Samsung Electronics overwhelmed the world of semiconductors when it announced plans to build a chip production plant that will cost almost $15 billion last October. At the time it was unclear for what the giant plans to use its fab in Pyeongtaek, a city south of Seoul. According to a …
Read More »Microsoft already working on Windows 10.1 ‘Redstone’
Even though Microsoft Corp.’s Windows 10 operating system is still months away, the software giant is already working on and updated version of the operating system code-named “Redstone”. The improved OS is expected to emerge in 2016 and will be aimed to strengthen Microsoft Windows ecosystem in general. Microsoft plans to roll …
Read More »GlobalFoundries: Our lead 14nm product is yielding in double digits
GlobalFoundries on Tuesday clarified claims about its ramp up of 14nm chip production at fab 8 manufacturing facility in Malta, New York. The world's second largest contract maker of semiconductors has taped out multiple 14nm designs and is tweaking its equipment using a lead product at the moment. The company is …
Read More »Apple’s sales chief wants end-users to get products online
Angela Ahrendts, senior vice president of retail and online sales at Apple, has written a letter to employees asking them to encourage end-users to order new products online instead of getting them in retail outlets. Apparently, the chief of online and retail sales at Apple wants to change mindset of …
Read More »Nvidia’s patents claims against Samsung, Qualcomm will go to trial in June
Nvidia Corp. has announced that administrative law judge Thomas Pender presiding over its patent case against Samsung and Qualcomm in the U.S. International Trade Commission had ruled that the lawsuit would go to trial in June. This pretrial decision, known as a Markman ruling, is the judge’s determination of the …
Read More »Next-gen Apple TV set-top-box will not support 4K video streaming
Apple is rumoured to announce its next set-top-box in the coming months, the first all-new STB in years. The new Apple TV is expected to bring-in additional features, but, according to a media report, it will not support 4K ultra-high-definition video playback, at least initially. Although not a lot of …
Read More »SanDisk – ‘excellent takeover candidate’ for Seagate, WD, says analyst
SanDisk is one of the leading producers of NAND flash-based devices, could be an excellent acquisition target for Seagate and Western Digital, according to a financial analyst. While at present the takeover of SanDisk is a hypothetical thing, HDD makers may be very interested in acquiring a company with NAND …
Read More »TSMC looking at new materials, transistor structures for sub-10nm tech
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. this week confirmed that it has a team of engineers working on a manufacturing process that will succeed 10nm fabrication technology towards the end of the decade. While the company did not reveal details about its sub-10nm process, it said that it considers various options for …
Read More »Intel 750-series SSD for consumers: up to 1.2TB capacity, up to 2.40GB/s transfer rates
Intel Corp. announced its new 750-series solid-state drives this week. The new SSDs are designed for high-performance desktops and the manufacturer calls the drives its “highest-performing client SSDs”. With read speeds up to 2.40GB/s and capacities up to 1.2TB, the Intel 750-series SSD is a dream of any performance enthusiast. …
Read More »Phison to greatly expand its SSD controller business operations this year
Phison, once an underdog on the market of controllers for solid-state drives, today is one of the leading independent designers of SSD controllers. In a bid to further strengthen its positions on the market, Phison plans to spend up to $320 million on mergers and acquisitions, build a research and …
Read More »Mubadala: GlobalFoundries begins to ramp up production of 14nm chips
Mubadala Development Co., the Abu Dhabi-based investment and development company, said this week that GlobalFoundries, which is owned by Mubadala, has already begun to ramp up production of chips using 14nm fabrication process. “GlobalFoundries announced a strategic collaboration with Samsung to deliver capacity at 14nm, one of the industry’s most …
Read More »GlobalFoundries and Samsung to produce Apple’s next A9 SoC together – report
Based on the recent market rumours, Samsung Foundry and GlobalFoundries have landed orders to produce Apple’s A9 system-on-chip that will power the company’s next-generation iPhone and iPad devices. It is unknown whether Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. will also produce the A9 SoC at any point. At present Apple’s A8 application …
Read More »Dell remains world’s top supplier of PC displays
Despite of relatively weak sales of PC monitors in the fourth quarter of 2014, Dell managed to retain its No. 1 position on the market, according to a new report from International Data Corp. Among the top five display suppliers only two actually produce liquid crystal display panels for them, …
Read More »Corsair slashes pricing on gaming headsets, mice in the U.K.
Corsair, a leading producer of advanced computer hardware for enthusiasts as well as peripherals for gamers, has significantly reduced recommended prices of its headsets and mice in the U.K. The price-cuts on many high-end items are very significant and exceed 10 per cent. Corsair did not reveal reasons for price-cuts, …
Read More »Nvidia is considering GeForce GTX Titan X ‘Ultra’ with hybrid cooling – rumour
Nvidia Corp.’s GeForce GTX Titan X graphics card offers extreme performance that is enough for playing all modern games even in ultra-high-definition resolutions. However, true enthusiasts never settle with any level of performance and they constantly demand more. Apparently, Nvidia is mulling about something it can offer to those, who …
Read More »Asus unveils heavily-overclocked 20th Anniversary GTX 980 Gold Edition
To celebrate 20 years of producing graphics cards, Asustek Computer this week introduced its massively factory-overclocked 20th Anniversary Golden Edition GTX 980 graphics adapter that will be made in limited quantities. The add-in-board packs everything that Asus’ graphics cards have to offer today, including exclusive technologies, advanced cooling solutions, unique …
Read More »Micron begins trial production of DRAM using 10nm-class process tech
Micron Technology said this week that it had already begun trial production of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips using its 10nm-class fabrication process. The manufacturing technology is still under development, but trial production indicates that it is proceeding as planned. “1x nanometer DRAM development is also proceeding well and …
Read More »Micron to consolidate NAND flash market: cuts-down IC supply, increases prices
Micron Technology has announced that it will reduce shipments of its NAND flash memory to the spot market. While the move may have limited effects on the market initially, it could lead to consolidation of makers of NAND flash-based devices, including solid-state drives. In a bid to improve its profit …
Read More »Nvidia Tegra X1 to power desktops, notebooks, tablets, portable consoles
Unveiled early this year, Tegra X1 system-on-chip from Nvidia Corp. was positioned mainly for automotive applications. However, given rather serious processing horsepower it has, it can be used for many other devices. In fact, according to recent leaks and listings, Nvidia and its partners plan to use the Tegra X1 …
Read More »GM200-based GeForce GTX 980 Ti to hit the market this fall – rumour
Nvidia Corp. has reportedly slightly changed launch schedule of its GeForce GTX 980 Ti graphics card powered by the GM200 graphics processor. The latest market rumours suggest that the new adapter will hit the market in September and will be a part of the company’s product refresh this Fall. Previously …
Read More »First weekend Apple Watch sales could hit one million units
Although it will take some time before general public accepts smartwatches in general and Apple Watch in particular, financial analysts believe that the gadget from Apple will be rather popular from the very start. Many loyal Apple fans prefer to get new gadgets from the company among in the first …
Read More »AMD faces massive securities fraud lawsuit because of ‘Llano’ problems in 2011
While Advanced Micro Devices has plenty of troubles today, it looks like the company could be hit by problems from the past, which are associated with the launch of its code-named “Llano” accelerated processing unit. AMD may have to pay damages to parties, which bought the company’s shares between April, 2011, …
Read More »TSMC loses orders to UMC, Chinese manufacturers
For many years Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has been gaining market share by grabbing orders from smaller rivals. However, in the recent quarters companies like United Microelectronics Corp. managed to increase their yields and started to snatch orders from TSMC. While the latter will retain its positions, the situation seems …
Read More »Asustek and Gigabyte remained top mainboards makers in Q1 2015 – report
Asustek Computer and Gigabyte Technology managed to remain the world’s largest suppliers of branded motherboards in the first quarter of 2015, a media report claims. Gigabyte even managed tom outsell Asus by a small margin. Unfortunately, neither of large makers of mainboards will likely hit their shipments targets this year. …
Read More »LG Electronics begins to promote 8K UHD resolution
4K ultra-high-definition video resolutions have not yet become popular on the market mainly due to the lack of content, high prices of displays and TVs as well as insufficient performance of mainstream graphics adapters. However, LG Electronics, a major maker of consumer electronics and a leading manufacturer of displays, has …
Read More »Intel to unveil 14nm Celeron and Pentium chips with 4W – 6W TDP
Intel Corp. this week plans to announce a new family of inexpensive Celeron and Pentium central processing units made using 14nm fabrication process. Previously known as code-named “Braswell” microprocessors, the new chips significantly increase performance in multimedia applications compared to previous-generation “Bay Trail” system-on-chips. The new SoCs will be used …
Read More »Asustek teases ultra-fast GeForce GTX 980 graphics card
Asustek Computer is preparing to launch a yet another factory overclocked GeForce GTX 980-based graphics card. The new graphics adapter promises to become one of the most powerful products based on Nvidia Corp.’s GM204 graphics processing unit. The unknown 20th anniversary gold edition GeForce GTX 980 graphics card fro, Asus …
Read More »AMD readies ‘Greenland’ graphics processor
Advanced Micro Devices is working on a new graphics processing unit code-named “Greenland”, which will be released next year. The new graphics chip will replace code-named “Fiji” GPU and will be AMD’s flagship graphics solution in 2016. Nothing particular is known about the forthcoming Radeon graphics processor, except its code-name. …
Read More »AMD unveils CPU and GPU roadmaps for the next five years
Advanced Micro Devices has demonstrated its roadmaps for the next five years. While the company did not disclose almost any details about its future products, it is important that AMD actually has plans that can be executed. AMD’s Junji Hayashi demonstrated a number of slides revealing the company’s roadmaps at …
Read More »Seagate denies intention to re-introduce 5.25-inch HDDs
Seagate Technology has clarified its position regarding bringing 5.25” form-factor hard disk drive to the market. Apparently, the company does not have any plans to reintroduce hard disk drives in the outdated form-factors. “Seagate has absolutely no plans to pursue a 5.25” drive, and does not (and has not) promoted …
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