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All News Analyses by this Author

Implications of Microsoft and Nokia Alliance

August 13, 2009

Analysis of:Microsoft and Nokia Reach a Mobile Agreement | online.wsj.com

Microsoft and Nokia alliance is an important development in the mobile market. The main battle here is between Microsoft and Google. Microsoft is looking to leverage all of its strengths in its fight with Google. And Nokia is looking to strengthen itself in the smartphone market.

Future of the Processor Market in Netbooks

March 10, 2009

Analysis of:ARM Processors Will Gain 55% of Netbook Market by 2012 | seekingalpha.com

It is too early to tell how the chips will play in the Netbook market; Intel has the lead now and is raising the bar for other likely players in the market. It is not really Intel versus ARM in this market. If ARM ends up gaining a processor market share then this will be likely because of ARM being a part of platforms such as the ones offered by QualComm and Texas Instruments. Intel chips run Linux very well so that is not necessarily a plus going for ARM or systems that use ARM as the core.

Nokia and QualComm Partnership

March 4, 2009

Analysis of:Nokia and Qualcomm tie up after years in court | www.reuters.com

Nokia and QualComm partnership is an important development in the mobile phone market. Once Nokia had decided to work with multiple chip vendors, it was only time before they partnered with QualComm too. For the phone makers, it makes sense to be open to all chip vendors since it is the software and system that they are trying to use for differentiation in the market. It would be interesting to see if one these partnerships end up dominating the cell phone market like the Wintel did in the PC market.

The Battle for MIDs

March 3, 2009

Analysis of:Intel vs. Qualcomm | www.businessweek.com

Intel's announcement of partnership with TSMC on some Atom cores is an an important deveopment in its battle for mobile Internet devices (MIDs) market. While the announcement sounds like this will put Intel in competition with ARM, and that is correct, but a bigger battle is with QualComm to capture the market for MIDs.

Why is Intel Partnering with TSMC?

March 3, 2009

Analysis of:Intel's Agreement With TSMC | www.design-reuse.com

Intel’s partnership with TSMC is an important development in the embedded design market. Intel realizes it needs a different approach to in the types of market it wants to be successful with Atom. Not all applications of the Atom processor will require Intel’s leading edge process technology and customers can gain access to Atom processor implemented with TSMC process along with other components that need to be put together to create the required systems-on-a-chip for the CE market. Intel is taking the right approach to the consumer electronics (CE) market by partnering with TSMC.

The Race for 4G

March 2, 2009

Analysis of:WiMAX Vs. LTE | www.rcrwireless.com

The article "WiMAX vs. LTE" is a good article that talks about the latest events in the WiMAX world and the impact of current economic downturn on the adoption of 4G connectivity. If we look at the patterns that are emerging in the 4G wireless market along with the user expectations, we are pointed in the direction of a fragmented market where both technologies will have a role to play for next several years. This conclusion appears contrary to the heavy backing that LTE has currently amongst wireless providers but this backing may not necessarily translate into a market domination for LTE in near future for technological and economical reasons.

Implications of SanDisk's Latest MLC Technology and the Future of Memory

February 13, 2009

Analysis of:SanDisk Announces Worlds First HIgh Perforomance 4 bit per cell X4 Flah memory Technology | finance.yahoo.com

SanDisk Corporation has announced 64Gb 4-bits-per-cell (x4) single die flash memory chip using multi-level cell (MLC) technology that it has co-developed with Toshiba Corporation on 43nm process technology node. This announcement came at the ISSCC 2009 conference where SanDisk presented its 3-bits-per-cell (x3) flash memory last year, the winner of the 2009 Lewis Winner Outstanding Paper Award. This is an important announcement for the flash memory industry because of the challenges associated in making x4 flash memory: i) 4-bits-per-cell technology requires working with 16 voltage levels and presents significant challenges in noise, signal coupling, and floating gate issues, ii) it requires sophisticated controller hardware to carry out required signal processing for maintaining high write speed and enabling data retention, and iii) a much higher error rate requires large number of redundant bits to ensure effective error-correcting codes.

Instant Access to Emails and Web on Dell Laptops

December 17, 2008

Analysis of:Dell takes business laptops to new latitudes | www.itweb.co.za

Dell has announced and previewed Latitude ON technology that enables near-instant access to email, calendar, contacts, and the Web. This is an important announcement because of its likely impact on revolutionizing the way Laptops are used. Cellphones/PDAs have been taking away the use of some of the important applications on Laptops such as the emails and the use of Web. This can primarily be attributed to, (i) Near instant access of emails on phones, (ii) much longer battery life of phones allowing for near-always-on feeling, and (iii) the form factor of phones. However, the phones are also being used in presence of laptops due to the first two reasons.

Blue-ray vs HD-DVD is not the same battle as VHS vs Betamax

December 16, 2008

Analysis of:High-Def Options Vie With Blu-ray | online.wsj.com

The article questions the importance of DVD players going forward and that's central to the Blue-ray vs HD-DVD battle. It is indeed no longer about DVD players anymore. And the advantages offered by Blue-ray over HD-DVD (15 GB vs 25 GB storage for Blue-ray) isn't significant enough to determine which format wins the game eventually. And most likely, no single format will win the game this time. In a world with ever increasing speeds of data communications and increasing performance of computing technologies, the software and not the hardware will be increasingly playing the video content and that means all competing formats will have an equal chance. Devices like Apple's iTV or simply your computer are on their way to become the storage medium of choice and software the natural choice for player. The advances in connection bandwidth will determine the quality of video that will make its way to homes and it favors 720p resolution as the next candidate for adoption.   

Yahoo and Microsoft Deal and the Evolution of Search Business Dealings

December 16, 2008

Analysis of:Yahoo curbs severance pay in event of a takeover | www.businessweek.com

Yahoo’s overhauling of severance program that could have saddled potential with a huge bill appears to be one of the last bottlenecks to be removed for a potential deal with Microsoft. The other two major events since the failure of Microsoft’s original offer have been the stepping down of Jerry Yang as the CEO of Yahoo and hiring of former Yahoo executive Qi Lu to run Microsoft's struggling Online Services Group. Assuming that a deal will likely happen in future, we will complete a full circle in the search business dealings so far as Microsoft and Yahoo are concerned.

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