Year in review: Shrinking chips, shrinking revenue

#rb_bodyWrap .left_content h2{font-family:Georgia, serif;} #right_content .topics ul.topics_list{padding-right:4px;} #rb_bodyWrap div#right_content td,#rb_bodyWrap div#right_content tr,#rb_bodyWrap div#right_content tbody,#rb_bodyWrap div#right_content table, #rb_bodyWrap ul.topics_list, ul.topics_list li {vertical-align:top;} #rb_bodyWrap div#right_content td{padding:4px;} #rb_bodyWrap #right_content h4{font-family:Georgia, serif;color:#990000;} div#storyMeta{font-size:115%;} #contentMain a:hover{color:#990000;} #rb_bodyWrap #right_content table{font-size:105%} Chips PageVars.set('title', escape("Shrinking chips, shrinking revenue")); PageVars.set('description', escape("The "smaller is better" theme played out with Intel's Atom chip and Netbook PCs, but the recession also put a squeeze on wallets.")); PageVars.set('href', "http://news.cnet.com/2009-1006_3-6248481.html"); Shrinking chips, shrinking revenue By Brooke Crothers Special to CNET News Published: December 31, 2008, 4:00 AM PST Print E-mail Share cnet_news406:http%3A%2F%2Fnews.cnet.com%2F2009-1006_3-6248481.html The year began with a bang. Atomic in scale. , launching the Netbook phenomenon. This is not your father's PC processor: it's very small and not particularly fast, but it's very power-efficient. The mini notebooks, known as Netbooks, typically weigh less than three pounds and have screens under 11 inches diagonally. Netbooks also signaled the arrival of the solid-state drive--faster, quieter, and cooler than the longstanding staple of PC storage, the hard disk drive. This also brought some extra scrutiny about the . The first high-profile use of a solid-state drive , launched in January. Expanding on the "smaller is better" theme, , built on a 45-nanometer Penryn process with improved power efficiency. Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks The first high-profile use of a solid-state drive was the MacBook Air, launched in January. While Advanced Micro Devices shrank chip geometries, it also focused on reducing the size of the company because of missteps and the consequent financial shortfalls. Emblematic of growing financial strains, AMD was . But not all was lost. Its ATI unit made gains on rival Nvidia in graphics chips. Nvidia, not known for making small chips (but known for making very fast ones), wanted to ensure its graphics chip message was getting out and the chief executive . He alleged, in effect, that Intel makes lousy graphics silicon. But Nvidia was also on the receiving end of scathing criticism when it finally . Hewlett-Packard, Dell, and Apple all issued warnings and fixes for laptops with the potentially defective graphics processors. Intel, never one to shrink from competition, announced . The chip, code-named Larrabee, would give Nvidia and AMD something to think about. And that's about all they could do since the chip--at least initially--was merely a paper tiger. In October, serious revenue shrinkage began, starting with the