Viewpoints

pCell’s inventor Steve Perlman is making large claims for Artemis Networks and its wireless throughput, notes David Manners. But is what’s being demoed entirely within the capabilities of existing LTE technology? Everyone’s talking about pCell.

Technology flotations accounted for a third of UK initial public offerings (IPOs) last year, firmly cementing the country as home to some of the best tech start-ups in the world. Following this surge, the head of UK primary markets and Aim at the London Stock Exchange, Marcus Stuttard, proclaimed that the pipeline for tech IPOs remains “very strong” for the ...

China’s massive manufacturing machine works on minuscule margins. Maybe, wonders David Manners, it would have been better if China had built up the quality of its educational system so that its own clever citizens could create the necessary IP to make more profitable products. Has the China thing been an illusion? People now say the whole boom has been built ...

True or False? A news tool to determine whether online stories are true or false is being developed by universities in the UK and Germany, writes David Manners. Sensationalist, rumour-based web publishing may never be the same again. The journo’s dilemma is almost upon us – the lie detector test for web-based statements.

Now China has embroiled Qualcomm in anti-trust, the handset business is getting even tougher, says David Manners. If you’re set up to make $100 chunks of silicon, supplying parts into LTE handsets costing $165 isn’t great for profits. You can’t out-run commoditisation. Be afraid. Be very afraid if you’re in the handset business. Coolpad and Lenovo have launched $165 LTE ...

Neelie Kroes set the European semiconductor industry the task of achieving 20% world market share of IC output, writes David Manners. The CEOs of the big device manufacturers, however, didn’t want to embark on the journey of investment and technological progress. I always thought Neelie would get her way. The redoubtable lady who slapped a billion euro fine on Intel ...

Government and high-tech. The relationship is complex despite what knee-jerk free marketeers may claim, says David Manners. The US government spends far more on microelectronics R&D than any other government and there’s more to the industry than products – process, for example, is just as important and much process development is done in state-funded laboratories, universities and research institutions… It ...

Does Europe have a future in microelectronics or not? As Europe’s largest chip manufacturer, the fate of ST is central to the question explains David Manners. As Europe’s largest chip manufacturer, the fate of ST is relevant to whether Europe has a future in microelectronics or not. So the news that the Italian government is to sell a 13% stake ...

Intel logged a 2% decline in IC sales reports IC Insights, eight points worse than the 6% growth rate displayed by the worldwide IC market. David Manners considers IC Insights’ suggestions for how Intel could take advantage of an IC market expected to increase 7% this year. Everyone loves to tell people what they should do and when someone’s in ...

While 450mm manufacturing may never happen this doesn’t mean the declining cost of electronics will necessarily come to an end. There are still ways, says David Manners, of reducing cost-per-function like 3D transistors for processors and stacked transistors for NAND… 450mm may never happen, according to Mark Durcan, CEO of Micron, the world’s fourth largest semiconductor company. “I am not ...