SamMobile has supposedly acquired leak specifications for the next Nexus smartphone from Samsung codenamed "Superior." Also labeled as the GT-I9260, it will feature a dual-core ARM A9-based SoC clocked at 1.5 GHZ, 16GB of internal storage, a microSD card slot for extra storage, an 8MP rear-facing camera with flash, a 1.9MP front-facing camera with HD video recording, and a 4.65-inch HD Super AMOLED screen.

Globalfoundries and ARM have announced a multi-year agreement to jointly deliver optimized system-on-chip (SoC) solutions for ARM processor designs on Globalfoundries' 20nm and FinFET process technologies.

Cadence Design Systems has contributed to STMicroelectronics having taped out a 20-nanometer test chip, incorporating custom analog and digital methodologies to enable mixed-signal SoC design at this advanced process node.

Uniquify has become a TSMC Design Center Alliance (DCA) partner.

MStar has licensed the ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore and ARM926EJ-S processors, in addition to a range of ARM system IP for use in smart TVs, set-top boxes (STBs) and smartphones. MStar is already a licensee of the ARM Mali-400 MP GPU, which is used in mass production for MStar smart-TV system-on-chip (SoC) solutions.

Faraday will optimize a complete IP portfolio for UMC processes ranging from 0.11-micron to 28nm nodes to help mutual customers shorten their SoC design time-to-market for a variety of applications.

Renesas Mobile will initially deploy Imagination's technologies in its cellular platforms for high-performance smartphones, tablets and in-car infotainment, but the technology will also be used by Renesas Electronics in its SoC lineups for other consumer markets.

This SoC, in production at the S1-Line at Samsung's Giheung facility, was built using 32nm gate-first High-k Metal Gate (HKMG) process technology from Samsung and a complete Cadence digital design flow.

Intel is disbanding its Digital Home Group, which builds SoC Atom variants for smart TVs and other similar consumer electronics devices. Boxee Box and Google TV are both based on Intel's CE4100 Atom SoC.

PLX's UK Design Team has built a reputation for designing innovative and reliable system-on-chip (SOC) solutions and the acquired engineering team's expertise provides OCZ with additional resources for controller design.

Atmel has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Advanced Digital Design, a Spain-based developer of power line communication solutions. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in October.

"It's not about how many cores or how many gigabytes, it's how well you can optimise the system," said Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs... Was that a crack at Google's Android OS?

Verigy, an Advantest Group company, has announced that the company has reached a major milestone with the installation of its 2,500th V93000 system-on-chip (SoC) test platform. The milestone shipment is part of a multi-system order from Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE).

Synopsys has completed the acquisition of nSys Design Systems, a provider of verification IP.

The company announced plans to double production of USB 3.0 host controllers to six million units a month starting June to satisfy the rising demand.

"In the near term, both companies should benefit by cross-selling their products to largely non-overlapping customer bases," writes Linley Gwennap with The Linley Group. "For the longer term, the acquisition gives Nvidia an opportunity to expand the market for "Tegra" by developing single-chip products that combine the application and baseband processors."

Verigy, which makes products that test flash memory, high-speed computer memory chips and SoC devices, previously posted seven straight quarters of red ink, though recent losses had narrowed.

Silicon Integrated System (SiS) has adopted Cadence solutions for its PC peripheral and multimedia system on chip (SoC) designs, according to Cadence.

The first ASIC prototypes implemented in ST's 32LPH (low-power high-performance) process technology are expected early in 2011 with production ramp-up in the second half of 2011.

Completing a merger transaction between the former NEC Electronics and Renesas Technology, the newly established Renesas Electronics has commenced business operations.

About this time last year, Intel and TSMC announced a groundbreaking deal. The deal was seen as a response by Intel to the growing popularity of customized ARM chips, but a lack of customer demand has put the partnership on hiatus.

Their system-on-a-chip (SoC) platform is based on ARM's Cortex-A9 processor and Globalfoundries' 28nm manufacturing process, and will be used in smartphones, tablets and smartbooks.

Cambridge Silicon Radio (CSR) has shipped more than 1.5 billion units and processed more than one million wafers from foundry partner Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). CSR also announced that it is collaborating with TSMC on a 40nm low power (LP) RF process technology.

Socle Technology has announced its partnership with Catena and CoreSonic to develop a comprehensive design platform on Chartered's 65nm process with integrateable wireless subsystems.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has unveiled the foundry industry's first mixed-signal/radio-frequency reference design kit (MS/RF RDK) at its North American Technology Symposium in San Jose. The RDK initially targets 65nm process technology and aims to accelerate analog, mixed-signal, and RF designs and RF SoC verification and integration.

Japan's chip industry, awash in red ink, plans to consolidate older fabs. Fujitsu, NEC Electronics and Renesas Technology all detailed scheduled closings of older facilities. Also, executives at NEC and Toshiba, which have been discussing a merger of their system-on-chip (SoC) operations, appeared reluctant to go ahead with a merger until internal restructuring efforts take effect.

ARC International has introduced Virtual Bass audio enrichment technology that enables electronic companies to be more competitive and lower manufacturing costs while providing a more compelling multimedia experience to consumers.

Like all chip makers, Renesas (Tokyo) faces the possible impact of the current economic crisis and IC slowdown. Renesas has not publically lowered its sales and profit forecasts for fiscal 2008. But clearly, the current economic crisis in the United States and elsewhere could have a "severe effect" on the semiconductor industry, warned Katsuhiro Tsukamoto, president and chief operating officer at Renesas. "Consumer demand will drop," Tsukamoto told EE Times in an interview. Worldwide capital spending "will slow down."