Archive for April, 2011

iSuppli predicts that Apple will become the world’s top consumer of semiconductor chips in 2012. 

This little prediction in July last year was so interesting to me, that I decided to keep it to myself.

Yes, it was reported  in the press.

Yes, there is an error in the graph above, the first column says, “Company” but it’s not my press release it’s iSuppli’s graph and analysis.

The reason I bring this up now, is that Apple has shipped about 10.2 Million mobile PCs in Q4 2010, about 7.3 million of those were iPads.  This is more than HP (9.3M), Acer (8.4M), Dell (5.9M), and Toshiba (5.1M) shipped in Q4.

So Apple has:

1) Become the number 1 Mobile PC supplier with the iPad as of Q4 2011

2) Pushes the suppliers around the world to increase their capacity for production.

Apple dedicated $3.9 Billion in prepayments over the next 2 years, iSuppli thinks these companies are LG, Samsung, Toshiba, and Sharp

I think this is Awesome because:

1) People are buying these iPads and iPhone, new ones every year. (and not giving the old ones to me)

2) It’s pushing demand for components, which should create new jobs

3) It’s pushing the demand for Apps, like games, not just on the Apple platforms, but also on the Google and eventually other platforms. Something like over 100 tablet designs, and lots of smart phones.

So

1) More demand for lots of components (cheap (connectors/cables/accessories) and expensive ones(touch screens))
2) More demand for design engineers, verification engineers, industrial design experts…
3) Read…

Question of the Week

What is the maximum theoretical read/write speed of a SATA 6 Gbps equipped SSD?
What is the fastest claimed speed?
What is the fastest benchmarked speed?

Answer in the comments below. Include a link to your source please.

My Negativity on Negativity

It drives me absolutely crazy to see the negativity around things like “Oh, Apple is closed,” or “the Mac App Store is restrictive” because I see a better experience on my iPod than I see on my PC. (And I will always be a PC person)

The other thing that drives me crazy is the criticism of Apple for charging 30% on iPad Magazine subscriptions.  I have news for everyone (for which I will not charge 30%).  This market didn’t exist 1 year ago!  You were already losing market share in print to on-line, and no one was paying for it!

I see more opportunities for hardware makers, software makers, after market devices, and LEGAL SUBSCRIPTIONS than ever.  In a market that didn’t exist for the iPad 1 year ago, and for the iPhone 5 years ago.

No one in the world could provide another way for companies to make money digitally, to get people to pay LEGALLY for Music, LEGALLY for Video, and actually pay money for magazines and subscriptions.

So what did Apple create?

1) Market for Apps
2) Market for Digital Video
3) Market for Digital Media
4) Market for Portable Games
5) Market for Digital Video Rental
6) Market for Digital Magazines and Newspapers

Wow.

How horrible.

I’m left to believe that anyone criticizing Apple just wants press time.

In fact I bet you stopped reading this right after you looked at the graph.

Answer to the previous question

What is missing from the Apple Patent?

Commenter “Chandrashekar BU” responded correctly.  Thunderbolt. 

After reading a few more articles, it appears that the patent, or some version refers to Dual DisplayPort which might imply Thunderbolt, but I can’t tell.

Comment below. Please.

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The Innovator that invented USB announced at IDF Beijing today that PC chipsets in 2012 will have USB 3.0 fully-integrated.   The Innovator has been shipping a few motherboards with the NEC Host chip, but in 2012, the chips supporting the latest processors will include USB 3.0.

In the same speech the speakers says that Thunderbolt will complement USB 3.0.  I really believe that.  Most of us will use USB 3.0 first. There are 100s of USB 3.0 products available, and every phone has USB 2.0.  The cost/performance of USB 3.0 is best suited to mass adoption, leading adoption over Thunderbolt for at least a few years in products and shipments.

Just yesterday (1 day earlier), AMD announced the first certified USB 3.0 PC Chipsets.  AMD’s A75 and A70M Fusion Controller Hubs.  A PC World interview with an AMD representative indicates that hardware has already been shipped to manufacturers.

This effectively makes USB 3.0 free to the consumer in 2012.

Finally a 4-port USB 3.0 Host Chip

On Monday, TI announced certification of 2-port and 4-port USB 3.0 xHCI Hosts.  This is the first 4-port Host to be certified which is important because I can tell you that every USB port on my Desktop and Laptops have something connected.  I really need a 4-port host.  This is great for PCs, but even better for the embedded market where you really need the flexibility of 4 ports for use both inside and outside the box.  For example, while most TVs should integrate USB 2.0, manufacturers can choose to put USB 3.0 ports on their high end TVs, and integrate the USB 3.0 later.

Comment and Subscribe.  Please.

Patently Apple reports today that Apple has applied for a patent on a combined USB 3.0 and DisplayPort connector.

The great thing is we now know that Apple is at least thinking about USB 3.0.  The connector is (obviously) for their iPad, iPhone, iPod devices.
I like to be positive about everything, but there is one thing missing from this. I blogged about it not to long ago.

 

This week’s question

What is missing from the Apple Patent?

Answer in the Comments below.

Answer to last week’s question later on

 

Radiation, Cell Phones, Bananas

We had a Job Shadow day where kids from our nearby high school visited us.

We talked about cell phones.

One student asked, “Do cell phones cause cancer?”

One sage adult responded, “Your generation will be the first to find out.”

(I don’t think she meant to be funny, but it was quite funny to me).

Another bright student asked, “Aren’t bananas bad for you? They have potassium.”

Never one to miss a segue

At this point I started talking up how Potassium is good for your heart, and is a necessary nutrient.

The student stated, “I’ll send you the link.”

Here’s what I learned.

1) Cell phones do not emit ionizing radiation
2) A single banana contains Potassium, which has isotopes with ionization radiation
3) Therefore, it is more dangerous to eat 1 banana than to use your cell phone for 50 years (unless it’s a bananaphone)

Here’s the chart from xkcd.com

The work appears to me to be well supported with citations to credible sources. Odd are your kids have already seen the picture above in their science class (by the way).  Show it to them and talk about it, or forward it to your science teacher or your kid’s science teacher.

Then tell them to subscribe to my blog.  In addition, this article has a nice explanation on everyday sources of radiation for a more general audience. 

  

Answer to last week’s question

In December, I started to plan to buy an iPad 2, “What did I find when I went looking for “Best iPad Apps of 2009”

Commenter “Dave” responded correctly.  No Apps were available in 2009 for the iPad.  The iPad started shipping almost exactly a year ago (in 2010).  It’s simply amazing to me that there are 100s of Tablet projects now for a market that Apple created 1 year ago.

 

Comment below. Please.

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