Apple to Switch Chip Supplier from Samsung to TSMC

choi

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Nancy Cheng, Apple reportedly to hand processor orders to TSMC. DigiTimes (Taipei), Feb 15, 2011.
http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20110214PD219.html
("Apple is reportedly looking to outsource the production of its A4 processor as well as the next-generation ARM Cortex-A9-based A5 processor to" TSMC, from Samsung)


-----------------------------Separately
(1) Larry Rulison, GlobalFoundries Looks to the Desert; Parent weighing contractor for $6 billion Abu Dhabi chip fab. Times Union (Albany, NY), Feb 16, 2011.
http://www.timesunion.com/default/article/GlobalFoundries-looks-to-the-desert-1013631.php

(2) Ralph Jennings, Taiwan Strategy Seen Making Low-end Phones Even Cheaper. IDG News, Feb 16, 2011.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/219767/taiwan_strategy_seen_making_lowend_phones_even_cheaper.html

My comment: MStar Semiconductor
http://www.mstarsemi.com/products.php
, based at Hsinchu, is foundless.

(3) Lianting Tu, Taiwan's MediaTek to Profit From Cheaper Smartphones: Analyst. CNBC, Feb 15, 2011.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/41611477
(JPMorgan's Alvin "Kwock says Mediatek's latest chipset designs will enable a bunch of companies to come up with $100 price points. Compare that to the current retail price of $500 in Asia for smartphones that sell without a subsidy from telecom operators")

(4) Ralph Jennings, Smartphone Makers Best Equipped to Make Tablets: Analyst. IDG News, Feb 16, 2011.
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/219766/smartphone_makers_best_equipped_to_make_tablets_analyst.html

Quote:

"Traditional PC makers such as Taiwan's Acer and Asustek Computer have said they expect to grab sizeable shares of the tablet market in 2011 [but have not released any]. However, on Tuesday, smartphone maker HTC released its Flyer tablet.

"'The iPhone and iPad are just different in their touch panel size,' [DigiTimes analyst Ian] Peng said.

My comment:
(a) The report provides a link to

Mark Sullivan, HTC's Flyer May Be a Standout in Crowded Tablet Market; The new tablet uses a special version of HTC's Sense overlay software to create a unique user environment. PC World, Feb 15, 2011.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/219731/htcs_flyer_may_be_a_standout_in_crowded_tablet_market.html
(a video clip of demonstration at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona)

(b) See also
Ruth Bender, Taiwan's HTC Launches Facebook Phones, Tablet. Wall Street Journal, Feb 16, 2011.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704409004576145892484399546.html

(4)
(a) Taiwan's Sintek in tie-up with S. Korea's Samsung. AFP, Feb 16, 2011.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110216/tc_afp/taiwanskoreaitcompanysinteksamsung_20110216170024
(to supply "with touch-screens and related products using a new technology called AMOLED")

Taiwan currently does not have the capability to make AMOLED.
(b) Pan Chi-i and Frances Huang, Shares of Sintek rally on deal with Samsung Mobile Display. Central News Agency,
http://focustaiwan.tw/ShowNews/WebNews_Detail.aspx?ID=201102160042&Type=aECO
("Under the deal, SMD [Samsung Mobile Display] is expected to provide its Taiwanese partner with low-temperature polysilicon production technology for the new plant production. In turn, Sintek will serve as a supplier of active matrix organic LED (AMOLED) -based touch sensors to SMD")

Sintek Photronic Corp 和鑫光電
www.sintek.com.tw/

(5) Jackson Chang and Frances Huang, Output of Taiwan's IC sector up 41.5 percent in 2010. Central News Agency,Feb 16, 2011.
http://focustaiwan.tw/ShowNews/WebNews_Detail.aspx?Type=aECO&ID=201102160013
(IC manufacturing NT$884.1b + IC testing NT$132.7b + IC packaging NT$297b + IC design NT$454.8 billion = NT$1.77t (US$60.13 billion))
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