tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90201085382979553042024-03-08T04:17:46.559+08:00Intel vs ARM - chronicles of the great Semiconductor warI started this blog to facilitate the intelligent conversation around the AMD & Intel battle that could be happening on the Doctor's blog but doesn’t. I haven't been here for 3 years. The world has changed - so I am changing the title and focus of the blog. It's no longer Intel vs AMD - but really Intel vs the range of ARM players in a new world where computing and communications have collided forever.
An analytical and intelligent POV will be appreciated.180 Sharikouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976521382562563035noreply@blogger.comBlogger128125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020108538297955304.post-63170885039094549932013-04-24T19:38:00.000+08:002013-04-24T19:38:17.061+08:00Intel Q1 '13 - the pre-cursor of things to come
In spite of a dramatic 14% slow down in the PC market, Intel results came in on track. More importantly is their commentary on what's coming:
"Amidst market softness, Intel performed well in the first quarter and I'm excited about what lies ahead for the company," said Paul Otellini, Intel president and CEO. "We shipped our next generation PC microprocessors, introduced a new family of 180 Sharikouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976521382562563035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020108538297955304.post-8069648639715712332013-04-04T01:01:00.000+08:002013-04-04T01:06:41.092+08:00Dual Core Intel Clovertrail + crushes the Galaxy S IVWell...here's a nugget. The upcoming Lenovo K900 featuring the Intel Clovertrail + dual core CPU takes down the to be launched Samsung Galaxy S IV running a quad core ARM CPU.
Lenovo IdeaPhone K900 edges out the Samsung Galaxy S4 in benchmark test
For those of you who thought Intel didn't have the architecture to compete in the phone business...think again. They're just getting started. And180 Sharikouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976521382562563035noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020108538297955304.post-13555781571865416402013-04-02T00:50:00.001+08:002013-04-02T00:52:48.703+08:00Apple apologizes in China - getting ready for a world of low cost iPhones?After being hounded by the Chinese media for discriminatory consumer practices in China, Tim Cook today apologized to the people of China.
Tim Cook apologizes to China
You gotta wonder why such a mighty giant whose guiding principle has been "consumers don't know what they want - Apple needs to tell them" is kowtowing to the People's Republic of China.
I tell you simply, they are running out 180 Sharikouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976521382562563035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020108538297955304.post-14017413069198187462013-03-30T02:46:00.000+08:002013-03-30T10:22:00.585+08:00It's time for a changeIt's been 3 years since I've been here. Much has changed. AMD is a spent force. Trying desperately to stay alive...forget being relevant.
However, a new challenger has arisen. ARM has created an alternative for Intel where none existed before. What Intel was to PCs - ARM is to the new world of tablets and phones.
However, the real threat to Intel is not merely ARM. It is the myriad of Operating180 Sharikouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976521382562563035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020108538297955304.post-61535649744997329872013-03-30T02:30:00.001+08:002013-03-30T03:04:10.499+08:00Predictions I made - 3 years laterTHIS WAS A POST I WROTE IN 2009 AND JUST DIDN'T GET ROUND TO PUBLISHING.
Things are too busy to get to the blog regularly. But I thought I'd go back and look at a couple of things I predicted and how they turned out.The Apple effectThe first thing I wanted to touch on was my prediction of where Apple was heading and it's impact to the industry. Essentially I predicted that Apple would 180 Sharikouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976521382562563035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020108538297955304.post-65828482388084054622010-01-04T00:36:00.003+08:002010-01-04T00:53:52.836+08:00It's been a long time since a rock 'n rollIt's been 2 years since I last posted. Much has happened for me professionally and personally that has kept me really busy.But the real reasons the blog was in hiatus were:1. Sharikou had become boring and predictable. It wasn't fun razzing with da man any more. In fact, my own last few posts were becoming slightly Sharikouesque in nature - simply attack without much fact.2. The battle between 180 Sharikouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976521382562563035noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020108538297955304.post-40420713725288428062007-12-11T00:44:00.000+08:002007-12-11T00:49:33.921+08:00AMD - thermal consumption heading northRead this - pretty self explanatory and not too shocking. After all why change from TDP to ACP after so many years. It's just deceptive marketing to hide the truth about a sad product line up.In further evidence of their "head in the sand syndrome" - they hired a new high level VP when one would think they should be cutting costs till they stage some kind of recovery.AMD is going down...180 Sharikouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976521382562563035noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020108538297955304.post-41817010313043693022007-12-07T00:35:00.001+08:002007-12-07T00:47:35.394+08:00Why isn't it surprisingWith everything else heading backward, it's not surprising AMD's roadmap is doing the same. AMD plans to bring more K8 models out while reducing it's K10 line up.Well - why would anyone in their right mind do this? No reason actually. But remember, we're talking about someone who is not in their right mind currently. My Ruiz continues to be obsessed with unseating Intel and getting to 30% market 180 Sharikouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976521382562563035noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020108538297955304.post-15124573359275024022007-12-06T17:35:00.000+08:002007-12-06T17:55:25.864+08:00AMD stock hits 52 week lowAMD stock is now $ 8.91 due to an analyst lowering his rating. If they deliver a fantastic quarter as defined by some combination of the following:1. Revenue grows faster than the market (without a significant inventory bloat)2. ASPs flat to up.3. Gross margins increase4. Net loss decreases significantly to the region of 100 million $ (due to an improvement in business conditions and not just 180 Sharikouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976521382562563035noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020108538297955304.post-40027130486594104132007-11-30T00:12:00.000+08:002007-11-30T00:39:40.815+08:00Global semiconductor rankingsAlas - sad news for AMD and good news for Intel. iSuppli released it's preliminary results of the world's largest semiconductor companies and Intel outgrew the industry with 7.7% growth while AMD declined by 22.7% and also dropped out the top 10 after being in there for just one year.This is yet another catalyst for a change at the top at AMD. Hector was apparently in Bangalore opening a new R&180 Sharikouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976521382562563035noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020108538297955304.post-57400119874037186292007-11-28T10:06:00.000+08:002007-11-28T10:34:08.348+08:00And in the news today...AMD is apparently pondering the purchase of Aegia.This of course is a smart use of executive time when you have no cash in your pocket and a competitor who is coming at you like speeding train. But heck - let's sell out the company completely to acquire whatever we need because we're all so fixated on getting 30% market share.It's no wonder AMD's stock hit a 1 year low all the way down to $9.80 a180 Sharikouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976521382562563035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020108538297955304.post-63894081717988544042007-11-25T20:51:00.000+08:002007-11-25T20:54:50.078+08:00Intel increases dividendIntel raised their cash dividend by 13% effective quarter 1 2008.I had mentioned earlier they may increase their stock buy back to have a blow out Q407. This looks like an alternative route to having the same effect. Basically signalling to the market that the board believe the fundamentals are incredibly strong. Personally, I prefer stock buy backs because reducing the outstanding shares nudges 180 Sharikouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976521382562563035noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020108538297955304.post-91147537213821908582007-11-22T23:36:00.001+08:002007-11-24T10:33:46.378+08:00AMD stock south of $11I'm going to say I told you so...because I did.Now I'm not trying to gloat even though it's gratifying to be right. However, the problem here is AMD continues to pile on the debt and dilute shareholder value/equity as Hector blindly chases 30% market share in a bid to topple Intel.The wise man would run away to fight again another day. But Hector is not behaving wisely at all. And it is a matter 180 Sharikouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976521382562563035noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020108538297955304.post-80512062510841227662007-11-22T23:24:00.000+08:002007-11-22T23:30:45.437+08:00The EEE PC - the future is nighBack here I had written a post on the EEE PC.The EEE PC is selling like hot-cakes. This is the future my friends. A low cost, reasonable performance, ultra portable PC. And this will only get better with SIlverthorne and some of other Intel's products on their roadmap. Imagine what a killing they're going to make with a 25$ CPU on which they can still make 50-60% margins. AMD is about to miss out180 Sharikouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976521382562563035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020108538297955304.post-32725498294534754162007-11-21T23:03:00.000+08:002007-11-21T23:41:54.286+08:00AMD sells stake to Abu DhabiAMD heads back to the market for more cash. This time Abu Dhabi buys an 8.1% stake.Interestingly, AMD only got 12.70 $ per share so there really wasn't any premium. Which is interesting and a telling sign. The positive of this transaction is that they now have a vested interest from backer who has unlimited funding at his disposal. So should they need to secure more cash, they know where to go. 180 Sharikouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976521382562563035noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020108538297955304.post-77027143704032019822007-10-22T23:25:00.000+08:002007-10-23T00:17:54.331+08:00AMD Q3 07 and some related thoughts on IntelAMD had an improved quarter too:Press releaseResultsLet's look at the same numbers as the Intel report below to see whether there are some market trends emerging.- Revenues of 1.632 billion up from 1.378 billion in Q2.- EPS loss of 71 cents which beat the street forecast.In dollars this was 396 million.- Gross margin 41% up 8% from 33% in Q2. However, 2 points of the improvement came from an 180 Sharikouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976521382562563035noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020108538297955304.post-16791240269824616692007-10-17T11:24:00.000+08:002007-10-17T12:03:37.716+08:00Intel Q3 07Intel announced a bang up quarter today:Results- Revenues of 10.1 billion. Well above the updated forecast of 9.6.- EPS 31 cents. Beating the Street by 1 cent.- Gross margin 52.4%. At the high end of their forecast and up 5.5% QoQ.- Inventories down ~550 million.- Headcount down to 88kThe story is demand is robust. ASPs are flat. The re-structuring is helping drive down costs and make Intel a 180 Sharikouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976521382562563035noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020108538297955304.post-71494698878255964132007-10-17T11:21:00.000+08:002007-10-17T11:23:31.932+08:00I'm back...I've been away from the blog for a few weeks and I apologize. I've been pre-occupied with some other stuff and essentially there's been a whole lot of nothing going on between AMD and Intel as both try and stabilize business, share and most importantly margins.However, Intel's announcement this morning is a good segue to get back to the blog.180 Sharikouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976521382562563035noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020108538297955304.post-9974247473924664772007-09-05T16:17:00.000+08:002007-09-05T16:22:56.560+08:00Another one bites the dustAMD loses another senior sales executive.It seems like rats are deserting the sinking ship. It would have been ok if Henri left and was replaced by someone else. However, Henri leaves, Hector says I'lld do the job and now Rick Hegberg leaves. These are not good signs for AMD. On the positive side. Their costs are reducing.I wonder if Hector will be doing this job too? Troubling times for AMD. 180 Sharikouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976521382562563035noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020108538297955304.post-55814774733799376342007-09-04T22:21:00.000+08:002007-09-04T22:24:49.099+08:00BofA upgrades IntelBank Of America increases their price target on Intel from 29$ to 31$.Intel is on a roll. Barcelona is not going to save AMD. Not with Penryn coming in less than 60 days from launch.Still not Barcelona performance numbers with a week to launch. They must be working day and night to get competitive performance and are still struggling.180 Sharikouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976521382562563035noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020108538297955304.post-5344157202029744702007-08-23T08:32:00.000+08:002007-08-23T08:53:37.885+08:00The first head to rollHenri Richard - chief sales and marketing honcho at AMD quit today.Link 1Link 2Sales and marketing will now directly report into Hector. Heads have started to roll at the Jolly Green Giant. When you miss your revenue target quarter on quarter, the first person to blame is your sales guy. Of course, can you blame him if you are obsessed with winning market share even though your current product 180 Sharikouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976521382562563035noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020108538297955304.post-70563970780238762742007-08-19T23:23:00.000+08:002007-08-19T23:33:58.432+08:00AMD selling assets......in this case a big field behind their HQ in Sunnyvale apparently.I guess that should reduce their Q3 losses by a few million.Desperate times at AMD. I repeat, they need to cut heads and costs. The way to cut costs is by Hector focussing on key projects and not trying to do everything. Some time ago I had predicted the PIC would die. It actually did - and then foolishly was revived. Hector 180 Sharikouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976521382562563035noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020108538297955304.post-8088784267204758372007-08-17T00:59:00.000+08:002007-08-17T01:04:58.393+08:00Barcelona continues to have problemsAMD continues to have problems with Barcelona.What can I say. With a launch that wasn't soon enough and production problems, all they need now is for the performance to be disappointing and they will be toast.180 Sharikouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976521382562563035noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020108538297955304.post-11215004450622936092007-08-15T10:38:00.000+08:002007-08-15T10:45:47.977+08:00Penryn launch date setPenryn is on track for November 11.AMD will not have enough lead time in the market with Barcelona to establish a lead. Since the only proof we have of Barcelona's superiority to Penryn is that AMD tells us they're better than the current generation Clovertown, it's unlikely they will have much performance advantage. And possibly be at a disadvantage. As a result, they will not be able to enjoy 180 Sharikouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976521382562563035noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9020108538297955304.post-47472584219415286752007-08-09T22:35:00.000+08:002007-08-09T23:11:36.085+08:00AMD continues to borrowAMD heads back to the capital markets to borrow 1.5 billion through the issuance of convertible notes at 5.75%.They intend to re-pay the the Morgan Stanley loan as per the conditions of that loan with this money and use the balance for working capital.This adds more pressure to AMD's financials and their stock price.Hector and team will have to cut back costs at this rate. I said earlier, they 180 Sharikouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976521382562563035noreply@blogger.com7