Apple Confirms Acquisition of Passif Semiconductor

The company’s low-power communication chips could play a role in the development of future wearable devices like the rumored iWatch.

It’s an iStorm: Scott Forstall Out at Apple, Along With Retail Head, as Other Top Execs Get Promotions

Apparently, there are storms in the West, too.

Federico Faggin on the First 40 Years of the Microprocessor — And the Next 40 (Video)

Speaking on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Intel 4004 processor he created, Federico Faggin reflects on that first chip, and where technology is heading in the next 40 years.

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Samsung Combines Component Operations

Samsung Electronics Co. said Friday it will fold its flat-panel display business back into its semiconductor business, uniting its component manufacturing operations just when the display business appears likely to be unprofitable for some time to come.

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Top Executives Resign at Globalfoundries

Globalfoundries, the semiconductor manufacturing service controlled by investors from Abu Dhabi, said its top two executives are stepping down in a move aimed at speeding up the company’s execution.

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Philips's CEO Urges Local Strategies for Emerging Markets

When Philips Electronics NV Chief Executive Gerard Kleisterlee retires next year from the electronics conglomerate he has led for a decade, he will leave a company that is increasingly focused on emerging markets. Mr. Kleisterlee, 63 years old, has pushed the company to get growth from developing markets, especially China and Latin America, where health care, lighting and consumer products are gaining momentum.

Chip Industry Can Put Down the Mylanta Now

Worldwide chip sales have slipped deep into the mud over the past year and they’ll continue to do so until year’s end. But they’ll begin to improve after that.

Semiconductor Industry Ends Disaster Preparedness Drills

2009 semiconductor sales are down from 2008 by nearly record amounts, but they’re improving. That’s the latest word from the Semiconductor Industry Association, which said today that global chip sales rose in September from the previous month–the seventh straight month of gains.

New From AMD: The Impresseron

Intel’s year of sequential gains in the semiconductor market came to an abrupt end in the first quarter of 2009. According to market research outfit iSuppli, the chip giant’s share of the market fell 2.5 percent to 79.1 percent in Q1. Meanwhile, AMD’s rose about 2.3 percent to 12.8 percent.

Chip Sales: Bottoms Up?

No big surprises here. The souring economy and related uncertainty in consumer and enterprise technology markets continue to drag the chip sector down into the mud. While world-wide sales of semiconductors in March rose 3.3 percent from February, they were down nearly 30 percent from last year.

Weekend Update, 4.04.09

Microsoft's Economic Stimulus Plan

Macworld ’09: Behind the PhilNote

Fairchild's Year Without a Santa Claus

Microsoft "Done" With Yahoo Bid

Cadence Leadership Released Into Wild