Copyright © 2013 Knight Sac Media. All rights reserved.http://www.siliconinvestor.com/subject.aspx?subjectid=58128While the x86 CPU contest between AMD & Intel has grown old, exciting things are happening in the CPU and graphics world. The age of APUs in the x86 world has begun, with both AMD and Intel rolling out new families in early 2011. Meanwhile, 2010 saw the explosive launch of tablet PC's, mostly powe...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/images/Logo380x132.pnghttp://www.siliconinvestor.com/subject.aspx?subjectid=5812838013210THE WATSONYOUTHChina-based solution vendors such as Spreadtrum Communications have also jointed the price completion, driving the unit price of quad-core smartphone solutions to below US$10 in China recently, the sources revealed. quad core solutions less than $10. Well......looks like $100 quad core smartphones will be here...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289588756/19/2013 12:54:55 AMneolibhttp://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289588566/19/2013 12:32:52 AMneolibIn QCOM and China: Prices of smartphone and tablet solutions to drop 10-20% in 2H13 Cage Chao, Taipei; Steve Shen, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 18 June 2013] Prices of chipset solutions for smartphones and tablets are expected to decline 10-20% sequentially in the second half of 2013 due to competition between Media...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289588546/19/2013 12:31:30 AMneolibGF now fab'ing for RockChip, so it looks like a low end Chinese SOC vendor will likely beat AMD to ARM solutions out of GF. It is interesting that GF could pull these orders from TSMC. Pricing must have been very competitive. Globalfoundries lands wafer start orders from China-based Rockchip Josephine Lien, Taipei...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289588476/19/2013 12:27:49 AMneolibHere's a quad-core one, but its most touted feature is that it is 6.18mm thin, and comes in white, black and pink colors. Its pretty clear what consumers focus on these days...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289587426/18/2013 10:29:16 PMneolib40M quad-core smartphones shipped in 2012. 250M dual-core. Total market was 690M, so single-core still took > 50%. theinquirer.net http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289587396/18/2013 10:25:44 PMneolibWary wary interesting. They will license Kepler 1'st. I wonder if Intel is interested? IMHO, this smacks a bit of desperation, but TWT. Its a difficult business model to compete with your customers. But I guess if there is no chance of company X being a customer for chips, perhaps they would be a customer for I...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289584576/18/2013 6:29:36 PMbrokenst0neshttp://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289583906/18/2013 5:28:07 PMJoe KerrHave no fear, this just means the era of computing convergence is almost upon us. Enter Ubuntu? arstechnica.com http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289579816/18/2013 2:33:18 PMNot a ShortWhat makes you think it isn't name brand? Or is Kyocera not a big enough name for you? What makes you think it has low build quality or features? It's a modern android device with a good screen. Way better than any $600 phone from two years ago. I think you are oblivious to the opportunities in tech. You can't build ...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289577496/18/2013 1:11:46 PMFUBHOIntel's Knights Landing chip will make Xeon Phi part of the CPU The beginning of the end for accelerators in HPC By Lawrence Latif theinquirer.net[graphic] CHIPMAKER Intel has revealed that it will develop a chip that incorporates its Xeon Phi co-processor, dubbed Knights Landing. Intel has so far put its Xeon Phi...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289577486/18/2013 1:11:08 PMbrokenst0neshttp://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289573466/18/2013 10:12:17 AMneolibIntel takes the top HPC slot with Xeon Phi, but it turns out an Intel/AMD system is the most energy efficient: theinquirer.net http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289572796/18/2013 9:46:44 AMneolibFrom the previous link: Seattle is an 8- and then 16-core CPU based on the ARM Cortex-A57 core and is expected to run at or greater than 2GHz. The Seattle processor is expected to offer 2-4 times the performance of AMD's recently announced AMD Opteron X-series processor with significant improvement in compute-per-...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289572676/18/2013 9:38:00 AMneolib AMD unveils upcoming server strategy and roadmap Press release, June 18; Joseph Tsai, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 18 June 2013] AMD has publicly disclosed its strategy and roadmap to recapture market share in enterprise and data center servers by unveiling products that address key technologies and meet the require...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289572586/18/2013 9:35:15 AMTHE WATSONYOUTHRural Oregon helps on the insurance and 750 gallons of fuel storage helps out on gas prices, but there is the added problem of figuring out when to fill it. .....I thought there had to be a catch.........storing 400gal of gasoline for me is not practical......plus with high state gas taxes in NY, the ave price is ab...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289569696/18/2013 1:08:08 AMneolibThe competition in the OS side of mobile is also nice vs the PC era. I think that helps on the software innovation side, as well as doesn't allow one business model to dictate the whole ecosystem. I actually hope that x86 and MIPS relic can succeed in carving out enough space to stay viable in mobile, as I think th...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289568446/17/2013 11:16:38 PMWin SmithI know metal feels better, and looks elegant, but for things that get dropped, there's something to be said for a little give, and a little more grip too. The design esthetic of the iPhone 4, with the glass front and back, always seemed a little dubious to me, though I understand the talismanic quality of Apple prod...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289567896/17/2013 10:51:37 PMbadger3But the premium brands need lower price point volume as well, they can't make it off the high end only. One thing to remember with the chinese chipmakers also..as tough of competitors as they will be on the low end..they've never faced the likes of a QCOM, BRCM. INTC etc before. It's going to be a bloodbath... Th...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289567786/17/2013 10:38:08 PMneolibRural Oregon helps on the insurance and 750 gallons of fuel storage helps out on gas prices, but there is the added problem of figuring out when to fill it. Like Southwest Airlines did once or twice, I sometimes screw up the hedging, LOL! I can store a years worth of gas. Realistically the property fire insurance...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289567686/17/2013 10:26:58 PMneolibI think assembly is closer to $10. Given the volumes there will be lots of incentive to integrate the silicon to two or three chips in the longer term. Some analog and MEMs and the power components will be in one or two chips, everything else in the SOC. Display and batteries you can't do to much too. I don't under...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289567506/17/2013 10:11:45 PMTHE WATSONYOUTHMy goal is that transportation should cost me about 15 cents/mile including fuel and insurance. Its doable. you need cheap gas, cheap insurance, over 35MPG and do a lot of driving to reach that. Very tough in a state like NY http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289566926/17/2013 9:40:24 PMWin SmithIt's a lot easier to build a solid smartphone than it is to build a solid car. Remember, Apple's products are all assembled in China anyway. Not sure about Samsung. But the Chinese manufacturers are completely capable of building a solid product. And given that they get something like $20 for building a $600 + iPho...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289566276/17/2013 8:59:12 PMneolibMost people could make do with a 5 year old bottom of the range car that gets them safely and reliably from A to B daily My strategy exactly. My goal is that transportation should cost me about 15 cents/mile including fuel and insurance. Its doable.http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289565706/17/2013 8:16:35 PMneolibBut the premium brands need lower price point volume as well, they can't make it off the high end only. The handbag or watch analogy is definitely a good point. Since smartphones are used a lot in public, the fashion aspect is here to stay. Its tech jewelry.http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289565656/17/2013 8:12:07 PMbrokenst0nesSure its down to personal preference, expectations, and use cases amongst others. No offense intended but I'm pretty sure some would look at your $40 product and laugh at its build quality, its appearance, its set of features, its no name brand and never buy it even if it was half the price. Yet for you its great valu...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289565586/17/2013 8:00:08 PMbrokenst0nesYeah I'm of a similar view. This device will likely be the only thing you carry around replacing all of what has gone before, plus in the future your keys, wallet(cash, credit cards, tickets, coupons, id(?)), health monitoring, etc and yet for some people will just be a utility item that they don't care about the look ...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289565506/17/2013 7:47:13 PMbadger3I think where the smartphone vs pc comparison falls short is that since smartphones are with you all of the time (and pc/laptops aren't)..they become much more part of someones persona...more like a fashion accessory/class identifier (think of designer handbags for women)..There will also be the tech lovers that will a...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289565026/17/2013 6:52:56 PMrzborusaYep, I think the analogy is more toward cigarette lighters than cars. Once they become throw away I'd expect people would lean toward redundancy rather than quality and brand. People carried cameras like jewelry 30-40 years ago. There was a market for fake (not quality counterfeit) knock off Rolex watches, maybe sti...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289564096/17/2013 5:47:27 PMNot a ShortHonestly I'd say I'm getting a premium experience with a $40 android phone now. It does everything I want other than offer a larger screen size. Why do you believe that larger screens won't drop in price year after year (leaving us with premium quality screens on cheap phones) and/or why do you believe that the majori...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289563746/17/2013 5:16:13 PMneolibI suspect it will be similar to PCs. Some time back on this board there was data posted on the ASP of PCs (both notebook and DT) from some period in 2012, don't recall if a quarter or the whole year. They were close (within $50 IIRC) something like < 600 for DT and around $650 for notebook. That puts the average ASP...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289563576/17/2013 5:02:34 PMbrokenst0nesSo to be clear you think we will all be using $100 smartphones, or what sort of percentage at what price point do you expect say in 5 years? Personally I don't see a lot of difference with smartphones and cars, many people don't want a cheapo car and are happy to pay for a premium experience. As China and other simila...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289562796/17/2013 4:02:53 PMneolibTheir vertical integration including screens helps as well. But the slide to lower prices will impact Apple and Samsung the most. They currently make the bulk of industry profits.http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289562526/17/2013 3:51:42 PMbrokenst0nesSamsung sell plenty of low-end smartphones. Many are leading sellers in the BRICs.http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289562096/17/2013 3:22:44 PMneolibSure, and the China market will actually be pretty big for the premium brands. But saturation is likely to come quicker than many of the market projections for continued smartphone growth have been projecting. http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289561776/17/2013 3:05:52 PMneolibSure, the PC in its various form factors will have a fat tail, but there is no good news there for Intel or AMD. 1'st it will be a stagnate or declining market. 2'nd the ARM hordes will eventually make huge inroads into those form factors as well, partly driven by new software developed for the mobile space which mi...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289561736/17/2013 3:03:54 PMbadger3China is actually pretty brand conscious..so yeah..they'll sell a gazillion low cost smartphones..but there is room for premium brands too.http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289561506/17/2013 2:55:08 PMgzubeckI just don't see everyone in the world doing all their work off of a $99 phone. Parts wear out (on the older pc's) and then have to be replaced so you need to factor that into determining a marketplace. Yes, portability is a big new market and yes the tablet market will expand but don't over estimate the desire for a p...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289560656/17/2013 2:30:19 PMneolibConcluding remarks from the previous link: Unless something totally new emerges (i.e. screen technologies, longer battery life, etc.), winners in mainstream smartphones (read: low-end smartphones) are likely to be companies who can differentiate mostly on price and on lower margins (read: Chinese OEMs). You are not ...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289559436/17/2013 1:26:44 PMneolibThe changing smartphone landscape: eetimes.com  Connect all these data points together, and you begin to perceive a shift in the power dynamics of the mobile industry. 1. The high-end smartphone market is saturated. 2. The good old days of believing that Samsung and Apple can do no wrong in advancing the sm...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289559316/17/2013 1:21:44 PMneolibLower cost smartphones in China: digitimes.com  ... China-based handset vendor Coolpad has reportedly become the number-one local brand in China's 3G handset market, overtaking Lenovo due to sales of its 4-inch smartphones, according to industry supply chain sources. Coolpad's success has largely come from CNY$1...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289552826/17/2013 8:49:23 AMrzborusaYep, I should put a smiley at the end of my humorous observations! For disclosure I guess I would have to admit it was a swipe at Intel, seeing as they are about the only player in convertible.http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289547886/16/2013 4:16:57 PMneolibI think transformer/convertibles are a pretty small fraction of the tablet market. I've never seen actual numbers, but they aren't the top sellers.http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289541096/15/2013 8:42:08 PMrzborusahttp://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289538506/15/2013 2:31:07 PMneolibFrom the Inq, phablets on the rise in Asia: theinquirer.net  ... Whether it's because of the history of these cities, or their drive to lead innovation and a competitive economy, my time in Asia taught me that people there are simply more accustomed to and at ease with technology in everyday life than the rest of ...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289535476/15/2013 11:12:43 AMneolib While Microsoft is pitching the new app as one that brings more value to Office 365 customers, it did not design the app to work with iPads. That would have required making it work on a larger screen. "We don't think it will be optimal for that experience," Schneider said. ROTFLMAO!http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289528526/14/2013 6:06:26 PMJoe KerrHell freezes over: Microsoft Office Mobile arrives for iOS arstechnica.com  news.cnet.com  Well, sort of...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289528086/14/2013 5:29:06 PMneolibGiven that ARM felt the need to license Sonics IP, I wonder if AMD's SeaMicro products are in Sonics cross-hairs.http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289519246/14/2013 9:55:31 AMFUBHOHow Cortex-A15 Measures Up By Linley Gwennap It's been more than two years since ARM first announced its Cortex-A15 CPU design, but only recently has the CPU begun shipping in smartphones, showing us what it can do within the thermal constraints of a handheld device. Our analysis of Samsung's new Exynos 5 Octa process...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289518776/14/2013 9:26:28 AMneolibhttp://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289518566/14/2013 9:14:35 AM