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Intel must feel very confident about the prospects of ulrabooks taking over the product category that it is willing to put money not in one but 4 suppliers of touch screen manufacturers. That speaks volume in my eyes.
TAIPEI, June 5 (Reuters) - While touchscreen enabled super-thin "ultrabooks" are the focus of attention for tech industry players gathered in Taiwan this week, Intel Corp says by 2013 the buzz will have moved on to voice and gesture recognition features.
The world's biggest chipmaker remains confident about consumer spending on innovative devices, despite the economic headwinds buffeting much of the developed world.
Intel is counting on ultrabooks - ultra-thin notebook PCs similar to Apple Inc's Macbook Air and offering some of the technological chic of tablets - to revive a PC market languishing due to the growing popularity of the iPad.
Despite a higher retail price, Intel expects the touch ultrabook will be well received by the market and it will enter agreements with four Taiwanese touch panel makers on Tuesday to enable the expansion of the current capacity for touch-enabled ultrabook convertible designs by 3-5 times.
"You can expect by Computex 2013 convertible ultrabook will be ramping up nicely," Intel's Senior Vice President and General Manager of Sales and Marketing, Tom Kilroy, said in an interview on Tuesday ahead of the opening of the Computex trade fair.
"Touch will be a major attribute in terms of purchase criteria for ultrabook and notebook, and I think the attention we will be talking about next year will be around voice and gesture."
He did not give a precise timetable for the launch of ultrabooks with voice and gesture recognition features, but said "it's around the corner".
Computex is the world's second-largest consumer electronics trade fair, held annually in Taiwan, home to the tech industry's "OEM" manufacturers who make much of the world's computer hardware for global vendors and, increasingly, their own brands.
This year it will feature around 30 touch-enabled ultrabook designs with various styles of foldable, detachable or sliding keyboards. More than 20 tablet designs will also be showcased based on the forthcoming 32nm Intel Atom SoC processor, codenamed "Clover Trail", and running Microsoft's new Windows 8 system.
GETTING THE TECHNOLOGY RIGHT
Some investors have raised concerns that the expensive components used in ultrabooks, such as solid-state drives, make them too pricey for many consumers. A presentation by Taiwan's PC maker Acer on Monday said a touch ultrabook could be priced from $1,799.
"History says if you have the right technology, in the toughest times we have gone through in the last 2-3 years, look how consumers have gravitated to tablets, which is an additional device, not a primary device," Kilroy said.
"So I don't feel there's a limitation that consumers will only pay up to a certain amount of money."
Intel will sign a touch capacity agreement with TPK Holding , Wintek , Cando and Hannstar Touch to ensure there is capacity for 13-inch and above touch panels for the expected growth of touch ultrabooks.
At a meeting with analysts last month, Intel Chief Executive Paul Otellini said the company was on track to reach its goal that ultrabooks account for 40 percent of all consumer notebooks
sold by the end of the year.
Intel told Reuters on Friday that it has come up with a design method to make plastic laptop cases as strong as more-expensive metal ones typically used in ultrabooks, that may cut the cost of future ultrabooks by between $25 and $75 without sacrificing quality and cutting the prices of its processors.
Intel is also pushing into the smartphone space this year, where processors based on ARM Holdings' power-efficient chip designs are widely used.
In April, Lava International launched the first smartphone in India using Intel's new Medfield processor, while Orange and Lenovo have just launched an "Intel inside" smartphone. Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc and ZTE will also use the Medfield chips in their upcoming phones, according to Intel.
Kilroy said the company would focus on winning more design deals with smartphone vendors and carriers in the next two years, and start measuring success by volume and share only from five years onwards.
(Editing by Alex Richardson)
((clare.jim@thomsonreuters.com)(886 2 25004882)(Reuters Messaging: clare.jim.thomsonreuters.com@thomsonreuters.net))
Keywords: COMPUTEX INTEL/
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http://activetrader.schwab.com/ReutersNewsRedirect.aspx?vAnUSHeRl3nny5haw=781hmnBHYajoIt8wxH120PgtYuUecBLHG0818
TAIPEI, June 4 (Reuters) - British chip designer ARM Holdings Plc said on Monday it is more concerned about the global economic slowdown than rival Intel Corp's aggressive push into the mobile market it currently dominates.
"I think this year what is more challenging for the industry as a whole is the world's economy, that it continues to go up and down and the stability of various countries around the world," general manager of ARM's Processor and Physical IP Division, Simon Segars, said in an interview ahead of the opening of Taiwan's annual Computex trade fair.
"That has a continuous impact on the spending, and a large pool of ARM's revenue comes from royalty, which are affected by what consumers spend to a large degree."
Segars said ARM's strategy has not changed as a result of Intel's launch of its chips for mobile devices, and the company was targetting maintaining close to a 100 percent share of the mobile market, as well as reaching a 10-20 percent share of the PC market in a few years time.
Rival Intel Corp is pushing aggressively into the tablet and smartphone space this year, an area where ARM's processors have dominated, with its new Intel Medfield chips.
ARM, whose technology powers Apple's iPad and iPhone, designs the low-energy processors found in nearly all smartphones, tablets and a host of other devices. ARM licenses its technology and receives a royalty of a few cents on every chip shipped in devices ranging from mobile phones to domestic appliances and toys.
The second half will see Microsoft launch its next Windows operating system on an ARM-based architecture for the first time, helping bolster the Cambridge-based company's dominance in mobile computing.
Responding on some PC vendors' comment that they will continue to work more closely with Intel on launching the new Windows system tablets, as the ARM design is not ready yet, Segars said: "Developing a product to the complexity of Windows 8 is a non-trivial engineering task. If it takes longer, it's fine with me."
ARM announced a 22 percent rise in first-quarter profit in April, meeting market expectations, helped by growth in chip-makers licensing its energy efficient designs.
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AIPEI, June 4 (Reuters) - Taiwan's Acer Inc said on Monday it would remain closer to U.S. chipmaker Intel , even though Microsoft also embraces rival ARM for its new Windows 8 operating system.
The world's No.4 PC vendor has given an upbeat outlook for the second half after delivering a quarterly net profit that lagged market expectations in April, betting on the launch of Microsoft's new Windows system and more slimline ultrabook computers.
The company is recovering from two consecutive quarters of losses in April to September last year and a management shake-up.
Acer said on Monday, ahead of the opening of Taiwan's annual Computex trade fair, that it would formally launch new ultrabook and tablet designs after Microsoft puts its new windows system in the market, expected in the fourth quarter, with the first shipments starting in August and volume shipment commencing in September.
The first wave of Windows 8 products will be using Intel chips, while ARM-based designs will not be in market until 2-4 months later, expected in the first quarter.
"Finally the couple (Windows and Intel) recover their relationship," Acer Chairman J.T. Wang told reporters at a small group interview. "We are more familiar with the Windows ecosystem, our supply chain is also mainly in the Window ecosystem."
Wang said Acer has no plans so far to launch non-tablet devices using ARM designs.
"According to engineer studies, unless we go into ARM 64-bit, otherwise performance is still not so great," he said. "ARM is a newcomer, young and attractive but it takes some time."
Acer is showcasing new tablet computer models in slate and convertible design - or with and without conventional keyboards - based on the Windows 8 system at Computex this year, as well as two touch ultrabooks, which use aluminium metallic casings which enable cost competitiveness, and come in 12mm thickness.
"I have never been so supportive to Microsoft," Wang told a news conference earlier on Monday. "We have a good opportunity to grow again after the Windows 8 launch. Acer is fully committed to deliver a full line of Windows 8 products."
Acer said prices for these new gadgets would be announced after the launch of Windows 8. But in a powerpoint at the presentation it said the touch ultrabook would range from $1,799, significantly higher than the below $1,000 non-touch ones currently in the market.
Ultrabooks are an ultra-thin notebook PC that is similar to Apple Inc's Macbook Air and offers some of the technological chic of the iPad and other tablets.
But some investors are concerned that the expensive components used in ultrabooks, such as solid-state drives, make them too pricey for many consumers.
In April, Acer lowered its ultrabook shipment contribution forecast for 2012 to 12-20 percent from 25-35 percent, but still saw its ultrabook shipments in the second quarter would double from the first quarter and they would keep growing for the rest of the year, with four new models planned.
Tablets using Win8 and Intel chips are finally here. Comparison between ARM and Intel chip will be there for every one to see and decide for themselves which way to go.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-31/acer-toshiba-to-take-on-ipads-with-windows-8-tablets.html
Intel is already shipping 22nm parts by boat load. Today itself it introduced dual cores parts-many SKUs. Did you mean 14nm?
Absolutely. So many SKUs available in a such a short time.
This article is a lot more positive about Intel:
http://blogs.barrons.com/techtraderdaily/2012/05/31/microsoft-win-8-shows-pcs-evolution-says-clsa/
This was the real downgrade by MS.
_______________________
Intel: Morgan Stanley Starts at Sell on Tablet, Phone Threat
By Tiernan Ray
Joseph Moore of Morgan Stanley today initiates coverage of Intel (INTC) with an Underweight rating and a $26 price target, arguing there is “minimal upside from here” through 2014 as “prices flatten, unit growth slows, and costs rise.”
Moore writes that he is principally concerned with “the recent stock price outperformance,” specifically, a rise of 15% in the last 12 months, which he thinks reflects an expansion of Intel’s stock multiple ahead of what will be “essentially flat earnings from 2011 through 2014.”
Moore is modeling Intel making $2.50 per share this year, $2.40 next year, and $2.37 in 2014. That is well below the Street consensus for $2.51, $2.71, and $3.05, respectively.
Mainly, Moore sees a breakdown in the PC market that is not yet fully evident:
We show that the deceleration in PC spending in mature markets has actually been masked by macroeconomic trends, both sharp increases in personal consumer expenditures for durable goods, and similar increases in fixed business investment. As those trends normalize, we expect PC numbers to look worse. This is intuitive, as both consumer and enterprise client spending are likely to shift towards smartphones and tablets, with slowing PC replacement rates as a result […] We believe modest gross margin decline from very high levels may well trigger cyclical concerns. We think that investors are still concerned about potential marginalization of the PC computing platform, but nevertheless have bought the stock as Intel continues to succeed, in spite of those concerns. Legitimate macroeconomic concerns, particularly in Europe, could drive demand weakness, amplifying the secular issues. We are reluctant to recommend the stock purely on the basis of multiple expansion.
At the same time, Moore gives Intel credit for “winning several of the qualitative debates.” For example, he thinks versions of Microsoft‘s (MSFT) Windows operating system running on chips from rival ARM Holdings (ARMH) will have “relatively little impact” on Intel’s microprocessor sales.
And he gives credit to the company for operating very well over the past two years:
Our base case estimates give the company credit for continuing to execute at a very high level, which we think is likely. The last two years of fundamental performance has been exceptional, with strong growth in average selling prices even as the PC platform became somewhat marginalized by the pervasive use of smartphones and tablets. But the cyclical pressures on earnings are significant, and holding earnings at even just 2011 levels would be good execution.
Intel shares today are down 40 cents, or 1.6%, at $25.73.
http://blogs.barrons.com/techtraderdaily/2012/05/31/intel-morgan-stanley-starts-at-sell-on-tablet-phone-threat/
These analysts are having a field day. Intel will have to come out and say something about yield on 22nm or any other related issues.
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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) ? Shares of Facebook Inc. fell again on Thursday, as Intel Corp.?s stock slipped on an underweight rating from Morgan Stanley and F5 Networks Inc. tumbled as investors reacted to an executive?s departure.
The triple whammy sent the tech sector into the red as the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP?appeared poised to wrap up the month in the red.
The Nasdaq fell 1% to 2,808, on track to end the month with an 8% loss. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index SOX?lost 1.6%.
Facebook FB?slumped by about 3% to $27.46, roughly $10 below its initial public offering price of $38. The stock also slipped below the low end of an early IPO price range.
Intel INTC?shares slipped more than 1% after Morgan Stanley initiated coverage of the stock with an underweight rating, citing slower growth and potential margin erosion. Intel was one of the worst performers on the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA. The Dow fell 47 points.
?Intel has done a great job in the last two years of significantly outgrowing the PC market by structurally increasing pricing,? analyst Joseph Moore wrote. ?While we don?t expect a negative reversion to pricing, we think the key trends that drove the increases ? transition to core architecture, better marketing allowing better price discrimination, structural changes vs. AMD ? have played out.?
Moore argued that ?continued and secular deceleration in PC replacement rates, 10-15% increases in fixed costs given the high capital spending? could mean that ?some margin erosion is inevitable.?
Shares of F5 Networks FFIV?sank 7% and were one of the biggest decliners on the S&P 500 SPX. The networking company on Wednesday said that Mark Anderson, head of worldwide sales, had resigned.
Some analysts portrayed the selloff as an overreaction to the news. ?While the departures are a loss to F5, we feel the company is highly structured with a deep management team and we don?t anticipate a material disruption in operations,? JMP Securities analyst Erik Suppiger wrote.
A bright spot for tech were shares of Leap Wireless International Inc. LEAP, which gained 2% after the company said its Cricket Wireless subsidiary would begin offering pre-paid plans for Apple Inc.?s AAPL?iPhone. Shares of Apple were down 1%.
This guy Richard of Jefferies once worked for Intel. He claims to know a lot about Intel. He forgets that he worked a long time back. Things have changed in the industry. He may be upset about what Intel might have done to him.
Same guy recommending shorting Intel. See below:
This absolutely non-sense. On one hand no can make parts using 28nm and when Intel is about 4 years ahead in process technology.
I just don't get it how these analysts can come to such conclusions.
-----------------
Nomura Securities on Semiconductors: Intel plus NVIDIA Would Be A Scary Combination
Analyst, Romit Shah, said, "Semiconductor stocks could outperform in the second half of 2012, but we would be more aggressive on confirmation that bookings and backlog are holding up in June. Our sector view is Neutral. Top long ideas are Broadcom (Nasdaq: BRCM), Nvidia (Nasdaq: NVDA), and Avago (Nasdaq: AVGO). Top short ideas are Intel (Nasdaq: INTC), Marvell (Nasdaq: MRVL), and Altera (Nasdaq: ALTR)."
"We believe Nvidia would make a good strategic fit for Intel. On the surface, a merger between two companies that want to capture a larger share of the PC bill of materials and become larger in mobile seems an obvious thing to consider. However, we are not implying that any such combination will take place, as regulatory hurdles could be high and CEO Jen-Hsun Huang
s estimation of what Nvidia is worth may greatly exceed what Intel would be willing to pay."
"Most important, if Nvidia s chips were manufactured internally at Intel, this could deliver a major blow to TSMC (and by definition Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM)), which relies heavily on Nvidia to amortize costs at the leading edge. Nvidia accounts for roughly 40% of 28nm wafers at TSMC. Considering premiums (50-100%) on recent acquisitions, Nvidia s shares could fetch $18-$24 per share or a valuation of about $11-15bn, and still be modestly accretive."
David posted a link for this but did not work for me. So I thought I will post this.
------------------------------
Nomura Securities' analyst Romit Shah is making waves Tuesday after discussing the possible combination of NVIDIA (Nasdaq: NVDA) and Intel Corporation (Nasdaq: INTC), which he calls a "scary combination."
Shah sees NVIDIA as a "good strategic fit" for Intel. A possible merger between the two would capture a greater share of the PC bill of materials and become larger in mobile. It would seem an "obvious thing to consider," he notes. That said, Shah sees regulatory hurdles as high and NVIDIA CEO's view of the company's value may far exceed what Intel is willing to pay.
Given the trends toward more media-centric PC workloads that benefit from GPU acceleration, NVIDIA's superior graphics IP would make Intel's future CPU offerings more competitive, he notes.
In addition, a merger could accelerate Intel's engagement in mobile. "Integration of Nvidia AP and Infineon baseband would unlock the mainstream smartphone segment, which both companies are not addressing at present," the analyst comments.
If NVIDIA's chips were manufactured internally at Intel this would be a major blow to TSMC (NYSE: TSM) and by definition Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM), Shah comments. NVIDIA accounts for about 40 percent of TSMC's 28nm wafters.
Discussing a possible price, Shah suggests that considering the 50-100% premium of recent deals, NVIDIA could fetch $18-$24 per share.
Shares of NVIDIA are up 1.6 percent, while Intel is up 1.2 percent.
AMD: FBR Cuts Target; $5 Possible Downside
By Tiernan Ray
Shares of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) are up 28 cents, or 5%, at $6.29, despite a cautious report from FBR Capital‘s Craig Berger this morning, in which he reiterated an Outperform rating but cut his price target from $11 to $9, writing that the stock could see “more downside towards $5 this summer” before the shares are fully “washed out.”
The stock has been weighed down by a few different investor concerns, writes Berger, including weakness in Europe for PC sales, “a flight to quality” mentality that has driven investors out of AMD’s high-beta stock, and some breakdown in sales by PC original design manufacturers (ODM), who are holding off on building computers as they wait for expanded supply of Intel’s (INTC) “Ivy Bridge” microprocessors.
Still, Berger sees upside from the recent introduction of AMD’s own new processor, “Trinity“:
Regarding Trinity, early product reviews are generally positive but not ebullient, likely helping AMD close the performance gap at the low end of the value PC market and penetrate into some Ultrabook-type machines, perhaps with a small pricing boost. Trinity offers a CPU performance upgrade over Llano, better thermal specs, and enhanced graphics performance—but is not a game changer for AMD, in our view. Stepping back, we think AMD is improving its execution and product portfolio, though this transition will still take much time. We see potential upside from share gains in client (Llano/Trinity) and server (Interlagos), with mix and margin benefits possible, too.
http://blogs.barrons.com/techtraderdaily/2012/05/21/amd-rising-fbr-cuts-target-5-possible-downside/
NVDA complained of shortages due to 28nm supply issues. This confirms what Intel is saying about its leadership in process.
It is going to get worse and analysts just don't get it.
Like Intel stated only Samsung or TMSC can compete today.Rest of them will disappear over next 2-3 years or sooner.
---------------------
* Q1 EPS 10 cents, in line with Street view
* Q1 rev $924.9 mln vs Street view $916 mln
* Says 28 nanometer constraints limiting revenue
* Shares up 9 pct on Nasdaq
(Adds analyst quote, share price update)
By Sinead Carew
May 11 (Reuters) - Nvidia Corp's quarterly revenue and outlook were ahead of low Wall Street estimates on better-than-expected sales of its latest graphics chips, sending its shares up 9 percent.
The chipmaker reported strong demand for its newly launched chips for desktop computers and contract wins for its Tegra smartphone chips but said revenue and profit is still being limited by supply constraints and macro economic issues.
The revenue surprise came off very low expectations as Nvidia had warned in February of weak sales linked to capacity constraints and new competition in cellphone chips as a big customer became a competitor.
"There was a lot of fears going into the call that supply constraints would continue to be an issue. It wasn't was bad as feared," said Pacific Crest analyst Michael McConnell.
However, the analyst said even though Nvidia was seeing good demand from its phone and computer customers, it was not clear that consumer demand would be strong.
"Now the question is if people show up at the stores and buy these things," he said.
The company's shares rose $1.14 to $13.56 in morning trade on Nasdaq, but were still well below their $16.17 close before the February warning.
Nvidia has invested heavily to move beyond its traditional business of designing graphics chips for PCs, by expanding into the market for mobile device chips.
On top of supply constraints Nvidia also faces tough competition from the likes of chip developers Qualcomm Inc and Intel Corp .
Also top phone maker Samsung Electronics Co. depends increasingly on its own chips instead of Nvidia's and Apple Inc uses custom-designed chips in the iPhone.
SUPPLY CONSTRAINTS
The company told analysts on a conference call that margins and revenue are being hurt by a capacity shortage for its cutting edge 28 nanometer computer graphics chips. Rivals such as Qualcomm have also complained of shortages in this area.
"Supply is still constrained," a company executive told analysts, noting that Nvidia and its manufacturing partner TSMC had not planned for enough 28 nanometer capacity.
The company said it was missing out on "a lot" of sales because of the manufacturing capacity constraints but did not give specifics.
Nvidia forecast second-quarter revenue of $990 million to $1.05 billion, compared with analysts' average estimate of $976.2 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
First-quarter revenue fell to $924.9 from $962 million a year earlier but was better than Wall Street expectations for $916 million.
First-quarter net income was $60.4 million, or 10 cents a share, compared with $135.2 million, or 22 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter, in line with expectations.
It forecast a second-quarter gross margin of 51.2 percent, plus or minus one percentage point, compared with 50.1 percent in the first quarter.
It said expenses would rise to $418 million in the second quarter from $390.5 million in the first quarter.
These guys are paid professional. They should know better. His statement of Intel lead of 3.5 to 4.5 years should tell him something. I guess they don't don't want to admit as they have been wrong for so long.
Here is downgrade from one analyst. It is amazing how these folks don't get it.
----------------------
Nomura Securities maintains a 'Reduce' on Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) price target of $25.00.
Analyst, Romit Shah, said, "The Intel investor meeting has been an interesting show thus far. No major announcements have been unveiled. The discussion has been focused around reinventing the PC with Ultrabook, capitalizing on data center and Internet growth, and bringing the best of Intel technologies. Key points from our perspective include the following: 1) Personal computing: Incremental growth will continue to come from emerging regions; 2) Ultrabooks: We see risk of a stall ahead of Windows 8 but coming out there should be good demand for Ultrabooks; 3) Ivy Bridge processor: Intel will be shipping 2mn units per week by the end of June; 4) Mobile " Momentum is growing; 5) "Manufacturing " It s hard to see how Intel will fill available 22nm capacity over the next year. That said, from a competitive standpoint, Intel s lead continues to grow. High-k metal gate lead is around 3.5 years and Tri-gate lead of 4 years."
For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Intel click here. For more ratings news on Intel click here.
Shares of Intel closed at $27.19 yesterday, with a 52 week range of $19.16-$29.27.
Intel: The Biggest Software Company You've Never Heard Of
Renée James
It can be tough being a 12-year-old boy. It’s even tougher if your mom is Renée James.
When James’ 12-year-old son asked if he could buy a particularly violent video game, his mom — who runs Intel’s software and services business — had a ridiculously well-informed opinion.
James sells the physics software used to model the game’s over-the-top mayhem. Her answer: you’re not old enough.
Call Intel the Palmolive of the software business: the biggest software company you’ve never heard of could be the semiconductor company everyone has. If you’re wondering what Intel makes, the answer is that you’re already soaking in it.
For years, Intel’s software developers — who build everything from nutsy-boltsy stuff like compilers and debuggers to exotic parallel programming tools — have been one of the company’s secret weapons. Intel turbo-charges the Linux community by putting hundreds of full-time engineers to work on the free operating system. Intel’s tools helped Apple’s engineers move its Macintosh computers to Intel processors. A few years later, Intel helped Google move into the smartphone business.
Maybe the company’s biggest software triumph has been its push into high-performance computing. Five of the ten fastest supercomputers in the world now run Intel’s chips. Part of the credit goes to Intel’s years-long push to build software that make its chips useful for serious scientific work. “We go to work on the hard problems, the really hard problems,” James says.
Using software to help sell silicon is a strategy James has pursued for nearly a decade. James, who was promoted to senior vice president at Intel in 2010, has led Intel’s software and services group since 2005. Prior to that, the 25-year Intel veteran led a team that managed Intel’s relationship with Microsoft.
Intel’s engineers build tools and software, spin up developer programs that provide customers with help, and seed nearly 2,900 educational institutions with tools, training and other resources. The company has one of the industry’s largest developer programs, working more than 20,000 independent software vendors. “We’ve been very quiet for a long time, because we didn’t want to flaunt it,” James says.
Intel’s software acquisitions, however, have raised the company’s software profile. Over the past decade, Intel has been steadily snapping up software companies (see below). With the acquisition of security software vendor McAfee last year, Intel’s became one of the world’s 10 largest software companies.
While Intel isn’t in the same league of the Oracle, VMWare (where James is a board member), Intuit, or Symantec; it’s now comparable in size to some pretty serious software companies, including BMC Software and Red Hat. The McAfee deal — which closed in February 2011 — caused Intel’s software sales to balloon to $1.8 billion last year from $264 million in 2010.
Intel’s plan is to tune McAfee’s software and Intel’s processors to work more closely together, cracking the security problems that have plagued consumer the same way it attacked high-end supercomputing problems.
It’s the sort of approach that’s been used to help build super-secure products in high-end niches, but never been tried in products used by hundreds of millions of people. With more personal financial information going online, however, consumers are going to want machines that can offer more sophisticated security. “I feel like I’m the snow plow,” James says. “Our strategy is 100% about creating opportunities for Intel’s silicon.”
http://www.forbes.com/sites/briancaulfield/2012/05/09/intel-is-the-biggest-software-company-youve-never-heard-of/
Even when it is crystal clear, there are some who thinks Intel is just throwing some empty threats.
_________________
Despite the optimistic predictions, El Reg suspects ARM and Apple won’t be trembling in their stylish yet affordable shoes. ®
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It is not funny only but shocking. These analysts are paid to do this work-not a small amount but handsomely.
Thanks, Professor.
It would be interesting to read the full article. Does some one has membership to post the whole article? Thanks.
This was coming. Every one could see it except some of the analysts.
It is going to become very difficult for others to be part of this industry. a lots of players would exit semiconductor manufacturing business except where the latest is not required.
Canaccord Genuity reiterates a 'Buy' on AMD (NYSE: AMD) price target of $10.00.
Analyst, Bobby Burleson, said, "We reiterate our rating on AMD following HP's (NYSE: HPQ) launch of the Envy Sleekbook, based on AMD's Trinity APU. Prices for Envy Sleekbook start at $599, versus a $749 starting price for Envy Ultrabooks powered by Intel. We note that Ultrabook penetration could be constrained in 2012 due to high price points (Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) saying 40% exiting 2012, we think 25% is optimistic). We believe this announcement and others likely to follow throughout Q2 will keep investor focus on AMD's ASP and share gain opportunities, rather than concerns over PC macro."
For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on AMD click here. For more ratings news on AMD click here.
Shares of AMD closed at $6.86 yesterday, with a 52 week range of $4.31-$9.07.
It is an analysts day today. You will see more information coming out later today.
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SANTA CLARA, California, May 10 (Reuters) - Intel Chief Executive Paul Otellini showcased the top chipmaker's long-awaited push into smartphones and talked up ultrathin laptops he hopes will spice up a category that seems increasingly dull compared to tablets and other mobile devices.
With worldwide PC sales barely growing, Intel Corp has been racing to find a foothold in smartphone and tablet markets, where processors based on ARM Holdings Pls's power-efficient chip designs are widely used.
Last month in India, Lava International launched the first smartphone using Intel's new Medfield processor and the device has received respectable reviews from benchmark testers.
Intel has also announced the Medfield chips would be used in upcoming phones from Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc , Lenovo Group Ltd ZTE and Orange.
"We're getting awfully good reviews for our first phones," Otellini told investors at an annual Intel event. "We have ambitions; you'll see more announcements over time and very cool capabilities built into phones."
Many investors are waiting to see how successful the new handsets become with consumers before declaring that the chipmaker is a serious player in the mobile market. But growing expectations that Intel will be able to compete have fueled gains in its shares in recent months.
Intel is also heavily promoting a PC category it has dubbed ultrabooks, similar to Apple Inc's Macbook Air and offering some of the technological chic the iPad and other tablets epitomize.
Some investors are concerned that the expensive components used in them, such as solid-state drives, make them too pricey for many consumers. They worry Intel may sacrifice profit margins on sales of its processors to help make ultrabooks affordable.
Otellini said sales were on track and would pick up in the second half of 2012 as more manufacturers start using Intel's new Ivy Bridge processor.
"We're on track to meet our goal of 40 percent of consumer notebooks this holiday season being ultrabooks," Otellini said.
Last month, Intel posted quarterly earnings that failed to inspire gains in its recently high-flying stock and also said costs associated with ramping up new production lines for the Ivy Bridge chips would hurt gross margins more than expected.
Otellini said manufacturers are working on 20 tablets using Intel processors and Microsoft's long-awaited Windows 8 platform, expected later this year.
He also forecast that Intel, with its deep pockets, would become one of an increasingly smaller group of leading-edge chip manufacturers as the sector moves toward larger and costlier factories.
With the industry preparing to increase the size of the silicon wafers it uses, letting manufacturers fit more chips on each, future leading-edge factories will cost over $10 billion each to build, compared with about $5 billion now, Otellini added.
(Editing by Andre Grenon)
((noel.randewich@thomsonreuters.com)(Twitter handle: @randewich)(415)(677 2542)(Reuters Messaging: noel.randewich.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: INTEL/
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Here is another point of view where ARM serves will be coming soon and will effect Intel servers shares. I am not sure I agree with this analyst. Intel is addressing micro servers market with its Atom chips.
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ARM: Davdison Ups to Hold on Samsung Server Possibility
By Tiernan Ray
D.A. Davidson’s Aalok Shah today raised his rating on shares of chip technology designer ARM Holdings (ARMH) to Neutral from Underperform, with a $25 price target, up from $21, writing that the company could benefit from Samsung Electronics (005930KS) using ARM’s chip designs in server microprocessor products.
“Recent news of Samsung ramping up research and development around an ARM-based server system chipset leaves us optimistic about the company’s opportunity in the market,” writes Shah.
The Wall Street Journal’s Don Clark had written on April 2nd that some staffing moves by Samsung at its factory in Austin, Texas, including the hiring of prominent former Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) employees, suggested the company is working on developing server chips.
“We believe the migration toward low power solutions within the server market will drive demand for ARM’s power efficient designs. We think there will be at least two large name semiconductor players announcing ARM-based server solutions before the end of the calendar year with others to follow,” writes Shah.
ARM will probably also improve its hold on the high end of the smartphone market, Shah thinks, with its “big.LITTLE” technology, and he thinks the advent of Microsoft‘s (MSFT) “Windows 8? later this year will add new licenses for the company’s chip technology:
With the first Windows 8 on ARM-based products expected in October, license revenue should see an uptick. ARM will increase their addressable market by expanding into traditional x86 markets, such as tablets, netbooks, and the server market. While we realize that Intel (INTC) is the dominant force, we see the first round of products providing sizable licensing revenues and a stepping stone towards widespread Windows adoption.
ARM shares today are up 18 cents, or 0.8%, at $23.56.
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http://blogs.barrons.com/techtraderdaily/2012/05/09/arm-davdison-ups-to-hold-on-samsung-server-possibility/?mod=BOLBlog
HP announced new products-ultrabooks with IB. It also announced sleekbooks(I guess its own trademark for products with AMD)
There is $200.00 difference between IB and AMD product. I heard the same news on radio as well earlier. There has to be some difference as CPU+APU can't be $200.00 off.
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SHANGHAI, CHINA, May 09 (Marketwire) --
HP (NYSE: HPQ) today showcased its unparalleled line of computers and
printers, the first show of resolve for the newly created HP Printing and
Personal Systems group.
More than 500 media influencers from around the world gathered at the
Shanghai Expo Center to view the new products, which include:
-- HP ENVY SpectreXT, an ultramobile premium Ultrabook(TM) that
delivers an overall premium experience with extraordinary design and
performance;
-- HP ENVY Sleekbooks and HP ENVY Ultrabook systems, providing the
ultimate combination of style and substance for entertainment
experiences;
-- HP EliteBook Folio, built from the ground up to be everything a
business Ultrabook should be with security, manageability and
reliability;
-- HP t410 All-in-One Smart Zero Client, which features single-wire Power
over Ethernet;
-- HP Z220 Workstations and HP EliteBook Mobile Workstations with
professional-class features;
-- HP Officejet 150 Mobile All-in-One, the world's first mobile
all-in-one printer,(1) and an ideal companion for business
professionals who need a compact, durable solution for printing,
scanning and copying while on the go; and
-- Four new HP LaserJet printers and an HP Scanjet, providing small and
medium businesses (SMBs) and enterprise customers professional-quality
documents and fast print speeds, along with the ability to extend the
office beyond its physical location.
The newly merged HP Printing and Personal Systems group, announced
March 21, enables HP to rally more energy and resources in service to
customers. The combined organization enables greater investment in
innovation and marketing, as well as streamlines HP's collaboration with
channel partners globally.
"The products we unveiled today are inspired by our customers, and
confirm our passion to fuse form, function, style and reliability into
great computers and printers," said Todd Bradley, executive vice
president, Printing and Personal Systems, HP. "We are well positioned to
continue delivering innovation in the future for customers in China and
everywhere else around the globe."
HP's premier client event, HP Discover, takes place June 4-7 in Las Vegas.
About HP
HP creates new possibilities for technology to have a
meaningful impact on people, businesses, governments and society. The
world's largest technology company, HP brings together a portfolio that
spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT
infrastructure to solve customer problems. More information about HP is
available at http://www.hp.com.
(1) Based on market research of comparable A4 mobile inkjet printers less
than $500 as of September 2011.
Ultrabook is a trademark of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other
countries.
This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks,
uncertainties and assumptions. If such risks or uncertainties materialize
or such assumptions prove incorrect, the results of HP and its
consolidated subsidiaries could differ materially from those expressed or
implied by such forward-looking statements and assumptions. All
statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that
could be deemed forward-looking statements, including but not limited to
statements of the plans, strategies and objectives of management for
future operations, including execution of cost reduction programs and
restructuring and integration plans; any statements concerning expected
development, performance or market share relating to products and
services; any statements regarding anticipated operational and financial
results; any statements of expectation or belief; and any statements of
assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Risks, uncertainties and
assumptions include macroeconomic and geopolitical trends and events; the
competitive pressures faced by HP's businesses; the development and
transition of new products and services (and the enhancement of existing
products and services) to meet customer needs and respond to emerging
technological trends; the execution and performance of contracts by HP
and its customers, suppliers and partners; the protection of HP's
intellectual property assets, including intellectual property licensed
from third parties; integration and other risks associated with business
combination and investment transactions; the hiring and retention of key
employees; expectations and assumptions relating to the execution and
timing of cost reduction programs and restructuring and integration
plans; the resolution of pending investigations, claims and disputes; and
other risks that are described in HP's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for
the fiscal quarter ended January 31, 2012 and HP's other filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, including HP's Annual Report on Form
10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2011. HP assumes no obligation
and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.
Copyright 2012 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information
contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties
for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty
statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should
be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be
liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.
Editorial contacts
Mike Hockey
HP
PCs, Workstations and Zero Clients
+1 281 927 9370
mike.hockey@hp.com
Cherie Britt
HP
Printers and Scanners
+1 650 518 6919
cherie.britt@hp.com
Dominic Ybarra
Edelman, for HP
+1 713 970 2104
dominic.ybarra@edelman.com
www.hp.com/go/newsroom
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I know what you mean. But Intel has never done that as far as I remember. Capacity planning and building high tech factories which no one else can build, is not done to just parts at low prices.
Whether Intel ever makes parts for Apple or not, one thing is very clear that Intel has enough of demand for its own chips that the capacity is non issue. It must be selling it now and has plans to sells what it can make or produce. To me it is very bullish for Intel over the next 2-4 years.
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Intel: Lack of Capacity Obstacle to Any Apple Foundry Deal, Says CLSA
By Tiernan Ray
CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets’s Srini Pajjuri today offers up a think-piece on the question of whether Intel (INTC) will offer chip manufacturing services in its foundries to Apple (AAPL), a subject of ongoing speculation.
Offering to make Apple’s custom chips, based on the instruction set of Intel’s competitor, ARM Holdings (ARMH), would bring with it “strategic risks,” writes Pajjuri, adding “we are unsure why Intel would open up its leading edge manufacturing to ARM even if it is for Apple.” The potential revenue opportunity for Intel would be $8 billion, he estimates, or 15% of the company’s annual revenue.
However, the main issue, as he sees it, is a lack of excess manufacturing capacity until 2015 at the earliest:
Assuming Intel and Apple both agree on ARM, we estimate that Apple would need a total of 85k wafer starts per month on 22nm in 2014. Our analysis shows that Intel’s own CPUs will need 58% of its 22nm capacity in 2014 even if we assume that half of Intel’s units are on 14nm. That leaves 39k 22nm wafers for others. Clearly that won’t be enough though Apple could start using Intel for some of its volume. Intel should have its 2 new 14nm fabs fully ramped by late 2014, and we estimate that Intel will need 87% of the 14nm capacity in 2015. However, Intel will still have five 22nm fabs and converting two of them to 14nm should be enough to address most of the Apple volume.
Intel shares today are down 10 cents, or 0.3%, at $27.80.
+ More
If true, finally Ultrabooks lower prices are going to ignite this market. Apple lower price will also improve sales of MacBook air as well.
I doubt it as Apple has never competed on price only.
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The following is some point/counterpoint on Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) following rumors on the MacBook Monday.
According to Digitimes, Apple's MacBook Air will begin being priced starting from $799 during the third quarter of this year. The price is a 20 percent discount to the current entry level MacBook Air's $999 tag.
Citing upstream suppliers on the news, Digitimes noted the move may be to combat Intel's (Nasdaq: INTC) efforts for greater ultrabook adoption. Sources said Intel's strong push might have ultrabooks price at about $699 in the latter half of 2012. Amid Intel setting aside hundreds of millions for promotion, Digitimes' sources don't believe ultrabook sales will really pick up until the launch of Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) Windows 8.
There's a point...here's a counterpoint: since when does Apple aim to compete on price?
Apple really never budged on the price of its iPad, only discounting the iPad 2 following the introduction of the new iPad because the iPad 2 is still a superior device to many Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) Android-based tablets and continuing to sell them makes sense. Further, Apple has kept pricing on its products constant with few discounts ever offered.
Whether the move -- which isn't official yet -- indicates Apple's anticipation of consumers becoming more price-conscious or ultrabook offerings being a more formidable competitors is yet to be seen. Regardless, a drop in prices could lead to margin compression and slower profit growth.
MacBook sales have moved from 2.75 million units in Apple's second quarter of 2011 to 3.72 million in the first quarter of 2012 and 2.82 million in the latest quarter. Despite the pop in sales for last year's holiday season, MacBook sales generally hover around 2.8 million units each quarter.
Apple shares are about flat Monday morning.
Today was ex-dividend day as Elmer explained. Drop reflected the drop+ dividend amount.
Very old article.
Same thoughts here. 700 series are SATA based.
Another typo. Not a good day for me.
That looked that way. That was my typo. It should read "1s not".
Apr 10, 2012
3:35 PM
INTC: Bulls See Q1 Lifted by Hard Disk Improvement; Q2 Rides ‘Romley’
By Tiernan Ray
A number of folks on the Street today offered up their expectations for Intel’s (INTC) Q1 results
The focus is on how an improving disk drive supply, following severe shortages in the fall and winter, may help Intel’s PC market numbers. Looking forward to this quarter’s results, it’s mostly all about Intel’s recently introduced server processor family, familiarly known as “Romley,” which may surge in sales, some think, after delays last year.
The Street consensus currently is for $12.84 billion in revenue and 50 cents EPS. For Q2, analysts are modeling $13.4 billion and 54 cents.
Doug Freedman, RBC Capital Markets: Reiterates an Outperform rating and raises his price target to $33 from $30. Freedman is modeling $13.06 billion for Q1 and 55 cents, up from a prior $12.7 billion and 50 cents. He raised his Q2 view to $13.5 billion and 58 cents from a prior $13.2 billion and 54 cents. For the full year, he now models $56.94 billion and $2.62 per share, up from a prior $55.86 billion and $2.47. “We believe the mid-point of Intel’s guidance, or $12.8bil (range $12.3bil-$13.3bil), proves to be a low-bar driven primarily by Romley strength, as we believe Enterprise and Data Center markets remain strong […] For Q2, upside could be driven by impact from Ivy Bridge introduction the coming week(s). Due to a delayed launch, we believe initial unit shipments will be material and result in a favorable ASP mix in the quarter and into a seasonally stronger selling season.
Craig Ellis, Caris & Co.: Reiterates a Buy rating and a $32 price target. He’s estimating $12.81 billion and 49 cents for Q1. For Q2, he sees $13.57 billion and 56 cents per share. “We thought PC-related data points improved through the quarter, which against a backdrop of lean channel inventory and low early-quarter ship- ment expectations given HDD supply and macro risks means $200M/$0.01-$0.02 or more of results upside is possi- ble versus our estimate.” For Q2, “HDD output recovery risks have significantly abated, Ivy Bridge and Romley product launches are on track, but on the downside macro risks still persist in Europe and China as does tablet cannibalization.”
Detailed information about IB has stated to come out. Announcement i snot too far away.
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OTTAWA, Ontario, April 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- UBM TechInsights, the leader in technology competitive intelligence and IP consulting, announces the first investigation into Intel's 22nm process technology through their latest Ivy Bridge processors. The Ivy Bridge family of processors is the first by Intel to incorporate their game-changing 3D Tri-Gate technology. These smaller transistors, with their fin-like structure, allow for high volume manufacturing of power-efficient processors with increased processing power while making the transition to smaller nodes, such as 14nm, all the more possible.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120411/SF85785)
"Intel being the first to introduce not only a 22nm node for processors, but also 3D Tri-Gate technology, is a major technological achievement and a milestone for semiconductor manufacturing," says Jason Abt, Director of Technical Intelligence. "Our initial cross-sectional analysis of Intel's Ivy Bridge processor revealed process changes at the gate pitch of both the logic area and SRAM array, which is consistent with a 22nm device. With this new process technology, we are seeing now how Intel is going to address the challenges of migrating to smaller nodes and better power efficiency."
UBM TechInsights' leading-edge forensic technical analysis techniques, combined with years of experience in all aspects of the IP / Technology Lifecycle, enable the discovery and analysis of devices, such as Intel's Ivy Bridge processor.
Views from two different analysts. Nomura has been bearish on Intel for long time. But notice price difference. That what makes the market.
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Nomura Securities maintains a 'Reduce' on Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) price target of $23.00.
Analyst, Romit Shah, continues his bearish tone, saying that despite Intel screening well (across Wall St.) as a defensive name, the Company will be challenged over the next few years. Shah also feels that there is downside to Q2 (consensus), citing challenges in PC unit growth.
Shah said, "We expect Q1 results to be largely in line with consensus estimates of $12.8bn/$0.50 and our estimates of $12.8bn/$0.49. Hard disk drive availability is loosening up though we see continued risk from shortages in servers...That said, we are forecasting revenue and EPS of $12.8bn/$0.48 in Q2, below consensus of $13.4bn/$0.54."
Shah doesn't see a spike in Ivy Bridge before mid-May, citing customers pause until the release of Windows8 (Nasdaq: MSFT).
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RBC Capital raised estimates and its price target on Outperform-rated Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) from $30 to $33 ahead of Q1 earnings on April 17th.
Analyst Doug Freedman believes the mid-point of Intel's guidance, or $12.8bil (range $12.3bil-$13.3bil), proves to be a low-bar driven primarily by Romley strength, as they believe Enterprise and Data Center markets remain strong.
He raised Q1 revenue/EPS estimate to $13.06bil/$0.55 versus prior $12.67bil/$0.50 and Street $12.83bil/$0.50.
For Q2, upside could be driven by impact from Ivy Bridge introduction the coming week. "Due to a delayed launch, we believe initial unit shipments will be material and result in a favorable ASP mix in the quarter and into a seasonally stronger selling season," the analyst said.
Q2 revenue/EPS estimate was raised to $13.52bil/$0.58 vs. prior $13.18bil/$0.54 and Street $13.40bil/$0.54.