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Cash And Cash Equivalents+Short Term Investments > $1.1B before the Xscale acquisition. Almost no debt.
Intel intended to receive the entire purchase price in cash. However, Intel has the option to take up to $100 million of the $600 million purchase price in Marvell common stock. Upon closing, Marvell may record a one-time charge for purchased in-process research and development expenses.
Every time an employee exercises stock option, that person had to pay the strike price to the Treasury. That was one of the reason MRVL is plush with cash. In addition, MRVL has had positive cash flow.
The remaining money is to pay the treasury for shareholders.
The company said it expects to record a pretax, non-cash charge of $325 million to $350 million to account for the improperly dated options.
This is a rather tricky out-of-the-box maneuver to remain listed for good.
So the shareholders owe $400M - tax but gain the precise amount in the treasury. The net effect is almost awash.
I am sure it was approved by Nasd officials if not SEC too. Otherwise the co wouldn't have done it.
S2, what's you said was correct. MRVL bought the former, huge 3Com campus for 10cents on a dollar. MRVL is the landlord of ATHR which is located in the same campus. Magma used to be the tenant, but now it moved to SJ.
3Com sold the opulent campus at a distressed price for they had to move to the East coast during consolidation.
Usually restatement is considered as non-cash charge but it takes time. In order to circumvent that to remain listed at Nasd, mgmt did that.
Some money is to reimburse employees who profited from the back-dated gains. The employees in turn have to pay IRS like BRCM employees did.
You are correct that the resolution is imminent.
Let's compare Sam App MP to MRVL's
The closest smartphone to iPhone is the Meizu MiniOne, aka iPhone clone.
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=19907161
If your not a technology minded person then at first look the Meizu MiniOne may make you think your looking at an iPhone, but its nowhere near it as its powered by Windows CE 6 and runs on an ARM11 533MHz Samsung processor. [Bingo ! nowhere near the 806MHz Monahan which has better arch than ARM11. Finally someone speaks up.]
Let's compare Sam App MP to MRVL's.
MRVL's App processor 3-series family is called Monahans.
PXA3xx
The PXA3xx family (Monahans), based on the third generation of Intel® XScale technology, was designed for cost efficiency by offering a broad road-map that is architecturally consistent for maximum software reuse. Marvell silicon provides headroom for advanced applications with intelligent power management allowing manufacturers to differentiate current and future offerings. All PXA3xx products feature frequency scalability to allow the best power and performance.
* The PXA320 offers scalable performance to 800 MHz and enables outstanding compute and video performance for hi
gh-end, multimedia cell phones and PDAs, industrial embedded solutions, and enterprise-class devices. ...
* The PXA310 is a cost-effective solution with up to 624 MHz power-efficient compute performance, hardware video acceleration, and DRM security with exceptional battery life. ...
* The PXA300 processor, with scalable performance to 624 MHz and video performance capabilities, enables the development of cost-efficient smartphones, industrial embedded solutions, and handheld devices such as GPS. ...
PXA27x
The PXA27x family redefines the wireless handheld device by incorporating innovative new features while borrowing and enhancing others from the world of the PC. In addition to its small-size, low-power framework, the PXA27x enables high-performance multimedia acceleration, and features the industry’s most flexible and powerful camera interface for capturing digital images and video.
PXA255
The PXA255 family delivers industry-leading processing power with built-in multimedia capabilities for high performance and enhanced handheld functionality. The PXA255 features boosted processing speeds and advanced power management for improved end-user productivity, increased battery life, and a rich handheld Internet experience.
In addition to its applications processors, Marvell provides various development resources and software for a complete product solution.
MRVL's Comm MP (baseband) 9-series family is called Hermon.
PXA90x
The PXA90x communications processor supports GSM, GPRS, and WCDMA mobile standards. With support for a diverse set of on-chip peripherals and auxiliary functions, the PXA90x improves wireless quality and enables rich multimedia applications, from high-quality audio to streaming video.
The PXA90x communications processor solutions address the demands of next-generation phones by providing support for the latest device requirements, including camera interface, fast bus speeds, and integration with high-performance applications. The communications processor is also scalable across multiple market segments.
Sam's top-of-the-line App MP is ARM1176JZF-S based S3C6400 used in Meizu MiniOne
http://www.samsung.com/products/semiconductor/MobileSoC/ApplicationProcessor/ARM11Series/S3C6400/S3C....
533/667MHz Operating Frequency. Sam didn't sample 667MHz parts until Mar 07 which would be too late to be designed in iPhone. It takes months between sampling parts to volume production. It takes even longer for an OEM to develop App SW for it, test, field-trial, getting FCC approval. The qual cycle is very long.
Meanwhile, MRVL already had 806MHZ at good yield since Nov 06.
http://www.marvell.com/press/pressNewsDisplay.do?releaseID=680
“Today’s consumers require that their personal wireless converged devices support a broad range of mobile multimedia applications including Bluetooth support, web browsing and camera support – all with extended talk time and a seamless mobile internet experience,” said Sam Arditi Senior Vice President of the Cellular and Handheld Group at Marvell. “Ramping three products in the Marvell PXA3xx family virtually at the same time gives our customers the flexibility to address different markets with an optimized product either for MIPS, video or cost – all with extremely low power consumption. All Marvell PXA3xx products feature frequency scalability to allow the best power and performance.”
The first processor in the family to ship in volume is the Marvell PXA320 (Monahans P), delivering the right mix of performance, power and integration levels to meet the needs of feature handsets, advanced smart phones, and a wide array of portable consumer web browsing devices. Demonstrated earlier this year running at 1.2GHz, the Marvell PXA320 is currently shipping in high volume at low-power and is scalable to 806MHz. Customers will be introducing devices based on the Marvell PXA320 in the first quarter of 2007.
So it's 533MHz Sam vs 806MHz Monahan which is much beter in performance, arch, power (freq/voltage dynamic scaling, power gating), roadmap. Draw your own conclusion. Capitulation happens today at high volume > 30 MM, expect a short covering/rebound soon.
S2, you are clever. I know what you are after. NDA means Non-Disclosure Agreement. You must have seen one before if you are in the industry.
AT&T stores taking iPhone pre-orders
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9021060&in...
Customers quietly queuing up for iPhones
http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2007/05/23/customers-quietly-queuing-up-for-iphones
Analyst expects the expected for WWDC'07
http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2007/05/23/analyst-expects-the-expected-for-wwdc07
PiperJaffray analyst Gene Munster expects new MacBook Pros and possibly a new iMac at Apple's World Wide Developer Conference that starts June 11. Neither is unexpected after recent MacBook Pro and iMac rumors. Muster doesn't mention the fabled black iMac, though. Also suspiciously missing in action is the rumored MacBook Thin that has the forums in a frenzy.
According to earlier rumors, the MacBook Pro will see a speed and energy-saving increase through the inclusion of Intel's new Santa Rosa support chips, and the screen will look better than ever because LEDs will provide the backlight. (Throw in an extra bit or two while you're at it, Apple!) The new screens were supposedly ordered by Apple in 15.4 and 13.3 inch sizes. The 13.3-inch screens didn't make it into the recently-updated MacBooks, so their presence would point toward a new, smaller MacBook Pro model. [ITM requires at least 1 HDD and Flash cache which has MRVL SoC inside. The HDD will likely have MRVL read channel SoC too].
The rumors indicate that the iMac will be redesigned and may thus lose its "chin." The 17-inch model is supposed to bite the dust, leaving the 20- and 24-inch models. The iMac was last updated in September and the MacBook Pro in October. The average update cycle averages some six months for both products, so based on that, updates should be imminent.
Muster is looking forward to seeing how Apple "will integrate Windows operability into Leopard." I'm guessing it will be a lot like the current Boot Camp beta, but with the other shoe still to drop on Leopard's now-mythical secret features, anything is still possible. We shouldn't expect to see the iPhone's release during the developer conference, but Apple has confirmed that the gadget is still on for a June release date. In Apple's universe, this can still mean that you'll have to wait two to four weeks before you'll be able to make your first iPhonecall, though.
Apple awarded patent for mobile security system
http://www.myiphone.com/
iPhone Unboxed: Wanna see what's inside ?
http://www.iphoneunboxed.com/
Times Magazine:Apple's New Calling: The iPhone
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1575410,00.html
This is why iPhone is so compelling & music to MRVL's ears
http://www.mobilewhack.com/handset/apple_iphone.html
RIM has 18.1% worldwide PDA mkt shr 1Q07
http://www.kauppalehti.fi/4/i/eng/releases/press_release.jsp?selected=other&oid=20070501/1179898....
GARTNER: Windows Mobile Devices Drove Worldwide PDA Market to 40% Growth Q1 2007
Wednesday 23 May 2007 08:41 EEST Kauppalehti Online
PRESS RELEASE 22.5.2007
Gartner, Inc.
Gartner Says Windows Mobile Devices Drove Worldwide PDA Market to 40
Percent Growth in First Quarter of 2007
STAMFORD, Conn., May 22, 2007 — Shipments of Windows Mobile PDAs grew 64
percent in the first quarter of 2007, and this strong growth helped
propel worldwide PDA shipments to 5.1 million units, a 39.7 percent
increase from the first quarter of 2006, according to Gartner, Inc.
“Microsoft Windows Mobile licensees accounted for nearly 3.2 million PDA
shipments in the first quarter of 2007, or more than 60 percent of all
PDA shipments in the quarter,” said Todd Kort, principal research analyst
in Gartner's Client Computing group. “This strong growth was surprising
because Windows Mobile 6 will launch in the second quarter, accompanied
by the launch of many new and improved models. Normally, consumers and
businesses have constrained their purchases when upgrades are imminent.”
Research In Motion continued to lead the PDA market (see Table 1), but
its product mix has shifted toward smartphones, with the BlackBerry Pearl [Powered by Xscale]
representing about 55 percent of RIM's total shipments in the first
quarter of 2007. As such, RIM's PDA shipments were essentially flat.
Gartner analysts said RIM's PDA shipments should grow through the
remainder of 2007 as the new 88xx and 83xx models replace the 87xx [All powered by Xscale]. Mio
Technology, the leading Microsoft licensee, shipped nearly 568,000 PDAs,
all with integrated GPS capability. Europe, the Middle East and Africa
(EMEA) accounted for 57 percent of Mio's shipments, driven by sales of
the C510 and C250 car navigation devices into Southern European
countries.
Table 1
Worldwide: Preliminary PDA Vendor Shipment Estimates, 1Q07 (Units)
Company 1Q07 1Q07 Market 1Q06 1Q06 Market 1Q06-1Q07
Shipments Share (%) Shipments Share (%) Growth (%)
Research In Motion 928,239 18.1 929,883 25.3 -0.2
Mio Technology 567,967 11.1 216,728 5.9 162.1
Samsung 451,000 8.8 2,150 0.1 20876.7
Sharp 436,450 8.5 249,380 6.8 75.0
Nokia 319,100 6.2 157,150 4.3 103.1
Others 2,423,089 47.3 2,114,009 57.6 14.6
Total 5,125,845 100.0 3,669,300 100.0 39.7
Note: Excludes smartphones, such as Treo 750 and BlackBerry 81xx,
but includes cellular PDAs such as BlackBerry 87xx.
Source: Gartner Dataquest (May 2007)
Samsung, Sharp and Nokia round out the top five vendors in the first
quarter of 2007 with market shares of 8.8 percent, 8.5 percent and 6.2
percent, respectively. Samsung benefited from a strong marketing effort
led by Cingular to promote the BlackJack, seen by many as a low-cost
alternative to the BlackBerry. Palm continued its focus on the smartphone
market and dropped out the top five in the PDA market in the first
quarter of 2007. Palm shipped 297,000 PDAs in the first quarter and
ranked seventh in global PDA shipments.
Windows Mobile PDA OS shipments surpassed 3.1 million units accounting
for 62.1 percent of shipments in the first quarter of 2007 (see Table 2).
RIM was the nearest competitor with 18.1 percent market share.
“With Windows Mobile device shipments up over 1.2 million units from the
first quarter of 2006, Microsoft has achieved a dominant position in the
market for data-centric devices. However, Microsoft has faltered in the
much larger smartphone market,” said Mr. Kort. “The reverse is true for
Symbian and Nokia. RIM seems to be the only company making a balanced
effort, although it still has a lot of catching up to do in the
smartphone market.”
Table 2
Worldwide: Preliminary PDA Vendor Shipment Estimates by Operating System,
1Q07 (Units)
Company 1Q07 1Q07 Market 1Q06 1Q06 Market 1Q06-1Q07
Shipments Share (%) Shipments Share (%) Growth (%)
Windows CE 3,184,703 62.1 1,937,667 52.8 64.4
Research In Motion 928,239 18.1 929,883 25.3 -0.2
Palm OS 314,353 6.1 489,220 13.3 -35.7
Symbian 288,000 5.6 132,000 3.6 118.2
Linux 33,400 0.7 43,530 1.2 -23.3
Others 377,150 7.4 137,000 3.7 175.3
Total 5,125,845 100.0 3,669,300 100.0 39.7
Note: Excludes smartphones, such as Treo 750 and BlackBerry 81xx, but
includes cellular PDAs such as BlackBerry 87xx.
Source: Gartner Dataquest (May 2007)
Gartner Dataquest defines a PDA as a data-centric handheld computer
weighing less than 1 pound that is primarily designed for use with both
hands. These devices use an open-market OS supported by third-party
applications that can be added into the device by end users. They offer
instant-on/off capability and synchronization of files with a PC. A PDA
may offer WAN support for voice, but these are data-first, voice-second
devices. Examples include the RIM BlackBerry 8707v, HP iPAQ 69xx, Nokia
E61, Motorola Q, T-Mobile Dash and Sidekick 3.
Smartphones offer all the attributes of a PDA, except that smartphones
are voice-centric with data access as a secondary capability, and are
designed for primarily one-handed operation. Examples include the Palm
Treo 750v, RIM BlackBerry Pearl, Orange SPV C700, Nokia E60 and Sony
Ericsson P990i.
http://techlogg.com/content/view/192/1/
http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/05/23/PDA-sales-surge-in-Q1_1.html
ARM11 533MHz Sam Meizu MiniOne M8: look fast and you think 816MHz Monahan iPhone
May 23rd, 2007 by John in Cell & Mobile Phones, Handsets
http://www.product-reviews.net/2007/05/23/meizu-minione-m8-look-fast-and-you-think-iphone/
If your not a technology minded person then at first look the Meizu MiniOne may make you think your looking at an iPhone, but its nowhere near it as its powered by Windows CE 6 and runs on an ARM11 533MHz Samsung processor. [Bingo ! nowhere near the 816MHz Monahan which has better arch than ARM11. Finally someone speaks up.]
The Meizu MiniOne does look similar which is something I cannot help but feel was done on purpose to raise sales of the MiniOne.
The TFT touchscreen is pretty cool with a 720×480 resolution and 16 million colors, which is very impressive to say the least.
The Meizu MiniOne also packs 128MB of SDRAM, capacities of 4GB up to 16GB, numerous audio and video file formats, GPS navigation, integrated DMB tuner for TV on-the-go, WiFi, Bluetooth and a couple of cameras for photos and video calls.
The feature list is amazing and this phone will retail at a low price of $260 to $450 (very cheap for amount of features).
The Meizu MiniOne may not be an iPhone but it will compete with the like of the Nokia N95.
When you ship chips to a customer you don't get paid right away. That's call DSO. iPhone being shipped in late June, it's in Apple interest not to pay right away until sell-through happens. There was a very good article on Motley Fools about DSO, AR,... With
so much negatives, mgmt might as well threw in the kitchen sink by lowering the Q2 bar. Many cos did the same thing. That's why I said there would be upside in Aug CC.
JP Morgan says hardware, telcoms next buyout sectors
http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=ZZANCZX4G22QEQSNDLSCKHA?articleID=19...
GS: Near-term challenges persist, as does
significant growth potential
5/18/07
What"s changed
Marvell reported FY1Q08 (Apr) sales of $635mn (+2% qoq) vs GS $643mn, Street
$645mn, and guidance $640-650mn; Marvell only reported sales pending completion of
stock options related restatements. Marvell guided 2Q to $645mn (+2% qoq), vs GS
$669mn and Street $679mn. Marvell?s sales trend continues to disappoint, in particular
hard disk drive (HDD) ICs, which continue to be impacted by HDD industry softness, and
WiFi, as PS3 shipments were below plan. Marvell?s OpEx was higher than expected due
to options-related legal expense. On the positive side, the baseband/apps processor
business is making solid progress, including design wins and cost improvement, which
helped drive better then expected corporate GM.
Implications
We are adjusting EPS on lower sales and higher OpEx, which more than offset better
GM: FY08 ($0.10) from $0.10, FY09 $0.23 from $0.50, and introducing FY10 at $0.55;
our EPS includes ESO expense of $0.42, $0.41, and $0.40. OpEx increase is
disconcerting, but we recognize the need to invest to enable future growth as we believe
Marvell is not valued on near-term EPS, but long-term potential. That said, we continue to rate
Marvell at Buy as we are constructive on Marvell?s growth opportunities and expect several
positive drivers to ramp in coming quarters, which we believe will help re-establish positive
earnings and investor momentum.
Valuation
We have adjusted our 12-month target to $21 from $23 as our normalized EPS goes to $0.43 from
$0.45 and use a target PEG ratio of 1.5x. We expect Marvell will drive significantly outsized
growth with opportunities in its traditional and emerging markets (consumer WiFi, optical drive, &
video).
Somehow the Yahoo link got changed.
Re: WHAT IS HOLDING BACK THIS STOCK ??? By gabillionair
23-May-07 01:42 am
The restatements are complete. I have that on good source. The delay in filing is due to something with tax issues and who's gonna pay fines and how much. All BS. But has to be done.
Once they file, then the world gets to see. So, they need to have all answers before the world sees.
From what I'm told, all the naysayers and analysts are going to be sadly mistaken as to their negative tone on the stock.
Re: WHAT IS HOLDING BACK THIS STOCK ??? By lakers_w
23-May-07 01:56 am
Obviously you have good sources... BRCM went through exactly the same phases too. They figured out how much each back-dated employee owed IRS, asked the employees pay first, then reimbursed them later. I had respect for that kind of management.
I see catalysts for June rally: Nas filings, iPhone launch.
This stock is a tightly coiled spring. It has traded contrary to mkt. Maybe when mkt corrects in the summer. MRVL will move up meaningfully.
WHAT IS HOLDING BACK THIS STOCK ?
http://messages.finance.yahoo.com/Stocks_%28A_to_Z%29/Stocks_M/threadview?m=tm&bn=11960&tid=....
I don't have premium service for private reply. Please read the entire thread above. You deserve more than anyone here.
Mgmt threw in the kitchen sink lowering the bar making it easy to beat rev est in Q2. 2H07 looks great. Stk went lower because ST. is not sure who will be in control, not because of future fundamentals which will be good in 2H07 - people in the know told me. iPhone is launching in 30 days. It will surprise you.
iPhone would be the stamp of approval for MRVL to break into top-tier OEMs.
Nas filings will happen soon too. APPL went down a lot last year and this Feb when ST. wasn't sure whether Steve would stay. Stk recovered well when Steve was immuned.
There are a lot more egregious option violations at BRCM, BRCD, ... SEC normally goes after the most egregious ones. It probably won't have enough resource/time to go after every co.
in violation.
HP acquired Mercury Interactive when the later was embroiled in option scandal. SNDK acquired FLSH when FLSH was investigated for option backdating. Acquisition can happen during option probe.
Sehat and Weili probably end up paying a restitution. IMHO, Sehat will stay if the board backs him up the way they did Steve. The law is about precedence. I am sure cos will use Steve as an argument to SEC. Nobody should be above the law. Steve was immuned even after APPL CFO spoke out against him
telling SEC that Steve was aware and approved of backdating.
There should be no separate system for the rich, famous, and well-connected.
Pantas (CTO) who owns 10% of stock is very capable to replace Sehat if needed.
You should find an entry soon, IMHO.
MRVL will present at Confabs
Pacific Crest 9th Annual Technology Forum
August 5 - 7, 2007
Date and time of presentation to be determined
Sonnenalp Resort, Vail, CO
Citigroup's 14th Annual Global Technology Conference
September 4 - 6, 2007
Date and time of presentation to be determined
Hilton New York Hotel, New York, NY
Jefferies Technology Conference
October 1 & 2, 2007
Date and time of presentation to be determined
The Mandarin Oriental, New York, NY
CBS, Sorry that you had to capitulate. Cramer's book said that's when the stock bottomed. It's a very interesting book w/ lots of annecdotal stories. When he was a hedge fund mgr, he capitulated as he couldn't take the pain any longer but his wife doubled down on every $2 dip.
His wife eventuall made a lot of money from the distressed stock which was a turn-around story.
I can understand if you average is high. Mine is $17/shr. I can hold on a lot longer.
I was in the depth of dispair when JNPR hit $12 last year. Lots of capitulation but I held on. Look at where it is now.
IMHO, we are at bottom. Nothing but up from here entering the 2H07. Biz is turning around. The diversification is starting to work. HDD seasonality pendulum starts to swing the other way. Nas filing is coming soon ...
Don't give up at bottom. Keep your chin up. All the best !
S2, 100M/qtr from Xscale is too low considering a plethora of design wins in the pipeline. My reasonable guesstimate is $160 MM in Q4 (Sehat has said $150M in 2 CCs ago). It should increase sequentially by at least 10% every qtr after that.
The co. is diversifying away from HDD to Xscale APP+baseband, Printer, optical disk, video, Wifi+Blue+FM stereo, 10 GiGE/switch, wireless switch/router, ITM, integration. HDD rev will be ~ 30% in '08. The St. hasn't factored this in rev est.
Herein, lies the upside.
Soon, HDD seasonality will be a thing of the past.
There are much bigger fish for SEC to go after like BRCM's $2.26B restatement, ... Steve got special treatment - he is untouchable - as his departure would hurt the economy and jobs far more than anyone else. As Jobs go, so goes the economy.
Also, he has friends at high places. The board protected him at all costs.
MRVL's $300M's is chump change. BRCM's Samueli is still there.
At worst, Sehat will pay a fine. Pantas is very able to step in if necessary.
At $16.5, it's a compelling BUY. Fundamentally, the co. is very strong. There is a lot of upside once the transition is partially done. The ST. normally jumps in 4-6 mos way before HDD rev gets to 25-30%. 2H07, Vista, Santa Rosa upgrades would fuel a boom in PC/HDD.
I am afraid private equity funds might buy out MRVL cheap ~ 21$/shr, then hire back the brothers to run the private co. before the dust settles. It's a private co., the funds can hire anybody to run it as long as they are not in jail.
So far no one from several hundred guilty cos has gone to jail yet.
CBS, buy low, sell high. Don't buy high, sell low. Let's make money the old-fashioned way. We are bottom. June is next week.
We are close to a resolution.
ITM requires at least 1 Serial ATA HDD. MRVL provides two SoCs
http://www.intel.com/support/chipsets/itm/sb/CS-025759.htm
Intel® Turbo Memory improves the general performance of your computer with faster read/write access times and reduced boot-up times, and increases the power efficiency of the mobile system by moving frequently accessed data over to the flash memory from the hard drive.
Intel Turbo Memory requires the following system components:
1. A system with one of the following controller hubs:
* Intel® 82801HBM Serial ATA AHCI Controller (ICH8M)
* Intel® 82801HEM Serial ATA AHCI Controller (ICH8M-E)
2. At least one Serial ATA hard drive
3. 1 GB or 512 MB of Intel® NAND Flash Memory
MRVL provides two SoCs, one in SATA HDD and one for Flash Controller.
Is Intel’s ‘Turbo Memory’ really turbo?
http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/31976/118/
EZchip recently announced a collaboration with MRVL
"Our market will reach $250 million in 2008-2009, and we'll have a sizeable chunk."
So says Eli Fruchter president and CEO of LanOptics subsidiary EZchip Technologies
http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000207728&fid=1724
EZchip recently announced a collaboration with Marvell Technology Group (Nasdaq: MRVL), an announcement that sent LanOptics' stock up sharply, even though the collaboration was known before the official announcement was made. The two companies are collaborating on R&D, marketing, and sales of network processors to the Ethernet market. "The goal is to increase exposure to Tier 1 customers, a sector in which Marvell has a very strong grip," says Fruchter. "Marvell is active primarily in the enterprise solutions sector, and our chip is designed for service providers. The combination enables us to approach customers of both companies."
Do you mean customers that are apprehensive about working with a small company like EZchip?
"That's one good example."
The collaboration with Marvell was a form of response to Broadcom Corp. (Nasdaq: BRCM), which entered EZchip's market after it acquired the privately-held Sandburst Corporation at the beginning of 2006. "Broadcom is our main competitor," says Fruchter. "Broadcom and Marvell are acting in a similar fashion to each other. They both came from the enterprise field and are trying to reach service providers, Broadcom by way of an acquisition, and Marvell through a collaboration."
Did Broadcom approach you or make an acquisition offer to you too before it acquired Sandburst?
"I'd rather not comment on that."
But do you feel that EZchip could still be an acquisition target?
"Yes, of course it could. Looking ahead, the most reasonable scenario is that LanOptics will buy the remaining holdings and reach 100% ownership, and that EZchip will continue to grow as a public company. Another option is that EZchip will be acquired, before or following a full merger with LanOptics. A third option, albeit highly unlikely, is that EZchip itself will make an offering, but there is no need for this at present."
Aside from Broadcom, EZchip faces another kind of competition, since there are companies that prefer to develop their chips in-house. One competitor now quitting the market is Intel Corporation (Nasdaq: INTC). "Intel announced that it would no longer be making any developments in the field," says Fruchter. "They're in the process of exiting the market. They developed low-speed processors, while we have been developing high-speed processors. I imaging that had they stayed in the market, they would have developed high-speed ones too." Fruchter believes that Intel decided that a market worth hundreds of millions of dollars in which other companies were also active, was not suited to a company of its size.
An in-depth review of Apple's 802.11n AirPort Extreme Base Station
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/07/05/21/an_in_depth_review_of_apples_802_11n_airport_extreme_b....
It has a MRVL router chip inside, 88F5181, which would make this a standard ARM-based CPU designed to run 802.11n access points
http://www.vonwentzel.net/ABS/Dissection-Extreme-n/index.html
It was confirmed to me that MRVL will beat the Nasd filing dealine. Stk might go up a few pts when that happens. Don't worry.
Palm Treo 755: Xscale 312MHz in, Samsung 300MHz out
Treo 755 Hands On with Sprint EVDO, Palm OS, and Google Maps
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/hands-on/treo-755-hands-on-with-sprint-evdo-palm-os-and-google-maps-25885...
Here's the deal on the Palm Treo 755: It's a 750 generation variant, running on Palm OS and Sprint instead of Windows Mobile and AT&T/Cingular/Whatever. That means its got that Sprint EVDO we know and love, even if it is at slightly slower Revision 0 speeds of 400-600 kilobits/sec.
On the hardware side of things, the phone has an Intel Xscale 312MHz proc, 128MB or RAM, and a 320x320 screen (instead of the Samsung 300MHz chip and the 240x240 screen of the Treo 750), and will come in blue and dark red in that silky velvechron finish I can't stop manhandling. On the software side of things, Palm's shipped the phone with Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, Bejeweled, IM for AIM, Yahoo! and MSN, and some unique Google Map integration.
Google Maps tweaks are...
address book integration. Basically, you can click the "Map" button on a contact entry with an address inside, and awaaaaay you go to Google Maps. From there, you can route to and from the address with a few more keystrokes. The Google Maps implentation does a good job of using the EVDO speed to update the map's data. And it shows the traffic compatible software. A shame they don't put GPS in this guy. (Real like the Nokia N95 or fake like the Helio and Verizon phones.)
Available for $280, middle of May, with one of those two-year ball & chains.
Pretty lucky that Palm lovers get the OS of choice attached to my favorite cellular data network.
Infineon for baseband is credible as it was recently selected to be second source for NOK who previously used TXN as the only source. TI lost out to Infi. This was the biggest suprise.
IMHO, APPL chose Infi for political reason to sell outside of North America. They could have easily chosen the well-proven TI chip.
The App processor is different. Conventional wisdom is between MRVL and Sam. The later is not know for high performance/low power App processor. Xscale arch/roadmap/power/perf is better.
Sam, the world 3rd largest cell phone OEM, is a direct competitor to APPL. Nowadays, you just can't sell HW alone but Reference design including SW, driver, compiler. Sam would have to provide the optimized SW part as well. APPL can't take the less-optimized driver/compiler to use for iPhone. This is a huge conflict of interest. Analysts must be brain-dead when they tout Sam.
BRCM lost 11g to MRVL for MRVL part is better in power.
MRVL Sampling single chip combining HSDPA, 3G baseband, App processor
We are also pleased to see strong design activity from new customers who have not historically been focused on the XScale products.
During the quarter, O2 in Europe became another major carrier to launch a 3G phone based on our advanced solutions following the Vodafone launch in February. We also continued to work closely with RIM to support their ongoing product launches and strong business strength.[BB8800, 8100 Pearl, next Pearl update, 8300 Curve]
Also during the quarter, we commenced sampling our first highly integrated single chip communication processor, which combines an HSDPA, 3G based band with a high-speed application processor.
[BB9.9K, BB9.1K]
In regards to our application processors, we continue to see diverse design activity beyond just cell phones and smart phones. Our customer base is very large and we have high volume shipments into many different applications such as GPS, PDAs, VOIP phones and a variety of handheld devices for the mobile work force.
Many of these applications are beginning to also incorporate the benefits of wireless LAN and Bluetooth, which bodes well for incremental growth of content and future integration.
In regards to wireless LAN and Bluetooth, we continue to receive very solid design wins and are on track to start shipping our integrated wireless LAN and Bluetooth Single-Chip Solution in high volume in the second half of this year.
[NOK. The St hasn't factored this in.]
Additionally, during the quarter, we introduced a second Bluetooth device with an integrated FM radio. All of our Bluetooth solutions are completely certified to support extended data rates, 2.0.
As the clear leader in the embedded wireless LAN market, we are in a strong position to leverage these designs to now include the Bluetooth and FM functionality. We are seeing great interest and exciting designs in high volume applications, such as MP3 players, cell phones and gaming.
[AAPL is working on adding Wifi+Blue to next gen iPod]
The $16 M question.
Q1 rev was 635MM. Half of it is HDD = 317.5MM. Sehat said HDD rev is normally down by ~5% in Q2. So, Q2 HDD rev is 301.625 MM.
Thus, HDD rev Q2 short fall is 15.875 MM. Sehat guided Q2 rev to 645MM. In order to achieve this, MRVL needs to get 10M + 15.875M = 25.875M additional rev from new biz assuming other existing biz's are flat or down slightly. The ITM SoC for Santa Rose is in the initial ramp. That could be awash with other biz's Q2 seasonals.
It's public info that MRVL won 11g in iPhone. 11g w/ integrated radio, transceiver ASP is $10. APPL likely built 1 MM iPhones initially for late June launch. Where does MRVL get the extra $15.875 M from ? What chip has an ASP > $16 times 1 MM units ? Note that $645 MM Q2 guidance is a very conservative number. Mgmt threw in the kitchen sink in the background of so much negatives making Q2 consensus easy to beat.
Mgmt also said margin will improve as well. What product can do that ?
Let's see if the savviest can figure out where $16 MM comes from. It's left as an exercise to readers.
There is no question in my mind that iPhone launch is the most significant product launch in recent memory. Moreover, it raise the bar so high that the whole industry needs to move real fast just to catch up.
What makes an iPhone design win so compelling that it will be used as a reference account for more design wins for the lucky suppliers.
The rich will get richer.
Apple iPhone vs. Moto RAZR2 vs. Moto Q9h vs. Nokia N95: The Battle that Isn’t
http://www.iphonefaq.org/archives/9788
PXA900 312-MHz Hermone 8100 Pearl Teardown
http://www.wirelessnetdesignline.com/howto/197000195
PXA901 "Hermone" processor RIM 8700 teardown: the power of power integration
http://www.techonline.com/product/underthehood/193100885
Diversity comes to email devices: A comparative teardown
http://i.cmpnet.com/eetimes/news/07/02/DC1461_UTH_PG_44.jpg
Line blurs between phones, PCs
http://www.eetimes.com/news/design/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=199200574
312 MHz PXA270 Treo 755p Review
http://www.palminfocenter.com/news/9414/palm-treo-755p-review/
Here’s the most complete BlackBerry Curve review out there so far
http://blogs.zdnet.com/blackberry/?p=181
MRVL SATA Controller in PS3
http://eetimes.eu/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=199600128
EETimes: It's Monahan, Baby !
http://www.eetimes.com/news/design/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=197004232
CEO confirms 'at least three' ARM processors in iPhone
Peter Clarke
EE Times Europe
(02/07/2007 7:08 AM EST)
LONDON — Warren East, president and chief executive officer of ARM Holdings plc, has confirmed that "at least three" processor cores developed at his company are present within the iPhone from Apple Inc.
ARM (Cambridge, England), a developer of processor and related intellectual property, has licensed most of the world's integrated device manufacturers (IDMs) and foundries to manufacture its cores, which are often included in system-chips. The company's declared ambition is to have its intellectual property included in every digital chip manufactured.
Further to an "email to the editor" which estimated that there may be three ARM processor cores in the Apple iPhone, reports came forward that the main CPU for the iPhone is a PXA320, formerly the Monahan applications processor from Intel Corp., now supplied by Marvell Technology Group Ltd. The PXA320 is therefore a descendant of the StrongARM processor developed by Digital Equipment Corp. under an architectural license from ARM in the 1990s (see Feb. 1 story).
When asked how many ARM processor cores were in the iPhone, East said his company has a good track record of not talking about customers' products. "ARM is in 90 percent of the world's [mobile phone] handsets; we're in WiFi, baseband processors and applications processors and most of the world's MP3 players. So it's at least three," East said.
When asked to say if three was an underestimate or even a large underestimate, East said: "Apple will talk about the contents of the iPhone when Apple's ready to talk about the contents of the iPhone."
http://forum.brighthand.com/showthread.php?t=237218
One site even states with authoritatively that it's an Marvell PXA320 "Monahan" chip (scalable to 800MHz, 256KB L2 cache, 32-bit DDR bus interface, Intel Wireless SpeedStep, Intel Instruction Power Manager, Intel MMX2 support, 2D graphics acceleration with 768KB full-VGA streaming frame buffer, Intel (5 megapixel) Enhanced Quick Capture, enhanced WiFi/WiBro/WiMAX/Bluetooth 2.0 support).
BB9.9K for biz, BB9.1K for consumer
http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2007/04/17/blackberry-9900-exists/
New design wins & Vegas Interops next week
http://messages.finance.yahoo.com/Stocks_%28A_to_Z%29/Stocks_M/threadview?m=tm&bn=11960&tid=...
RIM: we'll have WiFi BlackBerrys this year (BB 8120)
http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2007/05/14/rim-well-have-wifi-blackberrys-this-year/
http://swik.net/pearl
Expect features to include a 2 megapixel camera (up from the Pearl's 1.3 megapixel unit), integrated GPS, and the long-overdue WiFi support RIM's been spouting off about as of late.
Guess who will provide the processor and 11g ?
Updated BlackBerry Pearl due in September: five colors, GPS AND WiFi
http://blogs.zdnet.com/blackberry/?p=176
312 MHz XScale Treo 755p Now Available from Sprint
http://www.brighthand.com/default.asp?newsID=13030
iPhone to be available at 2000 store fronts on launch
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/07/05/18/iphone_to_be_available_at_2000_store_fronts_on_launch....