Robert Castellano

Intel Facing a Formidable Foe in ARM

Hi Kris,

Then please tell me what the RIGHT REASONS are.


On Oct 02 10:19 AM Kris Tuttle wrote:

> You are probably right about ARM but for the wrong reasons.

Intel Facing a Formidable Foe in ARM

Hey Paul, SHOW ME THE FACTS. You seem to be in the know, as you said "that's a fact" I've been asking that from Intel for 9 months.


On Oct 02 01:31 AM paul.ottelini wrote:

> What a bunch of lies. I listened to the conference call, and Intel
> is definitely making a very nice profit from Atom processors. And
> they have clearly stated that. Intel cannot make false statements
> since they can get in trouble with the SEC. So I would not doubt
> any of the statements they make. Unfortunately these useless blogs
> allowed by Yahoo on their site could make all types of ridiculous
> statements full of lies and SEC will not do anything about them.
> Well, this comment to your lies asks investors to do some analysis
> themselves and go listen to the conference call by Intel and decide
> for themselves. Again, Intel makes plenty of money from Atom, and
> that's a fact.

Semis' Downturn - Which Companies Will Survive, Part 1

I pointed out in a Seeking Alpha article that there is no longer a correlation between semiconductor growth and equipment spending. seekingalpha.com/artic...
Since 2001, semiconductor equipment have been smarter in increasing the number of chips made without a corresponding increase in equipment spending. The major reason is the movement to 300mm wafers, responsible of a 2.25x increase in chips made for the same number of 200mm wafers.

There is a loose correlation between GDP and semiconductor production. The greater the growth in the economy, the greater the spending on technology. Our analysis at The Information Network (theinformationnet.com) suggests that with a worldwide GDP growth rate of 0.5 (International Money Fund's January 28 2009 forecast), the corresponding decrease in semiconductor sales will be minus 32%. Look for a more complete picture in about a week in Seeking Alpha.

Kirk, I love your comment about Gartner (by the way I read your comments regularly in Silicon Investor. I have been competing with Gartner since I started The Information Network in 1985. I couldn't agree with your blog more. Problem is Gartner has this quadrant system where they promote companies. As these companies want to get on Gartner's good side and be in the right quadrant, they continue to spend money on their market analysis, even though it may be wrong.

Friday's Futures, Intel and Silicon Valley

Intel is closing two assembly test facilities in Penang, Malaysia are to be shut down, along with another in Cavite in The Philippines.

Two silicon wafer fabrication plants in the US are being shut down - Fab 20, a 200mm wafer facility in Hillsboro, Oregon, and the D2 plant in Santa Clara, California, another unprofitable 200mm facility. All the latest chip are being manufactured in more profitable 300mm fabs, where you get 2.5 times more chips on a 300mm wafer than a 200mm wafer.