROM) devices for the automotive, medical, and consumer markets. 

The EEPROM devices include the high density 512 kilobit (kb) CAT24C512 and 1 megabit (Mb) CAT24M01, which have a 1.8 volt (V) to 5.5 V supply voltage range. The CAT24C512 and CAT24M01 employ 256 byte and 128 byte page write buffers respectively. Both devices support Standard 100 kilohertz (kHz), Fast 400 kHz, and Fast-Plus 1 megahertz (MHz) serial I2C protocols. These devices are manufactured on a 0.18 micrometer (µm) low power CMOS process at the ON Semiconductor owned and operated Gresham, Oregon facility.

In addition, the company introduced a series of AEC-Q100 qualified EEPROMs for automotive designs. These devices have a 2.5 V to 5.5 V supply voltage range and support the Standard and Fast I2C protocols. Both the 64 kb CAV24C64 and the 32 kb CAV24C32 feature 32 byte page write buffers, while the 2 kb CAV24C02, 4 kb CAV24C04, 8 kb CAV24C08 and 16 kb CAV24C16 incorporate a 16 byte page write buffer. These devices are also manufactured at the Gresham facility, on a 0.35 µm process.

It said that all of the new EEPROM devices feature a 100 year data retention period and support for 1,000,000 program/erase cycles. The operating temperature range of these serial EEPROMs is −40 °C to +125 °C.

According to their launched news, they indicated that further products will be added to the portfolio later this year, including versions of both the high density and automotive devices with SPI interfaces, to complement the I2C interface products.

"The state-of-the-art ON Semiconductor facility in Gresham, Oregon, provides us with advanced, in-house manufacturing technology and substantial capacity to provide a stable supply chain for EEPROM products," said Dev Nair, marketing director for EEPROM products at ON Semiconductor. "We are pleased to be able to offer high density and automotive qualified I2C EEPROMs to our broad customer base, and look forward to expanding the portfolio further with SPI EEPROMs later this year." He added.

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Latest Expectation on Electronics Supply Chain in Q3

In the past half year, the overall electronic industry sees a not too bad and not so good half year in 2011. In this year we have experienced the largest tsunami that almost destroyed the whole electronic supply chain historically.

According to IHS,the entire electronics industry is expected to complete its rebound from the disaster by the end of the third quarter as some some companies having already recovered from the Japanese earthquake.

Electronics companies with operations near the epicenter of the quake that had suffered building and equipment damage are expected to restore full shipments by early September, six months after the quake, which occurred on March 11, 2011. The restoration will coincide with the peak season for electronics and semiconductor sales in the third quarter.

“In the history of the electronics supply chain, nothing has had such a broad impact as the Japan earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster,” said Dale Ford, senior vice president for semiconductor market intelligence at IHS, speaking at the IHS Design & Supply Chain Global Summit last week in San Jose, Calif.

 “The worldwide repercussions of the catastrophe illustrated the global and interconnected nature of the electronics industry, with the impact of the disaster reverberating through the materials, components and equipment segments of the supply chain. However, even the semiconductor companies suffering the most direct damage from the quake, full production will resume near the end of the third quarter.” He added.

The duration of production disruptions varied depending on distance from the earthquake epicenter. Affected companies that were farthest from the epicenter took only one to two weeks to restore production, while companies closest to the disaster could take as long as four to six months to return to normal—depending on their response to the disaster.

IHS has identified 14 semiconductor suppliers and four silicon wafer makers in Japan that were impacted by the quake.

The timing of the recovery will be fortuitous. Following normal seasonal patterns, global semiconductor revenue growth will hit an annual crescendo in the third quarter, with a sequential rise of 7.4 percent. This compares to a 1.4 percent decline in the first quarter, a 2.9 percent increase in the second quarter and a 3.1 percent rise in the fourth quarter.

The disaster also had varying impacts on assorted segments of the semiconductor market. The impact was most severe on automotive equipment, given that Japan accounts for 31.5 percent of global semiconductor production for automotive electronics. Consumer electronics bore the next greatest impact, with a moderate effect on production. Here, Japan is responsible for 45.1 percent of global consumer electronics semiconductor production.

In comparison, the impact on the wireless and data processing semiconductor markets was mild, while the wired communications segment wasn’t affected at all.

However, as one of this industry, we believe that there are still much more difficulties ahead, many companies in the supply chain would still face difficult time forecasting demand levels and managing component inventories. As a hub in electronic component industry, all we need to do is to be confident and more focus on our services and developments.

 Article source：http://www.hqew.net/events/news-article/239.html

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MT9D015: Reduced Latency and Overall Image Quality for Mobile Phones

T9D015, today’s electronic component is a newest sensor which can providemobile phonesless lag time between shots and better image qualityis a newest sensor released by Aptina.

Days before, Aptina, the leading provider of CMOS imaging solutions announced the introduction of its MT9D015 mobile image sensor. The 1/5-inch, 2-megapixel (MP) sensor meets the growing needs of the mobile market for primary and front-facing cameras for still image and video capture within smartphones.

The sensor's 1.75-micron pixel uses the latest Aptina A-Pix technology, enabling improved performance and increased low-light sensitivity. Used as a primary camera, the new sensor provides exceptional performance for DSC-like image capture including reduced latency (less lag time between shots) and overall image quality. For front facing video applications, the sensor captures video in high definition (HD) at 720p/30fps for an enhanced video chat experience.

The most important reason hat why we have to pay attentions on this product is that this MT9D015 is a cost-effective, compact, sensor-only solution that is capable of meeting camera integrators' low z-height requirements to enable thinner phones.

"The MT9D015 is a versatile imaging solution for mobile camera applications, providing camera integrators with a high definition imaging sensor that can capture video at 30 frames per second," said Farshid Sabet, Vice President and General Manager of Aptina's Mobile, PC Gaming Business Unit. "The sensor leverages the Android  platform's native support for primary and front-facing cameras, making camera integration easier." He added.

Let’s get closed to unveiled the this new sensors. According to the design report, the 2MP MT9D015 provides integrators with an advanced feature set to enhance mobile camera applications without overlapping integrator's processor functions. The 1.75-µm pixel in the sensor uses the latest generation Aptina A-Pix technology to deliver a leading 2MP sensor with excellent dynamic range and high sensitivity.

It is said that the  sensor  enables full resolution snapshots at 30fps for reduced shutter lag, and video capture that leverages the technology advancements in processors supporting 720p resolution. Smooth video recording in 720p/30fps format via high quality scaling provides and maintains full field-of-view makes for excellent HD video capture as a primary camera, or a friendlier video chatting experience when used as a front-facing camera.

Designers can use single-lane MIPI for compatibility with a variety of image processors, and the sensor's one time programmable memory enables storage of camera module and lens correction information. The sensor's architecture delivers essential ISP features like defect correction, scaling and lens shading correction, and leverages the growing capability in the back end processor for an efficient 2MP, 720p video camera module solution.

As a primary camera and a front-facing camera for smartphone, MT9D015 is sure to provide an excellent experience for most digital fans.

 Article source: http://www.hqew.net/events/news-article/237.html

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What Segments Contributes More to 2011 Semiconductor Rise

These days, many research companies have released their latest forecast on  semiconductor industry. Market reports from IHS andWSTS both indicates a little rising on 2011 chip shipments.

2011 might be still a good year for electronic markets though there are many nature disasters across the world. It is said that theglobal semiconductor revenue in 2011 is projected to amount to $325.9 billion, up from $304.1 billion in 2010, according to a newly revised forecast. The previous IHS iSuppli outlook released in April predicted revenue would rise by 7 percent for the year.

Dale Ford, senior vice president for semiconductor market intelligence at HIS said, thanks to the hardiness of the global electronics supply chain, the semiconductor industry is set for a year of solid growth in 2011.

The healthy rise in 2011 comes on the heels of the torrid 32.2 percent increase in 2010 when the market rebounded from the recession-driven downturn of 2009. Following the 7.2 percent increase in 2011, growth will then moderate during the following two years, rising by 4.8 and 4.0 percent, before accelerating to 8.0 percent and 7.5 percent expansions during the next two years.

Let’s come to see what factors have make contributions to this shipment rising.

One factor is theyear’s strongest performers in Semiconductors, Spurred by consumer demand including the 3 segments as follows:

First, also the most important one is the wireless and mobile segments. The strongest semiconductor demand growth in 2011 will be driven by the wireless and mobile segments, led by the proliferation and high demand for devices such as media tablets, smart phones, e-book readers, solid state drives and handheld video game players. Because of this, wireless communications will generate the strongest increase in semiconductor revenue of all chip application markets in 2011, with a 17.6 percent increase.

Second, the mobile PCs field. Despite the popularity of tablets such as Apple Inc.’s iPad, mobile PCs also will be a healthy contributor to semiconductor growth this year. This will help make the data processing category the third-fastest growing semiconductor application market in 2011, with growth of 6.2 percent.

Third, the smaller industrial electronics segment. The much smaller industrial electronics segment will be the second-fastest growing semiconductor application market, with revenue rising by 7.3 percent. Sectors achieving slower expansion this year will include consumer electronics at 3.1 percent and automotive electronics at 3.0 percent.

The other factor is the image sensors that leads market growth. The fastest-growing semiconductor product segments in 2011 will be image  sensors, NAND flashmemory, light-emitting diodes, microprocessors, discrete components, sensors and general-purpose analog integrated circuits.

Because of these products, the collective revenue is projected to rise by more than 12 percent in 2011, with complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensors leading all products with 36 percent growth. We should be still optimistic that there is another half good year for semiconductor industry.

Article source: http://www.hqew.net/events/news-article/233.html

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Why They Run Beyond The Microsoft Deal?

While people are still immersing in the excellent experience that brought by Apple’s, Nokia introduced a sleek touch-screen smartphone, the N9, with a useful innovation not found on any competing device, including the iPhone and Google’s Android phones on Tuesday, in Singapore. 

When checking from our domestic cell market, we can see that the N9 has been on the shelf though marked with the tag of coming soon. “It’s optimized for one-hand use,” said Marko Ahtisaari, Nokia’s head of design, whose team devised the N9, which allows users to switch between applications with a thumb, avoiding the need to return to a main menu screen or press a button, something required on both the iPhone and Android phones.

On an 40-mimute interview by NYT, Mr. Elop, a 47-year-old Canadian who ran Microsoft’s Office products division before joining Nokia, used the words “innovate” or “innovation” 24 times to describe Nokia’s such move. It is said that the N9 runs a variant of Nokia’s MeeGo operating system, a product of Nokia’s short-lived venture with Intel, the chip maker. The device was already in the pipeline when he arrived last fall, but Mr. Elop said he saw its potential and accelerated its release, working closely with his design chief, Mr. Ahtisaari, who now reports directly to him. Mr. Ahtisaari said design had a new priority at Nokia, a company traditionally run by radio engineers.

Why Nokia released a new product beyond its Microsoft deal？ Many people would occur with such question. The main reason, we believe may be that Nokia is turning to change the highly embarrassing situation that created by its strongest rival, the Apple. Late last year, the Apple iPhone became the best-selling device at Finland’s leading mobile operator, which traps Nokia in a really embarrassing situation in the cell phone filed. 

In view of the pending Microsoft introduction, Mr. Elop described the N9 as “one step in the journey to demonstrate that we are executing.”

Carolina Milanesi, an analyst for Gartner in London, said the N9 was a “night and day” improvement over its predecessor, the N900. “They have created something that consumers will want,” Ms. Milanesi said.

Mr. Elop suggested that many N9 innovations might be incorporated into the new Microsoft line.

Obviously, Nokia is just trying to do everything they can to call back customer’s attentions that we are still here, we are still competitive and innovative to make more you want.

 Article source: http://www.hqew.net/events/news-article/224.html

2011 Is Expected to Be A Record Year for Fab Equipment Spending

According to Semi’s latest report on semiconductor equipment spending and manufacturing capacity, it said that in 2011, there are an increasing capital expenditure and a growing installed semiconductor manufacturing capacity while Fab construction spending, decelerates this year and in 2012.  Semi’s database tracks spending, capacity and technology node projects for every fab worldwide by company. Spending covers new and used equipment for production, pilot, and R&D fabs, including investments for LED device fabrication.

“2011 is expected to be a record year for fab equipment spending. Since February, some companies have increased capex guidance and, as a result, fab equipment spending should reach an all-time high of about $44 billion. The spending pace is expected to decline 6% to $41 billion in 2012, yet will remain the second highest annual level on record.” said Christian Gregor Dieseldorff, senior analyst of fab information in the SEMI Industry Research and Statistics group.  “However, the number of new volume fabs starting construction is historically low, with potential implications for industry capacity plans in 2012 and beyond.”

SEMI’s database indicates that 17 new volume fabs (including 13 LED fabs) have a high probability (>60%) of beginning construction this year. Excluding the LED fabs, SEMI predicts only four volume fabs will begin construction this year and another four in 2012. The SEMI fab database also now identifies candidates for investment in the potential transition to manufacturing on 450 mm wafers. Sometime in 2012, the industry will likely see initial equipment expenditures for 450mm pilot development. Construction of the first 450 mm ready facilities began last year, and more will begin construction this year. Overall fab construction spending slows this year and in 2012.

The earthquake in Japan on March 11 may have some short-term effect on utilization rates and capacity output, but will not have a significant impact on installed capacity.  Recent Fab Capacity (without Discretes) growth seems to be leveling off to below 10% growth annually.

Installed capacity is expected to increase about 9% in 2011 and 7% in 2011. In 2010, the growth rate in capacity of Foundry fabs surpassed Memory fabs, and this trend is expected to continue in 2011, as Foundry capacity will increase by 13% while Memory capacity will increase by 8%. Growth of LED dedicated fab capacity remains in the double-digits with over 40% estimated in 2011, though lower capacity growth is forecasted in 2012. Memory dominates the worldwide installed fab capacity with a 38% share of the capacity this year, followed by foundries with about a 29% share. 

More spending indicates larger demand from the markets, we believe that there are many chances in 2011 and 2012, however, we have to notice that more expanding also means much harder and complicated competition situation in this semiconductor field. 

 Article source:

http://www.hqew.net/events/news-article/225.html