Processors

Intel's next CEO: Manufacturing chief Brian Krzanich

Intel has named Chief Operating Officer Brian Krzanich as its next CEO to succeed Paul Otellini as head of the chip giant in a couple weeks.

In addition, Intel appointed Renee James to the role of president. She previously served as the executive vice president overseeing Intel's software and services group.

Krzanich joined the Santa Clara, Calif., company in 1982 and has worked in many different technical areas since that time. He now runs the company's manufacturing operations and also oversees supply chain, human resources, and information technology operations following his appointment as chief operating officer in January … Read more

Intel describes next-gen 'Iris' graphics chips

Intel has released details on the next-generation graphics chips that will appear in upcoming laptops, hybrids, and desktops.

Iris graphics will be integrated into the 4th Gen Intel Core, aka, Haswell processors, the chip giant announced Wednesday.

"Iris graphics brings [an] eye-popping visual experience -- no extra graphics card required," Intel said in a statement.

There will be a 2X (two-fold) 3D performance increase over the 3rd Gen Intel Core "Ivy Bridge" chips for both the U- and Mobile H-series processors designed for ultrabooks and higher-performance laptops, respectively, Intel said.

For desktop R series processors, there … Read more

Intel confirms 'Haswell' chip intro at Computex

It's official. Intel's fourth-generation core "Haswell" processor will arrive on June 3. Expect a crush of desktops, laptops, convertibles, detachables, and tablets to ensue.

"In approximately 3,337,200,000,000,000 nanoseconds, Intel will reveal all there is to know about the highly anticipated 4th generation Intel Core processor family," Intel said in a statement Friday.

That's June 3 in the U.S. and June 4 in Taiwan, where it will be rolled out at Computex.

Haswell is mostly about better battery life and, to a lesser extent, about improved graphics performance. … Read more

Android notebooks? Yep, Intel says, and they'll only cost $200

Notebook prices should soon hit $200, but most of those will be Android-based devices, not Windows 8, an Intel executive said.

Intel CEO Paul Otellini last week said touchscreen PCs could debut at prices as low as $200 in the coming months. At the time, he didn't specify what operating system those products would run.

But Dadi Perlmutter, Intel executive vice president and chief product officer, told CNET on Wednesday that notebooks priced at the $200 level will predominantly be Android products running on Intel's Atom mobile processor. Whether Windows 8 PCs hit that price largely depends on … Read more

Qualcomm posts record 2Q rev but earnings view disappoints

Qualcomm today reported record fiscal second-quarter revenue and boosted its forecast for the full year, a reflection of its dominant position as a supplier of chips for smartphones and tablets.

However, the San Diego chipmaker also projected weaker-than-anticipated fiscal third-quarter per-share earnings, causing shares to drop 6.9 percent to $61.45 in after-hours trading.

The forecast raised worries that Qualcomm's expenses are increasing at a time the average selling price of devices is falling. Qualcomm generates a significant amount of its earnings from royalties for its 3G code division multiple access technology, and the price of devices impacts … Read more

GS4 quad-core or 8-core? Samsung chief says it doesn't matter

U.S. customers won't be getting their hands on a Galaxy S4 powered by an eight-core processor, but the head of Samsung Electronics says it shouldn't matter to buyers.

Some models of Samsung's flagship smartphone, available globally in the coming weeks, will feature a quad-core processor from Qualcomm while others will feature Samsung's Exynos 5 chip with eight cores. The U.S. version will use the 1.9GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 series chip.

Some in the tech press have criticized the lack of an eight-core chip in the U.S., but J.K. Shin, co-CEO of … Read more

ARM's Q1 revenue jumps on mobile strength

It pays to be in mobile, especially if Apple and Samsung are licensing your technology, as evidenced by ARM Holdings' first-quarter results.

The U.K.-based chip architecture designer, whose technology powers the vast majority of smartphones and tablets, on Tuesday reported its sales jumped 26 percent to 28 percent, depending on the currency, to 170.3 million pounds, or $263.9 million. And its profit also soared, up 39 percent to 51.9 million pounds, or $79.4 million.

ARM also projected its full-year revenue would be "at least in line with current market expectations." Analysts pegged … Read more

Intel loses key TV business engineer

Intel's fledgling TV business has lost one of its lead engineers, the company confirmed, potentially dealing a blow to its efforts to get the business off the ground.

Jim Baldwin, who served as vice president and general manager of engineering for Intel Media, has left the company to pursue other opportunities, an Intel spokesman said. Baldwin's LinkedIn profile, meanwhile, said he has retired from the company.

Baldwin couldn't immediately be reached for comment. The Intel spokesman said that the company has "a deep engineering leadership bench" and has taken steps internally to address the transition. &… Read more

AMD nabs Apple graphics chip designer

Advanced Micro Devices will soon announce it has hired a former Apple graphics chip designer to bolster its engineering leadership bench as it turns itself around, CNET has learned.

Raja Koduri, who most recently served as director of graphics architecture for Apple, will be rejoining AMD four years after leaving that company, people familiar with the hire told CNET. He will be taking on a role in AMD's graphics business, though it wasn't immediately clear to CNET what his title would be. AMD is expected to make the announcement next week.

The move is the latest in a … Read more