DA NanoMaterials opens Asia headquarters and advanced technology center in Taiwan

HSINCHU, TAIWAN: DuPont Air Products NanoMaterials L.L.C. [DA NanoMaterials], a 50/50 joint venture of DuPont and Air Products, and a leading supplier of chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) slurries to the semiconductor fabrication industry, announced the opening of its new Asia Headquarters in Jhudong Township, Taiwan, just outside Hsinchu Science Park. As part of the new Asia Headquarters, DA NanoMaterials has also built a new, state-of-the-art 300mm-capable Advanced Technology Center (ATEC).

"We made the decision to base our Asia Headquarters and Advanced Technology Center in Taiwan, due to our desire to be closer to our customers in the region," said Ed Shober, chief executive officer of DA NanoMaterials.

"Despite the current difficult economic environment, we view Asia, and especially Taiwan, as strong growth markets for CMP slurries. We wish to better position DA NanoMaterials for closer collaboration with our Asian customers, so we are very pleased to be making this significant investment in Taiwan."

The ATEC, which is now operational, is a Hsinchu-based 300mm-capable laboratory and technical center which is dedicated to developing and optimizing advanced CMP processes and consumable sets, and providing timely technical support to customers. This facility houses a state-of-the-art laboratory featuring 300mm CMP and defect metrology equipment, as well as an advanced chemical formulation laboratory to support product development and optimization.

"For a long time, CMP slurry users have sought increased technical support to help them reduce costs," said Dr. Saifi Usmani, vice president of Marketing, Business Development and Technology of DA NanoMaterials.

"With its advanced capabilities, we believe ATEC will become the first choice for technical support of CMP slurries in the Asia region. DA NanoMaterials is continuously evaluating ways to meet its customers' needs better and faster as we look to the future, and this new facility is specifically designed to add value for them."

DA NanoMaterials continues to provide truly innovative products that deliver superior performance reliably with reduced total cost of ownership.

AMD strengthens global partnership with Clevo

SUNNYVALE, USA: AMD announced that Clevo, a global notebook manufacturer based in Taiwan, is now providing notebooks powered by AMD platform technology.

Combining ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570 graphics, the AMD Athlon 64 X2 processor and the AMD M690G chipset, these new entry-level notebooks deliver advanced performance and mobility benefits.

The new Clevo notebooks deliver the multi-tasking performance and graphics power people need when enjoying 3D applications like maps, movies, online videos, digital photos, video games, music and TV programs at home or on the go.

Continuing its long-standing technology partnership with Clevo, AMD focused on providing a highly differentiated solution that maps back to the top computing priorities. These include superior graphics and video capabilities and larger screen options than what is typically offered in similarly-priced netbook solutions for emerging mobile markets such as Brazil or Taiwan.

Key ASIC acquires Taiwan's ASIC firm Gateway Silicon

SANTA CLARA, USA & KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: Key ASIC Berhad has signed a definitive agreement with the shareholders of Gateway Silicon Inc. (GSI) to acquire up to 100 percent of the company in a cash transaction.

GSI is a subsidiary of Macronix International Co. Ltd. a semiconductor IDM headquartered in Taiwan. Macronix ended calendar year 2008 with revenues of NT$23.28B or approximately $710M.

Gateway Silicon is a professional IC design service company founded in August 2006 in Hsin Chu Science Park, Taiwan. GSI focuses in research and development of analog and digital IP for consumer ICs. GSI has developed a significant portfolio of analog and memory IP focused in the graphics and video applications.

GSI provides SOC implementation and IC turnkey design services. Through GSI’s proprietary platform solutions, competitive cost structure, and integrated turnkey services, customers benefit from high quality IC products developed and delivered on schedule to meet the customer’s time-to-market requirements. GSI has offices in Japan and Taiwan.

“Key ASIC is a leading player in the ASIC design industry. We are pleased to merge with Key ASIC to build a bigger and stronger company that will enable all of us to play a more significant role in the ASIC design business. Key ASIC has very strong design experience in advanced technologies such as 65nm and 45nm, and this will be a big value add to GSI’s existing customer base,” said J.P. Peng, CEO of GSI.

“We have built up a very rich portfolio of analog IP blocks and we have a very strong analog circuit design team that will be a valuable asset to the combined entity,” he added.

“We share the same vision with the key shareholders of GSI in building a strong ASIC design business for consumer and communications applications globally. This merger is a synergy of two companies with complementary skills and technologies. This merger will enable us to expand and better serve our customers,” said Eg Kah Yee, Chairman of Key ASIC. “This strategic exercise is in line with our growth plans,” he added.

With this acquisition, Key ASIC expands its position in the ASIC markets of Japan and Taiwan. This acquisition is expected to bring high growth in 2010 and beyond. Key ASIC expects to accelerate its growth through additional synergistic mergers and acquisitions.

Advanced Power Electronics' new GreenFET packages using DirectFET packaging

HSINCHU, TAIWAN: Advanced Power Electronics Corp., a leading manufacturer of MOS power semiconductors for DC-DC power conversion applications, confirmed that it has products in qualification in the new GreenFET packages using the DirectFET advanced power management packaging technology licensed from International Rectifier.

Designed for use in AC-DC and DC-DC power conversion applications in computers, notebooks, telecommunications and consumer electronics devices, these surface-mount power packages offer extremely efficient cooling for Power MOSFET chips in an SO-8 footprint or smaller.

Unlike standard plastic discrete packages, the GreenFET metal can construction enables dual-sided cooling to significantly increase the current handling capacity in high frequency DC-DC buck converters.

Since obtaining the license from IR, Advanced Power Electronics has been packaging and testing its latest generation of MOSFET chip technology in both small and medium size GreenFET power packages to ensure compatibility and long-term reliability.

The company expects to sample the first products in both size GreenFET packages within the next 60 to 90 days. These will be physically identical in terms of pad layout and board footprint to the corresponding SQ, ST, MP and MX DirectFET packages.

VP of IR's Enterprise Power business unit, Tim Phillips, said: "IR's DirectFET package technology is increasingly the preferred solution to reduce energy losses while shrinking the design footprint in advanced computing, consumer and communications applications. This license agreement with APEC, along with one other previously announced agreement, serves to secure supply worldwide for the customer demand of this industry leading package."

He added, "We are continually developing leading-edge technology to save energy and, through licensing agreements, we can broaden the energy-saving impact made possible with innovations such as DirectFET, further expanding our presence in the largest segment of the power management market."

"Advanced Power Electronics has dramatically expanded its advanced power MOSFET product range with our GreenFET packages, while building on our long term relationship with IR," stated Eric Kwat, President of Advanced Power Electronics Corp.

"By combining our latest MOSFET chip technology with this important package option, we now offer our customers broader choices to achieve both energy and cost-efficient solutions for their applications, whilst minimizing any environmental impact thanks to a RoHS-compliant, halogen-free 'green' package.

"Our latest MOSFET devices have extremely low figure of merit combining excellent on-resistance with fast switching performance, and coupled with the GreenFET's double-sided cooling capability, they will enhance our position as one of the leading suppliers of MOSFET products."

ChipMOS safe from typhoon flood

HSINCHU, TAIWAN: ChipMOS Technologies (Bermuda) Ltd announced that its subsidiaries' facilities and factories were safe from the flood brought by the typhoon which struck Taiwan during August 7-9.

ChipMOS' factories were not impacted by the flood and are operating normally at present.

Flextronics inaugurates notebook R&D facility in Banciao, Taiwan

SINGAPORE: Flextronics has launched a strategic facility in Banciao, Taiwan with dedicated design, R&D and supporting services for notebook computers.

This new facility expands Flextronics' existing presence in Taiwan, where the company currently has operations in Wugu and Chungli. Flextronics' Computing Segment Design Center (CSDC), located in Wugu, focuses on original design manufacturing and joint design manufacturing (ODM/JDM) products and services for OEMs of servers, storage, desktops, and other computing-related products.

Flextronics' Computing Segment Notebook Center (CSNC), located in Banciao, provides ODM/ JDM products and services for notebook OEMs. Taiwan serves as the geographic hub for R&D capabilities for Flextronics' Computing segment with expectations of employing over 1,500 engineers over the next few years.

"We are thrilled to formally announce and inaugurate our new Banciao, Taiwan R&D headquarters for our notebook products. We chose to invest in Taiwan based on the country's strong talent pipeline, computing industry focus, excellent supply chain and solid reputation for ODM services," said Sean Burke, president of Flextronics' Computing segment.

"Establishing a strong computing presence in Taiwan is a significant advantage for Flextronics and our customers, where we already serve many leading brand name OEMs. I look forward to further enhancing our customer offering for notebooks and to working with local Flextronics' suppliers, employees and partners on many shared successes."

Products designed in Flextronics' Taiwan facility will be manufactured by Flextronics using its global scale, flexibility and footprint to accommodate customer requirements around the world.

Clearly, mixed signals in OEM semiconductor design activities!

Friends, here is the full report on iSuppli's recent activity titled "Mixed Signals in OEM Design Activities".

Min-Sun Moon, senior analyst, Semiconductor Spend and Design, iSuppli, discussed how the "values" of design activities are discerned globally and how design decisions are made by a given country.

This report should be of particular interest to the Indian semiconductor design industry as it is apparent there is considerable scope for growth and development.

It is very well documented that everyone has been hit hard by the economic downturn. The electronic OEMs are no exception. They have also reduced shipments. The average selling prices (ASPs) of semiconductor devices have dropped dramatically as well.

Top six design influencing countries
As per iSuppli's Design Activity Tool, the top six countries leading in the design influence are as follow: USA, Japan, China/Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and Germany. The United States retains the no. 1 position, followed by Japan and China.

The dramatic changes in ASPs of chips and products meant an almost about 5 percent drop in semiconductor spend in 2008, and above 21 percent drop in semiconductor spend by the top OEMs in 2009. Hence, design activities by top OEMs dropped significantly.

The USA apparently has been going through a tough period, and it does not seem to have a bright future in 2009-10 due to drop in design spends. However, in 2010, it should post about 9-10 percent growth. The top design influencers in the USA include HP, Dell, Apple and Motorola.

China seizes opportunity
According to Moon, Japan retained the second position. However, China has seized the opportunity during the recession. It has some growth compared to other countries who have had negative growth this year.

China still remains one of the most attractive markets for OEMs to enter. Many top OEM have either opened or expanded R&D centers in China in the last few years.

However, because of the recession, the expansion by OEMs slowed down in China during 2009. Nevertheless, the Chinese market continues to grow. In the next few years, China will grow and the other countries will have some positive growth as well, but their growth will be slower than that of China.

China has also been showing interesting signs. Some Chinese companies are trying to enter new markets, such as automotive.

China is currently the third largest country in terms of design influence. The design share is about 10 percent in 2009. China could get close to Japan and the USA, but it will not happen in the near future though.

Top five countries in 2009
In 2009, the top five countries by design influence spend share are as follows: USA -- 31 percent, Japan -- 25 percent, China/Hong Kong -- 10 percent, Taiwan -- 8 percent, South Korea -- 7 percent, and the Rest of the World -- 19 percent.

Mixed signals are apparent in the design activities by country. For instance, this year, the USA has been losing market share. A large percent of design activities are moving to the Asia Pacific region. Some business in the USA is being continued or reduced -- and being moved to other regions -- in order to maintain the business and lower the cost of operations.

Japan's design spend share increased from 22 percent (approximately $40 bn in 2008) to 25 percent in 2009. Japan is bringing a lot of design activities back home.

Taiwan used to be third largest in the design influence, but has now dropped to the fourth position, with share in design spend reaching 8 percent in 2009. China also contributed to the changes here. However, it is still better than others as some OEMs are still outsourcing to some ODMs located in Taiwan.

Identifying targets by regions
iSuppli gave examples of designing with sensors and actuators, and LEDs, as these are very popular currently.

According to Moon, designs using sensors and actuators have been more than 30 percent in the USA, while Japan has more than 25 percent. It is over 20 percent in Europe, while such designs have been less in Asia Pacific -- above 15 percent.

The biggest influencers for sensors and actuators in the USA are said to be Apple, HP and TRW Automotive.

For LEDs, more use has been happening in Japan -- over 30 percent. As an example, there are more LED TV design activities in Japan. The biggest influencers for LEDs in Japan are Canon and Sony.

Changes due to M&A
Another trend visible in the design spend share has been the changes due to mergers and acquisitions.

As an example, we have the Mitac Group, which acquired Magellan's consumer products division. In 2008, Mitac Group had 78 percent spend in Taiwan, and 18 percent in the USA. After acquiring Magellan, Taiwan's design spend share became 57 percent and USA's became 13 percent. On the other hand, France's share grew to 17 percent and Russia's to 7 percent. This indicates that country-wise, budgets do get changed. This is just one example.

These are indeed very interesting numbers and facts, and as mentioned earlier, India has a considerable opportunity as an influencer in the semiconductor design spend going forward.

WCQ expands into Taiwan

SAN FRANCISCO, USA: West Coast Quartz Corp. (WCQ), a privately held and globally-renowned manufacturer of silicon crystal for the semiconductor and solar industries as well as premier fabricator of precision quartz and silicon components for semiconductor wafer process equipment, today announced the establishment of a new wholly-owned subsidiary in Taiwan.

WCQ’s facility in Taiwan is located in Hsinchu and represents a million dollar investment in equipment and facilities customization for fabrication of critical components. This is the first of a multi-million dollar phased investment project.

Heading up the Taiwan operation will be WCQ’s Mark Byrne, a distinguished materials and methods professional in the semiconductor critical components field for many years.

According to WCQ president Paul Maloney, the new facility replicates the first-rate standards of the company’s California operation: “We are responding not only to our global customers’ need for low-cost-geography-manufacturing of high-quality WCQ parts, but also to the Taiwan market’s stated preference for local fabrication. Our vertical integration, especially in silicon crystal, plus our strong Original Part Manufacturer (OPM) experience for all the major OEMs, significantly enhances opportunities for us and for our customers.”

The satellite Taiwan facility includes inter-linked implementation of WCQ’s state-of-the-art management information systems, and will fabricate quartz and silicon critical consumables strictly based on WCQ Headquarters processes-of-record and proven, repeatable methods.

SpringSoft strengthens Asia operations

HSINCHU, TAIWAN: SpringSoft Inc., a global supplier of specialized IC design software, announced the addition of country managers in Japan and China, further strengthening its global operations and adding seasoned management in two key markets.

Tomoyuki Kawarai will manage Japanese operations from SpringSoft’s office in Shin-Yokohama, and Xu Wei will head the company’s operations in China from its office in Shanghai. Both men bring extensive experience in electronic design automation (EDA) and semiconductor-related sales and marketing, and each will be responsible for channel strategies in their respective countries.

Kawarai has more than 17 years experience in the EDA industry, most recently as a sales director at Cadence Design Systems and before that at Cadence’s Japanese distributor, Innotech Corporation. In those roles, he formed an extensive network of relationships with the top semiconductor companies in Japan. He has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Meiji University.

Wei has more than 12 years of experience in the semiconductor industry with the Chinese operations of Synopsys, Texas Instruments and ZTE. Prior to joining SpringSoft, he was regional manager for South China and Hong Kong at Synopsys. Wei earned a Masters degree in Electronic Engineering from University of Electronic and Science Technology, Chengdu, China.

“Both these executives have proven track records of success in selling and supporting EDA technology to top tier companies in their regions. Their experience will be critical as we expand our relationships with key customers and partners in China and Japan,” said Bill Shepard, vice president of Worldwide Sales at SpringSoft.

“With our focused product strategy and emphasis on customer service and support, SpringSoft is well positioned for success in these two dynamic markets, and Xu and Kawarai-san will play important roles in that growth.”

No escape for global chip suppliers in miserable Q1

EL SEGUNDO, USA: From Paris to Tokyo, from the biggest broad-line suppliers to the most modest boutiques, from high-fliers serving hot markets to low-profile players plodding away in slow-growth segments -- virtually no semiconductor company was immune from the miserable conditions in the global semiconductor industry during the first quarter, according to iSuppli Corp.

Semiconductor Revenue Change by Company Headquarters Region/CountrySource: iSuppli Corp., June 2009

Worldwide semiconductor revenue in the first quarter declined to $44.3 billion, down 18.8 percent from $54.5 billion in the fourth quarter, and a decline of 33.8 percent from $66.8 billion in the first quarter of 2008. Revenue was down 36.2 percent from the start of the present sharp downturn in the third quarter of 2008.

Even prior to the downturn, the semiconductor industry experienced an extended period of lethargy. Quarterly semiconductor revenue peaked six quarters ago in the third quarter of 2007.

“Of the 130+ semiconductor suppliers tracked by iSuppli on a quarterly basis, only six managed to expand their revenue in the first quarter compared to the fourth quarter of 2008,” said Dale Ford, senior vice president, market intelligence, for iSuppli. “Even among these six suppliers, four increased their revenue by only 1 to 3 percent.”

Meanwhile, every major region of the world suffered double-digit percentage declines in semiconductor revenue in the first quarter compared to the fourth.

Semiconductor Suppliers with Positive Quarterly Revenue GrowthSource: iSuppli Corp., June 2009

“Although the first quarter is typically weak for the global semiconductor industry, the sharp declines in semiconductor during that period and in the fourth quarter of 2008 reflect the impact of the global economic downturn on the worldwide chip business,” Ford observed.

Regional variations
Despite the negative picture, some regions were not as badly impacted as others.
Companies headquartered in the Americas fared the best during the downturn, with a combined revenue decline in U.S. dollars of 30.8 percent since the third quarter of 2008.

European-headquartered companies suffered the worst decline, with their combined revenues falling by 44.5 percent during the same period. Japanese suppliers fared nearly as badly as their European counterparts, suffering a contraction of 43.5 percent.

However, the picture is very different if company revenues are maintained in the local currency and not converted to US. dollars. Changes in currency exchange rates have a notable impact on revenue growth when converted to a common dollar basis. European supplier revenues fell by only 36.1 percent since the third quarter of 2008 if their revenues are measured in euros.

On the other hand, Japanese company revenues fell by nearly 51 percent during the same time if their revenues are measured in yen.

Korean and Taiwanese suppliers saw steep revenue declines between the third and fourth quarters of 2008 followed by much more moderate declines between the fourth and first quarters. In contrast, Japanese companies suffered the biggest hit on revenues in the first quarter of 2009 when their combined revenues fell by nearly 31 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2008.

The bright side
On a positive note, iSuppli’s latest semiconductor forecast predicts that the first quarter of 2009 will represent the bottom of the semiconductor market decline and that revenues in the fourth quarter of 2009 will exceed those in the fourth quarter of 2008.

On a sequential basis, revenue will rise by 7.1 percent in the second quarter, by 10.4 percent in the third quarter and by 4.9 percent in the fourth quarter.
Looking back at the first quarter, there was one notable performance among all the suppliers—that of Taiwan’s MediaTek Inc. The company in the first quarter expanded its revenue by 10 percent on both a sequential and year-over-year basis.

The images present quarterly semiconductor revenue changes by region, semiconductor suppliers that managed positive quarterly revenue growth in the first quarter, and historical and forecast quarterly semiconductor revenues.

Worldwide Quarterly Semiconductor Revenues (Billions of Dollars)Source: iSuppli Corp., June 2009

Semicon equipment market to begin recovery by Oct. 2009

NEW TRIPOLI, USA: The semiconductor equipment market will begin its recovery by October 2009 based on proprietary leading indicators, according to the report: “The Global Market for Equipment and Materials for IC Manufacturing,” recently published by The Information Network.

“Our proprietary leading indicators, which determine inflection points in economic activity and which we utilize to show turning points in semiconductor equipment sales have turned positive, indicating that an upturn in equipment sales will begin by October ,” noted Dr. Robert N. Castellano, president of The Information Network. “We have been using these indicators since 2000 and they have proven to be highly quantitative metrics in every forecast we have given, and in nearly every given year we have not had to change our forecast midstream. We do not give forecasts in tenths of percentages only to change them two months later.”

We successfully predicted in our release of May 27 that Mainland China’s cross-straits investment in Taiwan will help the island country to survive the global crisis and at the same time help fix its own IC market. Taiwan has now reversed its stance and is considering allowing 300mm fabs in China. These actions will spur the equipment market in China, which has historically been utilizing refurbished 200mm equipment in its fabs.

“Objective, concrete evidence comes from the positive activity in our proprietary leading indicators in the US. Both our long and short indicators turned up in late 2008, pointing to a business recovery cycle and giving visibility that the days of the recession are numbered,” added Dr. Castellano.

As the recession eases, companies and consumers will unleash pent-up demand and make the electronic purchases driving the semiconductor market, which has already turned positive.

Whose (server) round is it anyway? Intel's or AMD's?

What a week, what a day, what a show! I am referring to the recent developments at Intel and AMD -- to their respective product launches and announcements, and of course, to Computex, in Taipei, Taiwan! Oh, and to the ongoing battle between AMD and Intel in the global servers market!

First Intel... Late May, Intel previewed the Nehalem-EX, a processor that will be at the heart of the next generation of intelligent and expandable high-end Intel server platforms, which will deliver a number of new technical advancements and boost enterprise computing performance.

The Nehalem-EX is said to feature up to eight cores/16 threads, 24MB of shared cache, integrated memory controllers, four high-bandwidth QPI links, Intel Hyper-Threading, Intel Turbo Boost, and 2.3B transistors. The Nehalem-EX is said to be on track for H2-09 production.

Some time later, Intel put out an in a local news daily, about "Sponsors of Tomorrow" -- a global campaign that conveys the message that gigantic advances of the digital age have been made possible by silicon -- the key ingredient in microprocessors.

And guess what, AMD promptly came up with an invitation to its Istanbul launch, stating that a smarter product today would help battle the slowdown, rather than look at tomorrow!

Quite appropriately, soon after, AMD launched its Istanbul six-core Opteron processor this week, which delivers up to 34 percent more performance-per-watt.

AMD's poking fun at Intel didn't really quite go down well at some quarters. I have always respected and appreciated -- may the best one, win, and if you really have the guts, do it yourself! And let the market decide who is the winner!!

I would surely expect the two heavyweights of the global semiconductor industry to not resort to such tactics. Instead, it would do both of them good to focus on their core businesses. Poking fun at each other will not bring in the dollars!

One AMD executive even went to the extent of highlighting the 'today vs. tomorrow' story on the dias, adding that when Intel comes out with an eight-core processor, AMD will come out with a 12-core processor. And, most importantly, that Intel is talking about tomorrow, but AMD is talking of today! Quite interesting!!

So, who is the winner of round one -- according to me, no one!

Now, switch to Computex Taipei, Taiwan! First AMD announced a flurry of launches -- such as its two new dual-core desktop processors. This was followed by a new chip for HDTV-on-the-PC reception.

Similarly, Intel made a flurry of announcements too, starting with the introduction of four new processors for ultra-thin laptops. Later, Intel's Sean Maloney outlined the industry growth opportunities, especially, future growth throughout the computing and communications industries, particularly in mobile and wireless.

Let's continue this in the next post, lest this grows too long! ;)

COMPUTEX TAIPEI wraps-up with record size, scale and turnout

TAIPEI, TAIWAN: For five days the organizer of COMPUTEX TAIPEI had only one fear; that the dreaded swine flu would strike at and possibly shut down their event, the world's largest ICT procurement hub. But the only flu at this venue was a fervent fever for everything to do with ICT that established fresh records for the size, scale and turn-out.

While other IT shows around the world had cut back, the visitors in Taipei were astonished to discover COMPUTEX TAIPEI 2009 running at max capacity. In fact, even in the face of adverse market conditions this show still managed to squeeze in growth by hosting 1,712 exhibitors who used 4,498 booths. During its first four days, the show welcomed 32,178 international buyers (+ 1 percent) from 214 countries and more than 100,000 international and local visitors (+ 5 percent). The top five countries for international buyers are from United States, Japan, Hong Kong, Mainland China and Korea with Australia new in the top 10 this year.

Top event in ICT shifts into multi-industry info-hub
This year's show was very different. Convergence was the keyword here. Yes, the venue continued to shine as the worlds top ICT procurement center, but it has also become apparent that its increasing taking on the function as an information hub for numerous industries, including for those one doesn't immediately link to IT.

It is here where everyone came from areas as diverse as medicine, automobiles, aerospace and education to create a multi-industry, multi-faceted venue that reflects the true diversity of the smart revolution.

The show's multi-cultural industry link was reflected with Acer teaming up with Google to unveil the Android Notebook. And it was here where AMD launched the world's first DirectX 11 graphics processor. Asus unveiled 11-inch Eee PC Seashell. Intel introduced Core i7. Microsoft announced the wide adoption of Window 7. Mio demonstrated its Litepad series and MSI displayed its latest line of X-Slim Series Notebook. Meanwhile, Thermaltake launched its Level 10, the latest high-end gaming tower designed by BMW.

Netbooks grab the limelight
Netbooks consolidated their status as the real show grabber especially since Taiwan serves up the perfect combo of computing and mobile Internet tech at affordable prices. Lightweight Netbooks with their long battery life are now part of the next hi tech wave. And with Taiwan way out front in the netbook market, COMPUTEX TAIPEI is the natural venue for international tier-one companies to seek partnerships with local companies.

Companies have spared no effort pushing Netbooks to perfection with the best in design and functions all embedded with core processors such as CPUs and GPUs. Numerous international big brands have introduced products for Netbooks: Ion by Nvidia, the new Atom processors by Intel, and Snapdragon by Qualcomm. They team up with well-known companies from Taiwan such as Asus, HTC, Inventec, and Winstron to render the latest user-friendly Netbooks.

Green technologies on display
The theme "Mobile Technologies for a Green World" of COMPUTEX TAIPEI CEO SUMMIT FORUM serves as a great warm-up for the green technologies and products at the show, including CPU, HDD, PCB, power supply, LED backlight and NB. Intel's Ultra-Low Voltage Intel Core 2 dual core processor and 50 percent less power consumption HDD from Hitachi's EcoTrac Travelstart5K500.B new range are some examples.

The power savers introduced by Compucase and Gigabyte as well as SSD by A-Data, Apacer, and Transcend all reflect the green concept. Also, solar power products, fuel cells and LED applications are also going green. Vivitek's H9080FD Home Theater is the world's first LED Full HD Projector.

Self branding
At COMPUTEX TAIPEI the writing is on the wall. Taiwanese are increasingly heading for self branding. That's seen as Acer readies to overtake Dell as the worlds second-largest PC maker after Hewlett-Packard. Taiwanese started by making products for everyone else which carried foreign labels. But a quick cruise through COMPUTEX TAIPEI reveals That Taiwanese companies are rapidly building their own reputations as technology leaders.

Perhaps, the best example would be Eee PC from Asustek which has rendered the netbook, the hottest selling PC on the market. And nearby is Mediateck which brands their own driver chips, storage chips, designing chips for wireless communications and high-definition digital televisions.

Design and innovation soaring with high-tech trends
COMPUTEX TAIPEI design & innovation awards Ceremony announced its five Gold Award Winners at the international pre-show press conference on June 1. The event highlights the importance of design and innovation in today's ICT world. Thermaltake launched Level 10 Extreme Gaming Station of strong performance and brilliant designa brainchild by the company, AMD, and design consultancy BMW Group DesignworksUSA. Acer introduced its Netbook with Google's Android.

Microsoft strongly promotes Window 7, while around 60 hardware and software partners introduce a number of outstanding operations features onto a variety of practical consumer products. Real-time, interactive, graphic interface are some key features for next generation communications.

Procurement match-making meetings generating $700 million
This year, TAITRA arranged more than 2,000 1-on-1 procurement match-making meetings in three show days. These procurement meetings generated on-site business worth a projected $ 100 million dollars and create $700 million in follow-up business. (This year's three-day affair added an extra day to previous two-day events and attracted 256 overseas companies from 42 countries).

Leader talks were 256 representatives from top firms (invited by Taiwan's Foreign Ministry and TAITRA) with annual sales exceeding US$10 million from 42 countries. Many firms represented emerging markets such as Turkey, Argentina, Russia, India and the UAE. Among them, 20 were from key names such as SIEMENS and Alcatel-Lucen (Germany), Best Buy and Future Shop (Canada), ESPRINET (Italy), and Ryoden (Japan) all globally recognized buyers.

Most buyers showed great interest in notebooks, netbooks, GPS, LCD Monitor, POS, etc. And for them visiting COMPUTEX TAIPEI always lets them source the latest ICT products from the best suppliers. Small- and medium-sized exhibitors agree that COMPUTEX TAIPEI offer the best opportunity for them to approach the SVIP buyers, so key players such as A-Data, Asus, Ritek, and Genius were also at the meetings to seek new clients.

Newest technologies discussed and insights exchanged
This year's COMPUTEX TAIPEI CEO SUMMIT FORUM enjoyed the presence of high-ranking executives from Asus, ARM, Google, HP and TI as keynote speakers and panelists. Around 200 people participated in the event themed "Mobile Technologies for a Green World." COMPUTEX TAIPEI FORUM also had numerous high-ranking officials share their new ideas. Nearly 7,000 participated in 90 forum sessions:

Microsoft forum featured a keynote speech entitled "Windows Makes Life Simpler" by Steven Guggenheimer, Corporate Vice President, Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) Division attracted 3,300 attendees. There was also the "Future NOW" presentation at e21FORUM 2009 led by Sean Maloney, Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing at Intel, and green technology panel discussion to share green business strategies with Taiwan enterprises.

DRAMeXchange Compuforum 2009 "Survival Battle - Process Migration and Performance" discussed hot topics surrounding the DRAM, NAND Flash, and SSD industries and was joined by 250 leading memory makers, module manufacturers, PC OEMs and financial analysts.

"Enabling the 3C World of Quadplay" was the theme for NGN Forum 2009. 660 people participated in the event discussing how in an all- IP network era, fixed line, mobile, Internet and television have begun to carry out an unprecedented large integration, leading us to whole new life experience, multiple services and business models.

For this year's DIGITIMES COMPUTEX FORUM, the theme of June 3 was Mobile Technology and Design, bringing in the latest mobile market and technology. The discussion on June 4 focused on industrial trends and application of digital signage. In total, around 600 people participated in the show.

COMPUTEX TAIPEI to celebrate 30th anniversary in 2010
First held in 1981, COMPUTEX TAIPEI will celebrate its 30th birthday in 2010. For the past 29 years, COMPUTEX TAIPEI has transformed itself into not only the world's leading ICT procurement platform, but also a perfect world stage for new product and technology launches from home and abroad.

Step into the ICT future next June 1 to June 5 when TAITRA turns on COMPUTEX TAIPEI 2010.

Source: ACN Newswire

Freescale drives innovation around future netbook concepts, form factors

TAIPEI, TAIWAN: Smartbook devices based on ARM technology are rapidly emerging to fill the gap between smaller-screened smartphones and traditional, PC-like netbook or notebook products.

To develop groundbreaking product concepts for this new device category, Freescale has teamed with a top North American industrial design program, resulting in an array of visionary smartbook prototypes on display this week at the Computex show in Taiwan.

Sporting larger screens than traditional smartphone devices, smartbooks are cloud-computing-centric and characterized by all-day battery life, instant-on functionality and persistent connectivity. They are commonly powered by processors based on ARM technology, such as Freescale's i.MX515 device.

To demonstrate compelling new concepts that leverage these advantages, Freescale engaged with the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) for a program to explore requirements related to ergonomic issues, user interfaces, alternative form factors and even accessories for next-generation smartbook devices.

"As the smartbook market emerges, new form factors and product categories will evolve to support and better align with user needs, and our engagement with SCAD demonstrates Freescale's intention to lead this evolution," said Glen Burchers, Consumer Segment marketing director for Freescale. "This initiative has given Freescale valuable insight into how end-users prefer to interact with smartbooks, and this knowledge will be fed back into our chip design processes, ultimately resulting in future i.MX processors that enable compelling consumer experiences and entirely new classes of consumer devices."

Tasked with creating new models and paradigms that improve on the designs and user interfaces common to most first-generation netbook products, the participants developed a range of highly innovative, yet practical, designs optimal for leveraging the small, fanless dimensions and low-power operation of Freescale's i.MX515 processor. Students whose designs are selected as truly exceptional will travel to Computex in Taipei to showcase their prototypes with Freescale. They will also participate in a special panel presentation on June 4.

Intel's Maloney outlines industry growth opportunities @ Computex

COMPUTEX, TAIPEI, TAIWAN: Intel Corp. executive Sean Maloney today said his company's relentless commitment to innovation will help drive tremendous future growth throughout the computing and communications industries, particularly in mobile and wireless.

During the opening keynote speech at Computex, one of the world's largest technology trade shows, Maloney, executive vice president and chief sales and marketing officer, Sales and Marketing Group, unveiled a new family of ultra-low voltage mobile processors. The mobile processors will enable lightweight, attractive and ultra-thin Intel-based laptops less than 1 inch thick at a variety of new and more affordable price points.

Maloney also conducted the first public demonstration of "Pine Trail," the next-generation Intel Atom processor-based platform for netbooks and nettops. These affordable devices –- combined with broad-reaching communications networks such as WiMAX -– can help bridge the digital divide. Intel is also planning new desktop PC chipsets that will make high definition (HD) available to mainstream desktop systems by the end of the year.

Maloney also congratulated Taiwan on shipping more than 1 billion Intel processor-based motherboards1. He pointed out how Taiwan's technology industry has become the "innovation hub" for the global IT industry and challenged Taiwan's tech industry to take advantage of emerging technology transitions to create continuing demand and growth.

Intel will also deliver the "Lynnfield" and "Clarksfield" processors in the second half of the year and ship "Westmere" chips based on Intel's 32nm manufacturing with the company's second-generation Hafnium-based high-k metal gate transistor formula soon after. Combined, Maloney said the technology industry will have an almost infinite number of opportunities to create and ship new products into markets worldwide.

"Business growth has always come from new technology transitions in our industry," Maloney said. "This year, we have a series of new technologies based on second-generation, high-k metal gate, as well as new software and WiMAX developments."

One such growth opportunity is the Intel Atom processor. In the year since Intel introduced Atom for netbooks and created this new category, the Intel-based devices have taken the world by storm with more than 75 netbook designs in retail stores and tens of millions units sold.

Netbooks are compact mobile devices designed for basic Internet-related tasks such as browsing, listening to music, e-mailing and viewing videos. They are suited for first-time Internet users and people who desire an extra PC. They can also be used for playing basic online games, social networking and making voice-over-IP phone calls.

While demonstrating "Pine Trail" running on a netbook, Maloney said it would have improved performance, lower thermals and a reduction in average power for longer battery life. It will also feature an increased graphics core frequency for improved visuals. "Pine Trail" will be a two-chip platform versus today's three-chip platform, with graphics and memory controller moving onto the processor, resulting in a smaller overall footprint that enables smaller, thinner designs and lower platform cost.

In addition, Maloney showed a beta version 2.0 of the Moblin operating system project for netbooks. The Moblin project features a rich, new user interface, better system responsiveness and fast boot times.

To demonstrate how easy and fun the Intel-based netbooks can be to use, five children joined Maloney to do an online scavenger hunt. Maloney also mentioned that children or second and third computers in the home were a mostly untapped growth market.

Maloney invited Mooly Eden, Intel vice president and general manager, Mobile Platforms Group, on stage to show off the latest Intel-based laptops including ultra-thin systems, which Intel believes will be a new major volume sales market for the company.

These Intel-based ultra-low voltage notebooks can measure under an inch thick, weigh less than 3 pounds and can include wireless options such as Intel My WiFi or WiMAX.

For computer users particularly interested in thin and light platforms, these products offer the best possible tradeoff between space, weight, performance, power and price. Intel has offered ultra-low voltage processors for more than eight years, and last year introduced a smaller version of these chips for ultra-thin systems -- thin enough to even fit inside an envelope. With this new introduction the starting price for sleek ultra-thin systems can be as low as $499, more affordable for mainstream consumers.

Regarding the future of desktop PCs, Maloney said, "Our next-generation chipsets are taking our 32nm processor performance to mainstream PCs with products such as 'Clarkdale' and 'Arrandale' dramatically improving the PC experience."

Maloney said despite the slowdown in the world economy, HD video is growing at an incredible rate. In fact, HDMI is the most popular interface technology for HD and is expected to grow at an annual rate of 23 percent through 2012.

Intel's next-generation processor, "Lynnfield," will deliver stunning HD to mainstream desktop PCs and become available in the latter half of this year. Maloney said that compared to last year's "Penryn"-based mainstream solutions, computer users can expect more than 40 percent better performance2.

Another growth area is bridging the digital divide, the more than 5 billion people around the world who have never had access to or used computers. Maloney believes the best way to solve this problem is to address both cost and connectivity challenges.

He disclosed an initiative Intel is working on in India called "Project Blue" that combines affordable nettops based on the Intel Atom processor with WiMAX connectivity.

Intel intros four new processors for ultra-thin laptops

COMPUTEX, TAIPEI, TAIWAN: Today at Computex, Intel Corp. introduced four new processors, including a low-power version and a value chipset, to usher in mainstream "ultra-thin" laptops.

Intel ultra-low voltage (ULV) processors will enable new sleek consumer laptop designs less than an inch thick, weighing 2 to 5 pounds, and at mainstream price points. These processors also consume less power to enable longer battery life, delivering the type of experience consumers expect from Intel-based laptops. In addition, Intel also announced the addition of new devices that can now wirelessly connect using optional Intel My WiFi Technology.SV Intel Core 2 Duo processors, Mobile Intel GM40 Express chipset and Intel WiFi Link 5000 Series Module compared to Intel ULV processor, Mobile Intel GS40 Express chipset and Intel WiFi Link 5300 PCI Express Half Mini Card Module.

"With an ultra-thin laptop powered by Intel ultra-low voltage processors, consumers experience a unique balance of performance and power consumption that is incomparable in the market today –- all in a slim, sleek package," said Mooly Eden, vice president and general manager of the Mobile Platforms Group at Intel. "And at mainstream price points, Intel is proud to deliver ultra thin for all."

Intel extends its leadership on the standard voltage (SV) Intel Core 2 Duo processors, with offerings up to 3.06 GHz. These energy-efficient processors deliver breakthrough mobile performance and responsiveness for demanding business users and consumers. Users will see improved performance when running multiple, intense applications simultaneously, as well as dual-core optimized applications.

In addition, Intel unveiled the Mobile Intel GS40 Express Chipset for the new ULV-based laptops. This value chipset enables ULV-based laptops to support features consumers have come to expect from laptops including HD playback, Windows Vista Premium support and native support for integrated HDMI.

Consumers have choice when it comes to their wireless options by adding embedded WiMAX or Intel® My WiFi Technology to their laptops. Using Intel My WiFi Technology, more devices can now wirelessly connect to Intel Centrino 2 processor technology laptops.

My WiFi Technology transforms a laptop into a WiFi personal area network, connecting directly with up to eight WiFi certified devices without cables or wires, including cameras, printers, HDTV and MP3 players, to print, share, show and sync wirelessly at home or on the go. With high-speed broadband WiMAX networks rolling out in new cities around the world, embedded WiMAX is also an option for users, putting consumers on the forefront of 4G wireless with an entire city as their own hotspot.

Siltrontech is China and Taiwan distributor for SiliconBlue FPGAs

SANTA CLARA, USA: SiliconBlue Technologies, the leading supplier of ultra-low power, single-chip SRAM FPGAs, recently announced that Siltrontech Electronics Corp. has been selected as a distributor for mainland China and Taiwan.

Established in 1992, Siltrontech will provide sales and technical support for SiliconBlue’s ultra-low power, single-chip iCE65 mobileFPGAs targeted at the rapidly-growing consumer handheld market.

"Siltrontech’s experience selling and supporting products for the mobile communications market is a great benefit to SiliconBlue as we expand our sales force in mainland China and Taiwan," said Kapil Shankar, CEO of SiliconBlue. "We are delighted to have a world class distributor selling and supporting our ultra-low power FPGAs in such an important market."

"SiliconBlue offers the most innovative FPGAs perfectly suited to our customer’s requirements," said Tony Chou, President at Siltrontech. "The iCE65 FPGA is an excellent addition to our product line, and provides an exciting new alternative to consumer hand-held designers who need the benefits of ultra-low power, single-chip, low-cost, constrained space and fast time-to-market for applications such as mobile phones, MIDs, eBooks, netbooks and digital picture frames."

iCE65 family of FPGAs
iCE65 ultra-low power FPGAs are the premier programmable logic solution for consumer, battery-based applications such as smart phones, eBooks/ePaper, netbooks, digital picture frames, mobile internet devices, portable media players, handheld POS, medical instruments, digital still cameras and flash camcorders.

These applications have an extremely short development and product life cycle; therefore, by combining the reprogramming flexibility benefit of FPGAs with the low cost, low power and single-chip benefits of ASICs, iCE65 FPGAs offer the “best of both worlds” solution for handheld consumer system designers.

Garmin selects MediaTek GPS chipsets for outdoor navigation devices

HSINCHU, TAIWAN: MediaTek Inc., the leading fabless semiconductor company for wireless communications and digital multimedia solutions, announced MT3329, its advanced single-chip all-in-one GPS solution.

This product in mass production has also been integrated by a wide range of Garmin outdoor navigators, the Garmin GPSMAP 60 series. The adoption of MT3329 by Garmin, a world leader in portable navigation, shows MediaTek's ability to deliver superior tracking sensitivity with least power consumption which is vital for Portable Navigation Devices (PNDs).

The MediaTek MT3329 single-chip baseband features -165dBm ultra-high sensitivity with least power consumption of competitive solutions, also the fastest acquisition on the market, designed for mobile navigation devices where rapid time-to-first-fix (TTFF) and superior navigation performance are required. Besides, the MediaTek MT3329 enables the most precise positioning even under slow movements like hiking or mountain climbing, which is ideal for Garmin's outdoor navigators.

In addition, the MT3329 and its associated software set new standards in performance and power consumption in an extremely small footprint, which brings the industry-leading MT3329 GPS performance to the price-conscious and space-constrained mobile devices such as PNDs, outdoor fitness device and cell phones.

"By enabling the best navigation performance in the most economical way, the MediaTek MT3329 allows manufacturers to add GPS functionality to the components and circuit board area of their products at minimal cost," said Shou-Ren Tsai, General Manager of MediaTek's Wireless Connectivity Business Unit.

"MediaTek has now established itself as a technology leader in the GPS chip market with a solution that provides the industry's best tracking sensitivity, lowest average power and most complete portfolio of software, complemented by the company's unique ability to integrate its GPS technology into other mobile chipsets and processors."

GPS technologies have become increasingly important with growing consumer interest in personal navigation devices (PNDs) and a strong desire of cellular service operators to add location-based services to their offerings. As GPS chip solutions become more integrated, and as costs decline, the technology will expand into a whole new range of applications.

Working hand-in-hand with MediaTek, customers are able to take full advantage of the MT3329 solutions. By providing real-time technical support along with the chipsets, MediaTek is able to offer customers a one-stop-shop for all of their positioning technology needs.

1H May NAND Flash contract price rose 0-12pc

TAIPEI, TAIWAN: The average NAND Flash contract price of 1H May, 2009, rose between 0 to 12 percent. In 1H May, following previous NAND Flash suppliers' allocation policy in April, upstream suppliers provided system makers as their priority and reduced allocation to memory card makers.

NAND Flash contract price slightly rose in 1H May due to China’s “Home Electronics down to the country side” policy, and restocking demand of 3G handset upgrade and copycat cell phone market, according to DRAMeXchange.

Due to as low as one-month visibility in NAND Flash market and sustained price surge over the past four months, most clients are more conservative in purchasing and keep observing current price trend. However, as NAND Flash suppliers will adjust 2Q09 output pace, DRAMeXchange expects the contract price to roughly stabilize in the short-term.

After mid April, both upstream and downstream NAND Flash suppliers and makers announced their 1Q09 earnings releases. Most upstream suppliers have still suffered from financial losses although the situation slightly improved when compared with 4Q08.

On the other hand, downstream handset and DSC makers also faced the worst shipment results both in QoQ and YoY. Looking into the previous shipment patterns, the number in 2Q will usually increase while compared with 1Q.

DRAMeXchange expects NAND Flash suppliers to continue to adjust their output growth rate and stabilize NAND Flash price to improve their profitability with gradually recovering downstream demand.

Fig. 1: Mainstream 16Gb MLC NAND Flash Contract Pricing Trend, Jan. to May, 2009

Open-Silicon expands in India/Taiwan, appoints COO

BANGALORE, INDIA: Open-Silicon, Inc., the leading open market semiconductor manufacturer and provider of spec-to-silicon ASIC design services, today announced Shrikrishna Gokhale as COO of the company and managing director for its rapidly expanding India operations. He will be taking up this assignment by mid-May.

"Our business continues to grow at a significant pace which supports our growth plans for our India operation," said Dr. Naveed Sherwani, CEO and president of Open-Silicon.

"Gokhale was selected because of his experience in driving and managing fast business growth through multi-national teams while remaining focused on customer support. His technical experience and semiconductor product development including VLSI design, device architecture and embedded software, combined with specific strengths in key markets such as communications and consumer electronics, will help us further establish our leadership in complex ASIC development," he added.

Gokhale has over 28 years' experience in business management and technology development with Sasken, Philips and others. He has successfully managed multi-site teams of 600+ professionals spread across offshore, onsite and near-shore locations.

In his previous positions, he handled various responsibilities including product development, business growth, resource planning and delivery management.
As COO and managing director, Gokhale will oversee Open-Silicon's day-to-day operations and will report directly to Dr. Sherwani.