Netbook bandwagon welcomes new processors, chips

Freescale is trying to drive netbooks to lower price points with a new ARM-based processor while Nvidia eyes a more muscular graphics chip.

HB LED driver simplifies green lighting designs

Maxim's MAX16834 is designed to reduce the size, complexity, and cost of solid-state lighting designs, thus simplifying the implementation of green lighting tech.

Life with batteries—don't ignore typical specs

Many engineers wouldn't think of using "typical" IC specs in power supply designs. But typical specs can actually be very useful, sometimes critical, when trying to optimize battery life. By keeping a clear view of design goals, typical specs offer guidance that is sometimes missing from minimum and maximum limits.

Will home networks bank on Ethernet?

While the consumer electronics industry is yet to find a clear technology winner for digital home media distribution, some are clearly betting on Ethernet to become the answer for home networks by late 2009 and beyond.

Shanghai clears way for AMD's 45nm shift

Advanced Micro Devices moves to the 45nm technology node with the launch of its new Opteron server chip, code-named Shanghai.

Maximizing multi-vendor
compatibility

This article will determine what Consumer Electronic Control is and what is not, explain the key features of interests to consumers of home entertainment products, describe details of the physical interface, and address system level hardware and software considerations.

Know the basics of video transcoding for CE

Adapting media to play on different CE devices requires transcoding, adapting container formats, and adapting network protocols. This article addresses these functions and describes how they can be implemented using Texas Instrument's DaVinci family of processors.

Network HD video over powerlines

Networking the home is perhaps the next great consumer technology challenge. Home users are now starting to want to share content between devices over a high-bandwidth network that offers guaranteed QoS.

Bringing the MOST in interface controllers

MOST is a powerful network architecture that utilizes a full software protocol stack to manage the network. Because MOST hardware ICs handle the low-level data-link layer operations, the external protocol stack is generally smaller than others.

Achieve scalable, flexible in-vehicle networking

In-vehicle networking architectures have become much more complex. Although the number of in-vehicle networking protocols has been reduced, the number of networks being deployed has increased dramatically.

Enabling next-generation
mobile TV handsets

Designers faced with making mobile TV a reality have a number of challenges in front of them, including battery life, reception, range, screen size, and picture quality.

NXP needs to sell more assets to survive

Despite his experience, NXP's new chief Richard Clemmer cannot surgically resolve NXP's problems without resorting to drastic measures.

• Chasing Intel and AMD
• China's 3G licenses
• SMIC is in talks on possible stake sale to Intel
• China semiconductor growth slower-than-expected
• China WAPI standards likely to gain momentum
• New Year to present even bigger challenges for LCD panel makers
more headlines

2009 IC fearless forecasts

2009 is just beginning to unfold in the electronics industry and there is already a looming uncertainty based on recent industry data.

Top 15 challenges to conquer for 22nm

The team of expert analysts from Semiconductor Insights—Xu Chang, Vu Ho, Ramesh Kuchibhatla, and Don Scansen—came up with a list of top challenges for the 22nm node.

Navteq: Navigating the future

2008 was a very good year for the navigation industry in Asia Pacific.

Microsoft: Connected experiences for the future

Embedded devices from PNDs to POS terminals have evolved from simple standalone devices to become devices that communicate to provide end-users with a high value connected experience.

Outlook is positive for health care, wireless

While almost all segments of the electronics industry will be flat or decline in 2009, a few exceptions are possible, according to an industry survey.

4G wireless: Far from reality

Don't hold your breath waiting for the next wireless broadband technology. It will be a few more years before we have access to broadband Internet services that are truly wire-free.

Broadband expected to grow in 2009

Motorola Inc. said it will continue its LTE work, and expand WiMAX and fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) deployments into a projected expansion of broadband in 2009.

A flexible future awaits displays

So what can you do with printed electronics? There are a bunch of applications waiting to be exploited, ranging from foldable, rollable, biodegradable and other types of everyday electronics wear to flexible electronic displays.

Study: LED lighting could reap $1.8T savings

The emerging solid-state lighting that replaces incandescent and fluorescent bulbs with LED can reap enormous savings in cost, natural resources and pollution, according to a study by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

China's fabless company rethinks investments

Actions Semiconductor Co. Ltd has reported its recent investment activities. Due to market conditions, Actions has withdrawn from a recently announced transaction. The company also announced that it has made two new investments.

ChinaChip honors China's top IC fabless companies

China Software and IC Production Centre held its 2008 ChinaChip Awards Dinner Celebration Dec. 19, 2008 at the Park Hotel in Beijing, China and recognized China's top semiconductor fabless companies that have demonstrated excellence through their success, vision, strategy and future opportunity in the nation.