(1) Taiwan to Pass Japan as Largest Source of IC Wafer Fab Capacity; The
Idea of Fabricating ICs for Others has Paid Off Handsomely for the Country.
IC Insights, Nov. 11, 2010.
http://www.icinsights.com/news/bulletins/Taiwan-To-Pass-Japan-As-Largest-Source-Of-IC-Wafer-Fab-Capacity/
(2) Memory and Foundry Companies Climb in 2010 Semiconductor Ranking! UMC
jumps into top 20 while Elpida moves up four places. IC Insights, Sept. 9,
2010.
http://www.icinsights.com/news/bulletins/Memory-And-Foundry-Companies-Climb-In-2010-Semiconductor-Ranking/
(3) Smartphone IC Market Expected to Surge by 42% in 2010! Worldwide
smartphone IC market forecast to register a strong 20% 2010-2014 CAGR.
IC Insights, Nov. 2, 2010.
http://www.icinsights.com/news/bulletins/Smartphone-IC-Market-Expected-To-Surge-By-42-In-2010/
Quote:
"It should be noted that all of the three top-10 cellphone suppliers that
are expected to register the highest unit shipment growth in 2010--HTC,
Apple, and RIM--are entirely dedicated to shipping smartphone handsets.
"2010 is shaping up to be the 'year of the smartphone' in the cellphone
market. * * * This is the first time that the smartphone IC market will
outpace the enhanced cellphone IC market.")
My comment:
(a) CAGR stands for Compound Annual Growth Rate.
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/cagr.asp
(b) Regarding quote 1. Of course, there is the biggest smartphone maker,
Nokia, which does not grow much, however.
(c) Regarding quote 2. I do not know what the future holds for Taiwan's
Mediatek, if demand for basic cellphones shrinks.
---------------------------Separately
Samsung Poised to Overtake Intel as Largest Semiconductor Maker: Leader in
DRAM, NAND flash; major player in MCU, image sensors; expanding in MPU,
foundry. IC Insights, Aug. 25, 2010.
http://www.icinsights.com/news/bulletins/Samsung-Poised-To-Overtake-Intel-As-Largest-Semiconductor-Maker/
("Samsung Electronics is on track to catch up with Intel in terms of total
annual revenues for semiconductors and will most likely become the world's
largest IC maker before the middle of this decade")