 |
NEWS & VIEWS |
Taipei,
Sunday, November 22, 2009
09:02 (GMT+8)
|
|
|
Subject: Bits + chips > IC design |
Aptina adds Micron 8-inch fab in Japan to its production line Nov 20, 16:45 Aptina Imaging plans to use Micron Technology's 8-inch fab in Japan as a CMOS image sensor (CIS) production site since it is still unable to immediately support short lead-time orders from clients, according to Aptina CEO David Orton. Aptina will also consider using fabs in Taiwan for manufacturing some of its CIS products in the future, Orton added. Read more |
|
|
Toshiba to form China joint venture for system LSI assembly and testing Nov 20, 16:36 Toshiba on November 20 announced it plans to team up with Nantong Fujitsu Microelectronics (NFME), a joint venture owned by China-based Nantong Huada Microelectronics, Fujitsu of Japan and others, for system chip assembly and testing in China. The companies expect to enter into a definitive agreement in January 2010 and to establish the joint venture in April 2010. Read more |
|
|
|
 |
IC design houses see influx of short lead-time orders from China Nov 20, 14:44 Taiwan-based IC designers are seeing increased short lead-time orders for December 2009 from China, as OEMs and vendors place orders to avoid shipping delays due to uncertain weather, according to industry sources. North China is currently experiencing a blizzard which has caused traffic chaos. Read more |
|
|
Strong partnerships and complete solutions drive growth: Q&A with LSI executive VP and general manager Jeff Richardson Nov 20, 14:38 Despite the economic downturn in 2008, LSI saw annual revenues increase. With complete solutions and a strong position in the storage and networking markets, LSI is expected to continue growing. In a recent interview with Digitimes, Jeff Richardson, executive VP and general manager of semiconductor solutions group at LSI, talked about LSI's advantages in the market and what strategies it is employing in pursuit of further success. Read more |
|
|
MediaTek and Qualcomm enter into patent arrangement Nov 20, 10:13 Qualcomm and MediaTek announced on November 20 that they have entered into a broad arrangement under each company's patent portfolios, including CDMA and WCDMA essential patents, with respect to all integrated circuit products, including CDMA and WCDMA products. Read more |
|
|
|
|
|
Sitronix to see revenues increase in November 2009 Nov 19, 15:11 Driver IC designer Sitronix Technology expects its November 2009 revenues to be higher than the NT$412 million (US$12.8 million) it recorded in October due to increasing shipments of mono-STN and color-STN driver ICs, according to the company. Other driver IC vendors such as Novatek Microelectronics and Orise Technology are expected to suffer revenue declines in November. Read more |
|
|
Princeton launches USB/SD host audio decoder IC Nov 18, 16:38 Taiwan-based IC designer Princeton Technology (PTC) has introduced the PT8921, cost-efficient single-chip solution for audio mini-combo player applications. The chip integrates a USB 2.0 FS host controller, SD/MMC host controller, sigma-delta audio-DAC and WAV/MP3/WMA/AAC audio-decoder. Few external components are needed, making the PT8921 well-suited for audio systems with USB 2.0 FS host, SD/MMC host, or iPod certified-IC control interfaces, according to the company. Read more |
|
|
ALi revenues expected to grow 5-10% in 4Q09 Nov 18, 15:11 Consumer IC design house ALi is likely to see fourth-quarter revenues increase 5-10% sequentially to NT$1.5-1.6 billion (US$46.69-49.81 million) buoyed by demand for set-top box (STB) ICs from China and Europe, according to market watchers. Read more |
|
|
MediaTek and Spreadtrum raise wafer starts at foundries for 4Q09 Nov 18, 14:31 MediaTek has placed more wafer starts at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) for the fourth quarter of 2009, buoyed by demand for white-box handsets, according to industry sources in China. Total orders from the fabless customer for the quarter are likely to increase 15% sequentially. Read more |
|
|
Hynix and Seti grab CIS orders for HP entry-level notebooks Nov 18, 13:34 Hynix Semiconductor and Seti have recently snatched CMOS image sensor (CIS) orders for most of Hewlett-Packard's (HP's) low-priced notebooks from OmniVision, by offering lower prices, according to industry sources. OmniVision has also adopted a flexible pricing strategy, hoping to take back the lost orders, the sources added. Read more |
|
|
Taiwan IC production value to shrink 8% in 2009, says TSIA Nov 18, 13:32 Taiwan's IC production value is estimated to reach NT$1.2238 trillion (US$38.43 billion) in 2009, down 8.1% on year, according to the Taiwan Semiconductor Industry Association (TSIA). Overall IC production grew 23.2% sequentially to NT$368.8 billion in the third quarter, with the manufacturing (including foundry) sector up 25.6%. Read more |
|
|
MediaTek to ship GSM/GPRS single-chip solution in December Nov 18, 12:06 MediaTek is scheduled to volume produce its first GSM/GPRS single chips MT6253 in December, according to industry sources. The solution will target white-box handsets priced at less than 3,000 yuan (US$440). Read more |
|
|
Semiconductor total available market for digital cable STBs declining through 2013, says In-Stat Nov 18, 10:24 The market for semiconductor components for digital cable set-top boxes (STBs) is projected to decrease from 2008 to 2013, according to In-Stat. In 2008, the total available market (TAM) for digital cable STB semiconductors was over US$2.7 billion. Through the remainder of the forecast period, the gradual decline in digital cable STB unit shipments will result in a decreasing semiconductor component TAM. Read more |
|
|
Consumer-IC backend supplier Greatek to move into new plant in 1Q10 Nov 17, 17:08 Chip packaging and testing firm Greatek Electronics, which focuses on the consumer electronics market, has said its new plant in Chunan, in the northern Taiwan county of Miaoli is expected to start operations in mid-December. The company plans to move into the larger production base in the first quarter of 2010, and will sell its existing Kungyi plant. Read more |
|
|
Taiwan font solution provider Arphic joins MIPS Alliance Program Nov 17, 12:11 MIPS Technologies has announced that Taiwan-based Arphic Technology has joined the MIPS Alliance Program to provide professional font support for a variety of digital devices, including handsets, netbooks, e-book readers, display panels, digital TVs (DTVs) and set-top boxes (STBs). A large number of MIPS's licensees already use Arphic's embedded font technology to reduce development time and bring competitive products to market faster. Read more |
|
|
Pixart, MediaTek and UMC cooperate for MEMS g-sensors Nov 17, 12:00 Taiwan-based CMOS image sensor designer Pixart Imaging and handset IC design house MediaTek will work with United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) to promote sales of MEMS accelerometers (g-sensors) to China-based handset IC designers and handset vendors, according to market sources. Read more |
|
|
Sonix to begin volume production of optical-touch solutions in 2Q10 Nov 16, 16:18 IC design house Sonix Technology will sample optical-touch solutions for Windows 7 certification by the end of 2009, with volume production slated for the second quarter of 2010, targeting the all-in-one PC market. The company's legal unit has been working on patent related researches to avoid infringing upon Pixart Imaging's Smart Tech patent. Read more |
|
|
Innolux-CMO acquisition brings no impact on Himax, says the IC designer Nov 16, 14:55 The acquisition of Innolux Display and Chi Mei Optoelectronics (CMO) will not impact Himax Technologies, a subsidiary of CMO, according to the LCD driver IC design house. Himax expects to see a positive effect from the merger since both panel makers are Himax' major customers. Read more |
|
|
MediaTek to see December revenues return to NT$10 billion, say sources Nov 16, 12:17 MediaTek's revenues are expected to return to NT$10 billion (US$310.85 million) in December, generating revenues of NT$29-30 billion in the fourth quarter, as order volume has been recovering, according to industry sources. However, the company has reiterated that its previous forecast, saying its fourth-quarter revenues will drop 13-19% to NT$27.8-29.8 billion. Read more |
|
|
Sunplus to dispose of 10,000 shares of Orise Newswatch - Nov 13, 16:54 Sunplus Technology has announced that it will dispose of 10,000 shares that it holds in Orise Technology, at a price of no less than NT$50 (US$1.56) each. After Sunplus withdraws from the company, Orise' second largest shareholder AU Optronics (AUO) may acquire Orise to consolidate its LCD driver IC subsidiaries, according to a Chinese-language United Daily News (UDN) report that cited market sources. Read more |
|
|
Global Unichip vice chairman and CEO KC Shih retires Nov 13, 16:34 KC Shih has retired as Global Unichip's vice chairman and CEO, but will remain as a member of the company's board of directors, according to the company. Shih founded Global Unichip 12 years ago, but decided to retire after accomplishing the goal set for the company, it said. Read more |
|
|
AMD and Intel announce settlement of all antitrust and IP disputes Nov 13, 16:13 Intel and AMD have announced a comprehensive agreement to end all outstanding legal disputes between the companies, including antitrust litigation and patent cross license disputes. Read more |
|
|
Elan expects touchscreen IC shipments to grow significantly in 4Q09 Nov 13, 12:40 Elan Microelectronics expects to ship 500,000-600,000 touchscreen ICs used in handsets in the fourth quarter, about three times the volume it shipped in the third quarter. However, the company estimates its fourth-quarter revenues will drop 8-16% to NT$1.1-1.2 billion (US$34.02-37.11 million) due to lower demand in the microcontroller unit (MCU) market. Read more |
|
|
Niche memory IC orders and ASP recovered, says Etron chairman Nov 12, 16:20 The niche memory IC market has bottomed out with improving order volume as well as average selling prices (ASPs), said Etron Technology chairman Nicky Lu. Read more |
|
|
AAT expects revenues to drop over 20% sequentially in 4Q09 Nov 12, 15:36 IC design house Advanced Analog Technology (AAT) expects its revenues to decline over 20% sequentially to NT$200-240 million (US$6.17-7.40 million) in the fourth quarter due to slow demand from the flat panel sector. The company has posted revenues of NT$80.55 million for October, in line with expectations. Read more |
|
|
Ralink revenues hit high in October Nov 12, 14:23 WLAN chipmaker Ralink Technology saw its revenues hit a record high of NT$551 million (US$17 million) in October and expects revenues to climb to NT$570-590 million in November. Read more |
|
|
ApaceWave to begin volume production of 65nm WiMAX chips in December Nov 12, 14:04 The US-based WiMAX chipmaker ApaceWave Technologies will begin volume production of 65nm WiMAX chips in December and plans to ramp production capacity to 100,000 units a month in the first half of 2010, according to CEO Gwong-Yih Lee. Read more |
|
|
Notebook related IC designers see 20% decline in October; expect rebound in December Nov 11, 15:37 Notebook related IC design houses saw sequential revenue declines of around 20% in October 2009 due to fewer working days. However, they expect revenues to rebound slightly in December and may see sequential growth in the first quarter of 2010. Read more |
|
|
Novatek, Orise October revenues drop on seasonal effects Nov 10, 15:51 LCD driver IC designers Novatek Microelectronics and Orise Technology have posted revenues of NT$2.51 billion (US$77.7 million) and NT$399 million for October, down 10.9% and 17.5% on month, respectively. Read more |
|
|
Sunplus, ALi post high revenues in October among consumer IC designers Nov 9, 17:05 IC design houses Sunplus Technology and ALi have both reported high revenues for October 2009 thanks to strong set-top box (STB) IC demand in Europe and emerging markets. Read more |
|
|
Top-20 chip suppliers 3Q09 revenues up 19% sequentially, says IC Insights Nov 9, 11:35 Global top-20 semiconductor companies, in total, registered a sales growth of 19% sequentially in the third quarter of 2009, according to IC Insights. This followed an on-quarter 19% increase in the second quarter. Read more |
|
|
MediaTek revenues drop 15% in October; expected to fall further in November Nov 9, 11:28 MediaTek has reported revenues of NT$9.64 billion (US$297.57 million) for October, down 15.33% on month. The IC designer's November revenues may continue to drop by within 10% as shipments for the end-year holiday season have completed, market sources said. Read more |
|
|
Nvidia reports growth in fiscal 3Q10 revenues Nov 6, 16:48 Nvidia has reported revenues of US$903.2 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2010 (ended October 25, 2009), up 16% from the previous quarter and up slightly from US$897.7 million reported in the same period a year earlier. Read more |
|
|
IC design house Richtek may see slight revenue drop in 4Q09 Nov 6, 12:07 Richtek Technology has estimated fourth-quarter 2009 revenues may stay flat or drop slightly to NT$2.2-2.5 billion (US$67.64 million-76.87 million). The company said it is optimistic about its 2010 outlook and expects to see strong growth momentum in the LED driver IC segment. Read more |
|
|
Himax posts nearly 10% revenue growth in 3Q09; expects 15-19% decline in 4Q09 Nov 5, 17:08 Himax Technologies has posted net revenues of US$203.1 million for the third quarter of 2009, representing a 11.7% decrease from US$230.1 million for the third quarter of 2008 and a 9.8% increase from US$184.9 million for the second quarter of 2009. Gross margin was 20.4% for the third quarter of 2009, down 410 basis points on year and down 40 basis points sequentially. The company expects revenues to decline by 15%-19% sequentially due to seasonality. Read more |
|
|
Ralink, Leadtrend and ALi to see revenues climb in October Nov 5, 16:48 Taiwan-based IC design houses, Ralink Technology, Leadtrend Technology and ALi, all expect increased revenues for October although some others may see revenues fall 15-20% sequentially in the fourth quarter due to off-season effects. Read more |
|
|
Infineon, TSMC extend collaboration to 65nm Nov 5, 16:35 Infineon Technologies and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) on November 5 announced that their development and production partnership has been extended to a 65nm embedded flash (eFlash) process technology. Based on the agreement, Infineon and TSMC will jointly develop 65nm process technologies for eFlash microcontrollers (MCUs) for automotive, chip card and security applications. Read more |
|
|
Chipbond and IST 4Q09 revenues to drop 20% on quarter Nov 5, 16:23 Chipbond Technology and International Semiconductor Technology (IST) may see sequential revenue drops of almost 20% in the fourth quarter of 2009, in accordance with driver IC design houses' conservative outlooks for the quarter, according to market watchers. Read more |
|
|
Ralink and Realtek WLAN chip market shares set to increase in 2010 Nov 5, 15:39 Taiwan-based WLAN chipmakers Ralink Technology and Realtek Semiconductor are expected to see their market shares increase in 2010 as a number of Taiwan ODM and OEM notebook makers have decided to add additional chip suppliers to curtail the risk of being caught out by any shortage of WLAN chip supplies, according to industry sources. Read more |
|
|
IC designer GMT positive about 1Q10, says president Nov 4, 16:46 Analog IC design house Global Mixed-mode Technology (GMT) expects revenues to decline 15% sequentially to NT$1.08 billion (US$33.13 million) in fourth-quarter 2009 before climbing in first-quarter 2010, company president Jin-chuan Wu has said at an investors conference. Read more |
|
|
ALi, Sunplus developing STB chips for HDTVs Nov 4, 16:46 ALi and Sunplus Technology are stepping up efforts to expand their set-top box (STB) chips for HDTVs, according to industry sources. Both IC designers are expected to see higher gross margins in 2010, on higher shipments of HD STB solutions. Read more |
|
|
Alcor Micro to tap touch panel controller market Nov 4, 15:43 NAND flash controller designer Alcor Micro, plans to introduce capacitive controller chips for touch panels in 2010, according to the company. Read more |
|
|
Faraday, Global Unichip differ on 4Q09 outlook Nov 4, 14:58 Faraday Technology expects fourth-quarter revenues to drop by 10% due to weaker demand for ASICs, while Global Unichip has said its revenues in the fourth quarter will increase slightly on quarter. Read more |
|
|
MEMS chip business struggles with growing pains, says IC Insights Nov 4, 12:06 Annual sales of MEMS-based sensor and actuator devices are expected to nearly double in four years, reaching US$7.3 billion in 2013, according to IC Insights. However, it is erroneous to portray the burgeoning MEMS segment as a utopian market opportunity, the research firm pointed out. Read more |
|
|
China Telecom to procure 50-80 million CDMA handsets in 2010, says VIA Telecom CEO Nov 4, 11:35 China Telecom plans to procure 50-80 million CDMA handsets in 2010, of which 70% will be inexpensive models with average sales prices of 200 yuan (US$29), to meet expected demand from new subscribers mainly in rural areas, according to Ker Zhang, CEO of Taiwan-based 3G IC design house VIA Telecom, which supplies handset solutions to the carrier. Read more |
|
|
Intel CEO promotes Larrabee privately during China visit Nov 3, 16:54 Intel CEO Paul Otellini talked privately with several China-based graphics card makers to promote its Larrabee GPU, which is set to launch in 2010, during a recent visit, according to sources at graphics card makers. Read more |
|
|
Global Unichip announces mass production of ARM7-based GP5080 series SSD SoC solution Nov 3, 16:43 Global Unichip has announced the mass-production of its ARM7-based GP5080 series SSD SoC platform solution, targeting the storage application for the booming market of netbooks/smartbooks, ultra-thin notebooks, UMPCs, MIDs and other portable consumer electronics. Major requirements for this kind of applications are small form factor, low power consumption and durability. All these systems mentioned above are potential clients to access the ubiquitous web applications and this SSD solution is the first product of a series of upcoming cloud computing oriented solutions Global Unichip intended to offer. Read more |
|
|
Sony to use MediaTek controller chips for ultra low-price LCD TVs, say sources Nov 3, 16:07 Sony is reportedly set to use TV controller chips, such as scaler ICs, from Taiwan-based MediaTek for its so-called super entry-level B series ultra low-price LCD TVs, according to market sources. Read more |
|
|
Cando, Pixcir provide touchscreen solution for Acer notebook Nov 3, 15:35 Taiwan-based color filter (CF) maker Cando and China-based TFT-LCD driver IC and capacitive touch controller supplier Pixcir Microelectronics are providing touch panels and touch ICs for a 15.6-inch Acer touchscreen notebook, according to market sources. Read more |
|
|
Alcor Micro becomes sole supplier of card reader, webcam chips for Foxconn, sources say Oct 30, 17:15 IC design house Alcor Micro's card reader and notebook webcam product lines have entered the supply chain of Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry), according to company general manager Chang Chi-Tung. Chang expects to see Alcor Micro's market share of card reader controller chips grow significantly in the OEM market with increases in the number of customers as well as shipment volumes. Read more |
|
|
|
© DIGITIMES Inc. All rights reserved.
Please do not republish, publicly broadcast or publicly transmit content from this website without written permission from DIGITIMES Inc. Please contact us if you have any questions. |
|
