Chaos, Progress In Mobile Payment Security


Semiconductor suppliers and their embedded software partners, internally and externally, have made tremendous strides in recent years supporting secure mobile payment processing. It hasn't been easy. Or simple. And it's still evolving. The result of those efforts, which is now set to play an increasingly important and widespread commercial role in 2017, are trusted execution environment t... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


Chipmakers 2017 is just getting underway and there appears to be more restructuring in the IC industry. Toshiba is looking to spin off its semiconductor division and Western Digital (WD) plans to take a minority stake, according to Nikkei, which added that Toshiba would sell a 20% stake for 200-300 billion yen ($1.78-$2.65 billion). “The arrangement would provide Toshiba with short term fund... » read more

The Week In Review: IoT


Products Intel on Monday unveiled the Responsive Retail Platform, with CEO Brian Krzanich making a presentation at the National Retail Federation’s Big Show conference. “Intel’s Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud technologies touch every link of the retail supply chain. IoT sensors capture data that can be analyzed. Data centers crunch the information and give it real-world usefulness,�... » read more

China Unveils Memory Plans


Backed by billions of dollars in government funding, China in 2014 launched a major initiative to advance its domestic semiconductor, IC-packaging and other electronic sectors. So far, though, the results are mixed. China is making progress in IC-packaging, but the nation’s efforts to advance its domestic logic and memory sectors are still a work in progress. In fact, China has yet to achi... » read more

Mobile Processors Move Beyond Phones


Mobile processors, also known as application processors, are well-known as the engines that run smartphones, tablet computers, and other wireless devices. But these chips increasingly are finding their way into autonomous vehicles, the Internet of Things, unmanned aerial vehicles, virtual reality, and other applications far beyond phone calls and text messages. Moreover, they are gaining in com... » read more

The Week In Review: IoT


Products Qualcomm reported before the official opening of CES 2017 that it has shipped more than 1 billion Internet of Things chips to date, for such applications as automotive electronics, Internet-connected televisions, sensors, and wearable gadgets (including smartwatches). The company didn’t include chips for smartphones and tablet computers in that total. “We have scale,” said Raj T... » read more

Looking Back On IoT In 2016


The Internet of Things was going great guns for most of 2016. Until October 21, that is. That’s the date of the coordinated cyberattacks on Dyn, an Internet performance management services firm. The distributed denial-of-service attacks quickly had impacts on Airbnb, Amazon, Facebook, Netflix, PayPal, Reddit, Twitter, and other popular websites. Dyn was able to fight off the aggressive att... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


CES mania At the upcoming CES in Las Vegas, Samsung Electronics will unveil the CH711, a new curved monitor based on quantum dot technology. Designed for gamers, the CH711 is available in 27- and 31.5-inch variations. The monitors feature a 1,800R curvature, an ultra-wide 178-degree viewing angle and a 2,560 x 1,440 WQHD resolution. [caption id="attachment_33488" align="alignleft" width="30... » read more

CEO Outlook: Chip Design 2017


After two consecutive flat to slightly down years, the semiconductor industry is poised for growth in 2017. Cowan this month predicted 4.7% growth in semiconductor sales in 2017, while World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) put that figure at 3.3%. And last month, International Business Strategies (IBS) pegged the number at 4.6%, according to statistics compiled by the Global Semiconduc... » read more

Harder Than It Looks


First Apple scales back plans to develop its own vehicle. Then Intel creates its own automotive chip unit. This kind of two-step movement in the automotive electronics industry is becoming more common. NXP buys Freescale, then Qualcomm buys NXP. Harman buys Symphony Teleca and Red Bend Software, then Samsung buys Harman. All of these moves are proof points that innovation and fleet-foo... » read more

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