texas

How Microsoft became a control freak with tablet makers

Microsoft wasn't taking chances.

The company was about to introduce one of its biggest operating system releases, and it needed its hardware partners to develop products that could genuinely rival the iPad and Android tablets.

Microsoft took control of partners working with the new Windows RT software that ran on low-power chips normally used for cell phones. It held regular meetings with the small group of companies in its development program and dictated to a large extent what the devices looked like. Details were everything. Microsoft even told one company to move the location of its Windows home key, … Read more

Analyst cryptically notes that iPad Mini gen-2 is 'pulled in'

Chipmakers are preparing for the second-generation iPad Mini and Samsung is on track for a phone with a bendable display and possibly an early intro of the Galaxy S4, according to a research note from RBC Capital Markets.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Doug Freedman -- who is in China visiting chip companies this week -- offered this ambiguous Apple note: "iPad Mini Gen-2: Apple's gen-2 iPad mini is getting pulled-in, and is likely to have several new suppliers, with TXN gaining content."

"Pulled in" would seem to imply that Apple is moving up introduction of … Read more

Beyond quad-core: What's next for mobile processing power

Remember when a quad-core processor was the ultimate indicator of a super-smartphone? Well its 15 minutes are almost up.

Just as the current run of super-smartphones are destined for the bargain bin in a few months, so too will the novelty and obsession with the number of cores powering a phone begin to fade. Sure, smartphones with the latest quad-core chips still rule now, but companies are already preparing to change the conversation.

In its place, expect chip companies, handset manufacturers, and wireless carriers to shift their marketing away from an emphasis cores and more toward tangible benefits such as … Read more

Apple nabs former TI engineers for chip push, report says

Reports suggest that Apple is in the hunt for former Texas Instruments engineers in Israel, in a bid to expand its operations in the country.

According to sources speaking to The Next Web, Apple has been hiring "dozens" of engineers after the chipmaker cut 250 jobs from one of its Israeli operations center.

Apple is ramping up its efforts to build research and development centers in Herzliya and Haifa, the report said.

TI this month announced a round of redundancies, in the region of 1,700 employees worldwide, as it aims to pull out of the consumer market … Read more

Texas Instruments exits consumer phones, lays off 1,700

Texas Instruments is officially getting out of the consumer smartphone business, as major phone suppliers like Apple turn to internal chip designs.

"TI...will reduce costs and focus investments in its wireless business on embedded markets with greater potential for sustainable growth. Cost reductions include the elimination of about 1,700 jobs worldwide," TI said in a statement today.

While TI didn't mention any names, one of the most telling statements alluded to companies that are now designing their own chips. That would include Apple, which designs processors for its iPhone.

"Large customers are increasingly developing … Read more

Nvidia still has a lot to prove in the mobile market

Nvidia may be flying high on its tablet wins, but it still has a long way to go before it can call itself a real mobile player.

The Santa Clara, Calif., company, traditionally known for making graphics processing units found in computers and game consoles, has been counting on its Tegra mobile chip to help offset weakness in its core PC market. So far, it hasn't been enough. Nvidia is showing up in many tablets, but its presence in smartphones is minimal. In addition, the bulk of Tegra sales are for a couple of tablets, the Google Nexus 7 … Read more

Hey, Obama, Romney, there's a lot of U.S. stuff in the iPhone 5

Apple's iPhone and iPad have emerged as poster children for the outsourcing of American manufacturing jobs.

Can't Apple make the MacBook, iPad, and iPhone in the U.S.? -- was the plea posed as a question by the CNN moderator Tuesday night -- with both Obama and Romney providing answers relatively lacking in nuance.

So, I decided to ask a different question to IHS iSuppli: How of much the stuff inside the iPhone 5 is provided by U.S. companies -- regardless of where it's made. That's a fair question since focusing on where something's … Read more

Amazon looks to acquire TI mobile chip business, report says

Amazon could be planning to acquire a mobile processor business, a new report claims.

Texas Instruments and Amazon are currently engaged in "advanced talks" over the possibility of the Kindle maker acquiring Texas Instruments' mobile chip business, Israel-based news outlet Calcalist is reporting today (translate), citing sources. The news outlet didn't say how much Amazon hopes to pay in the sale.

If Amazon buys out Texas Instruments' mobile chip business, it would mark a dramatic shift for the e-retail giant. Amazon uses Texas Instruments' processors in its mobile devices, including the latest Kindle Fire HD. Barnes & … Read more

Apple said to have bought land for Texas campus expansion

After some push and pull with the Texas authorities, it looks like Apple might have finally sealed the deal on its plans to expand its Austin campus. According to the Austin Business Journal, county records show that three tracts of land near its existing campus were sold to Apple on June 21.

"It's unknown how much Apple paid for the land or how many acres it bought, but officials at two real estate brokerages, which did not want to be identified, confirmed that the long awaited deal had closed," the Journal reports.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry announced … Read more