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AMD has snapped up ex-Apple mobile processor expert Jim Keller, hoping the engineer can bring some Cupertino-style magic to its future performance and low-power processors. Keller worked at Apple-acquired P.A. Semi as VP of design, moving to take up the reins as Apple’s director of platform architecture, where he was responsible for the Apple Ax series of chips powering the iPad, iPhone and Apple TV.

“Keller will lead AMD’s microprocessor core design efforts aligned with AMD’s ambidextrous strategy” the chip manufacturer said today, “with a focus on developing both high-performance and low-power processor cores that will be the foundation of AMD’s future products.” The engineer’s “innovative spirit, low-power design expertise, creativity and drive for success” will be integral in developing AMD’s next-gen chips, his new boss Mark Papermaster said in a statement.

Interestingly, it’s not the only AMD/Apple staff swap in recent weeks. Back in July, ex-AMD engineer John Bruno joined Apple, the man responsible for leading the development of the AMD Trinity APU which the company has staked its current range on. Bruno was originally at ATI prior to the AMD takeover, and specializes in multicore, low-power chipsets.

That area – individually low-power but collectively numerous ARM cores – has become a major threat in the processor business of late, with companies like Qualcomm, Texas Instruments and NVIDIA all looking to challenge Intel and AMD in mainstream computing such as notebooks and servers. Apple in particular has been surrounded by long-standing speculation that it plans ARM-based MacBooks in future.

AMD’s interest in Keller, therefore, is likely to be tied into the chip maker’s defense against that, having already admitted that it effectively ceded the smartphone processor space to rivals in instead prioritizing PCs and tablets.

AMD snatches Apple processor expert is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It’s the end of the second quarter, so a whole host of financial results are flooding in from technology companies. ARM continues to see strong growth, seeing a 23% increase in net profit at £66.5 million (~$102.9 million). That’s up from £54.2 million (~$83.9 million) earned during the second quarter of last year. Revenue has also increased to £135.5 million (~$209.7 million) from £117.8 (~$182.3 million) million, a 15% increase, and operating margin has jumped ever so slightly to 46.4%.

ARM is attributing the growth to the licensing of a new ARMv8 processor for networking applications, 23 processor licenses that have been signed across a bevy of mobile devices, and the 2 billion chips that have been shipped so far, a 9% increase over the same period last year. Royalties for processors have also increased by around 14% despite the fact that the industry saw an overall decline of 7%.

Finally, 3 licenses for the Mali GPU were signed in the second quarter, with 2 of those being with new customers. CEO of ARM, Warren East, seems pretty pleased with the results overall too: “ARM’s royalty revenues continued to outperform the overall semiconductor industry as our customers gained market share within existing markets and launched products which are taking ARM technology into new markets.” Going forward, ARM expects a small increase in industry revenues during the third quarter, but things aren’t looking as good in Q4 as “as macroeconomic uncertainty may impact consumer confidence.”

ARM Q2 ’12 sees profits jump by 23% is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

ARM and TSMC have inked a deal for the next-generation of 64-bit processors, paving the way for phones, tablets, notebooks and even servers which outclass x86 chips on performance and efficiency. The deal, which builds on an existing multi-year agreement between ARM and TSMC on 20nm production, will see ARM optimize its ARMv8 architecture and Artisan IP with TSMC’s FinFET process technology, slashing the time it takes to bring new, advanced chips to market.

64-bit is the next step in ARM’s continued encroachment into markets that would traditionally have looked to Intel and AMD x86 processors. Although ARM-based chipsets are currently dominant in phones and tablets, where their power frugality makes them ideal to balance limited battery life with the expectations of all-day runtime from users, 64-bit readiness will enable the company to broach the enterprise and server segments.

“The 64-bit architecture has been designed specifically to enable energy-efficient implementations” ARM said in a statement on the deal. “Similarly, the 64-bit memory addressing and high-end performance are necessary to enable enterprise computing and network infrastructure that are fundamental for the mobile and cloud-computing markets.”

Meanwhile, TSMC’s “ability to quickly ramp volume production of highly integrated SoCs in advanced silicon process technology” and FinFET process will mean chips on sale sooner and that use less power.

Dell and HP have both revealed plans for ARM-based servers, and the chipsets will get an extra boost when Windows RT – previously known as Windows-on-ARM – arrives in October. Samsung and others are expected to release Windows RT tablets using ARM-based processors, while one of Microsoft’s own Surface tablets will run on ARM technology.

ARM and TSMC ink 64-bit deal to oust Intel from businesses is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

This quarter for Qualcomm has been a great one and a slightly less than excellent one depending on how you look at it, with year-over-year profits and revenues jumping while they’ve fallen slightly sequentially. They’ve fallen compared to the second quarter of this year, that is to say, while the third quarter of 2011 compared to this one is making Qualcomm look pretty darn good here in the summer of 2012. This report began with a -6 percent change sequentially in revenues, this also a +28 percent change compared to last year with $4.63 billion in revenues overall.

This third quarter for Qualcomm also brought on operating income of $1.38 billion USD, that being a similar -9 sequentially and 24 y-o-y like the revenue in this report. Net Income was $1.21 billion, this being down 46 percent sequentially and up 17 percent year over year, while operating cash flow is currently at $922 million for the company. Operating cash flow for Qualcomm is down 27 percent year over year; 20 percent of revenues.

Qualcomm is also reporting return of capital to stockholders to be an encouraging $802 million, including $429 million, or $0.25 per share, of cash dividends paid. The company is also moving forward with $373 million of that cash set to repurchase 6.6 million shares of their common stock.

The company has expressed a positive outlook for their 28 nanometer chipsets, ramping up production of that architecture while they expect a similarly strong December for their semiconductor business. Stay tuned for more as the earnings call unfolds soon!

Qualcomm financial Q3 brings encouraging y-o-y boost is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The S-Wallet has opened and absorbed $310 million-worth of connectivity and location patents from British chip company CSR, which already supplies SiRF GPS chips to Galaxy devices. In addition to boosting its patent portfolio, Samsung also invested $34 million to buy a five percent stake in the firm itself, giving it access to a large development team working on audio, automotive, indoor location and other functions. The deal won’t let Samsung use CSR’s camera technology, but it will — the Korean manufacturer says — “solidify its position as a leading semiconductor solutions provider.” Given how Sammy is already intent going it alone with its Exynos processors, we have no reason to doubt it.

Filed under: Cellphones, GPS, Tablet PCs

Samsung swallows up CSR mobile and location patents for $310 million originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Jul 2012 06:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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