Stories about: Semico Research

The global economy may not be robust, but the PC and chip sectors are hoping to gain some ground with the help of Microsoft's Windows 7 OS, which will start shipping on Thursday.

A startup chip company is introducing a power-efficient processor it has been developing for three years, just as the market clamors for energy efficiency.

Samsung Electronics plans to double the capacity at its chip foundry subsidiary by the end of this year and become a potent new rival in the made-to-order chip business, a senior Samsung executive said Tuesday.

NAND flash memory chips have already made a huge impact on global electronics devices. Without them, there would probably be no iPod revolution, and MP3s would still be burned onto CDs. Computers would still require 2.5-inch floppy drives, since there wouldn't be any USB (Universal Serial Bus) flash memory sticks, and memory cards in digital cameras would hold far fewer photos than they do today.

Manufacturers can now purchase chips with embedded flash memory from STMicroelectronics NV (ST) that feature extremely small cell sizes, the company announced Tuesday.

Intel has endured its share of bumps and bruises over the last year, thanks to miscues, supply problems, strong competition from Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), and rapid expansion into new markets. But no single issue has drawn more recent attention in the tech world -- or caused more public relations headaches -- than the company's problem-plagued Rambus -based 820 chip set. In this, the second in a three-part series, PCWorld.com examines intel's numerous problems with its one-time flagship chip set product, and the opportunity those problems afforded its rivals.

Chip industry won't grow in 1998, Semico says