Zeev's Turnips Patch-No Politics (ZEEV)

[langostino]

Fred - notes from CCs ...

A few notes from the Zoran call ...

1. ASPs are holding flat in the DVD market -- a surprise given the price erosion in so many parts of the chip universe.

2. ZRAN is gaining share from the competition

3. ZRAN's heavy investment in R&D (criticized by one poster here) has paid off in a number of ways, but in particular it has helped them own the DVD recorder market, which is where the volume is rapidly shifting. ZRAN's goal is to continue to account for 1 in every 3 DVD chips. Investment in MPEG software/firmware, etc. is giving them product differentiation (read: protection against pure commoditization)

4. The printer market, particularly the color laser printer market, grew faster than anticipated. The new HP 2550 has been a particular hit. (ZRAN supplies chips to HP, Dell, Lexmark, Xerox, Ricoh, etc., etc.). A couple years ago could anyone have imagined a color laser printer from HP for less than $450 street?!!

5. More digital cameras will be sold build into cell phones than as traditional cameras this year - we've hit crossover already. ZRAN's chips are doing better than expected in this market as the jump is made from simple low res to 2.2 MP and higher.