IHS iSuppli recently downgraded its outlook on the semiconductor market, from three percent growth for 2012 to a contraction of 0.1 percent.
That would represent the first annual decline since 2009. “The expected decline in 2012 represents a major event for the global semiconductor market,” said Dale Ford, senior director at IHS.
Monday, August 27, 2012
If Semiconductor Sector Contracts, Can Consumer Electronics Be Far Behind?
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
Apple Patent Win Over Samsung: Only Slight Impact?
It might be too early to predict the actual impact of the largely successful Apple patent infringement suit against Samsung. Some think the whole Android ecosystem will be negatively affected; others think that is unlikely. Some think any Android supplier whose devices “look like” an iPhone will have trouble.
The win, for better or worse, is likely to maintain, if not intensify, the rate at which patent lawsuits in the mobile business are filed. Some might argue that could slow innovation in the handset business. Others thinks the desire to avoid such entanglements could increase the amount of innovation in the handset business.
Service providers might reasonably assume their exposure to Apple’s power in the ecosystem now is increased. That is likely to reinforce efforts by service providers to support rival operating systems, manufacturers and devices, a move that already is underway.
The cost of building many smart phones could increase, if Samsung and others have to start paying new royalties to Apple to avoid future patent infringement lawsuits.
Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster predicts "only minor impact" on Samsung and Google from the recent patent infringement win by Apple.
"We believe that Samsung is likely to make software modifications to devices to work around the patented software features in question," says Munster. "For devices that infringe on design patents, we believe those devices may no longer be sold in the US; however, it does not appear that newer devices, including the Galaxy SIII are impacted."
Other opinions span a range of predictions, some suggesting rather mild impact; others predicting more serious damage. JP Morgan is among firms that believe the patent infringement decision is a negative for the Android ecosystem as it likely puts more pressure on Android OEMs to clearly differentiate devices.
Barclays argues that “this event alone” will have a minimal near-term impact on Android’s global momentum in the smart phone arena. Samsung will face some issues, but most of the devices cited in the case are older models. Significantly, Samsung’s current flagship phone, the Galaxy S III, was not included in the infringing devices.
UBS thinks the decision could result in a royalty revenue stream of perhaps $250 million a year for Apple.
Macquarie Equities Research thinks the decision will negatively affect the search distribution arrangements between Google and Apple. But that testiness was evident even before.
YouTube will not be a native app on iOS 6, for example.
There also is the question of potential benefit for the hiccup will be beneficial for Nokia, Microsoft or others in the ecosystem that seem to significantly different from the Apple iOS “look and feel.”
The win, for better or worse, is likely to maintain, if not intensify, the rate at which patent lawsuits in the mobile business are filed. Some might argue that could slow innovation in the handset business. Others thinks the desire to avoid such entanglements could increase the amount of innovation in the handset business.
Service providers might reasonably assume their exposure to Apple’s power in the ecosystem now is increased. That is likely to reinforce efforts by service providers to support rival operating systems, manufacturers and devices, a move that already is underway.
The cost of building many smart phones could increase, if Samsung and others have to start paying new royalties to Apple to avoid future patent infringement lawsuits.
Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster predicts "only minor impact" on Samsung and Google from the recent patent infringement win by Apple.
"We believe that Samsung is likely to make software modifications to devices to work around the patented software features in question," says Munster. "For devices that infringe on design patents, we believe those devices may no longer be sold in the US; however, it does not appear that newer devices, including the Galaxy SIII are impacted."
Other opinions span a range of predictions, some suggesting rather mild impact; others predicting more serious damage. JP Morgan is among firms that believe the patent infringement decision is a negative for the Android ecosystem as it likely puts more pressure on Android OEMs to clearly differentiate devices.
Barclays argues that “this event alone” will have a minimal near-term impact on Android’s global momentum in the smart phone arena. Samsung will face some issues, but most of the devices cited in the case are older models. Significantly, Samsung’s current flagship phone, the Galaxy S III, was not included in the infringing devices.
UBS thinks the decision could result in a royalty revenue stream of perhaps $250 million a year for Apple.
Macquarie Equities Research thinks the decision will negatively affect the search distribution arrangements between Google and Apple. But that testiness was evident even before.
YouTube will not be a native app on iOS 6, for example.
There also is the question of potential benefit for the hiccup will be beneficial for Nokia, Microsoft or others in the ecosystem that seem to significantly different from the Apple iOS “look and feel.”
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
Maybe Samsung's Patent Loss to Apple Won't Be That Big a Deal?
Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster predicts "only minor impact" on Samsung and Google from the recent patent infringement win by Apple.
"We believe that Samsung is likely to make software modifications to devices to work around the patented software features in question," says Munster. "For devices that infringe on design patents, we believe those devices may no longer be sold in the US; however, it does not appear that newer devices, including the Galaxy SIII are impacted."
But we still can speculate on whether the hiccup will be beneficial for Nokia, Microsoft or others.
"We believe that Samsung is likely to make software modifications to devices to work around the patented software features in question," says Munster. "For devices that infringe on design patents, we believe those devices may no longer be sold in the US; however, it does not appear that newer devices, including the Galaxy SIII are impacted."
But we still can speculate on whether the hiccup will be beneficial for Nokia, Microsoft or others.
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
T-Mobile USA Expects 50 U.S. LTE Markets in Service by End of 2013
T-Mobile USA plans to have its new 4G Long Term Evolution service up and running in the vast majority of the top 50 markets in the United States by the end of 2013. T-Mobile USA will launch LTE on Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) spectrum next year and move its "High-Speed Packet Access-Plus (HSPA)" service, which is marketed as "4G," to 1900 MHz.
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
People Spend 35 Minutes on Social Networking, Consumers 40 Minutes Each Day
Business users spend an average of 35 minutes each day on business-related social networking sites, while consumers are spending an average of 40 minutes a day on social media sites, according to the Radicati Group.
The number of Social Media users worldwide is expected to rise from 1.6 billion users in 2012, to 2.3 billion by 2016, Radicati predicts.
The number of Social Media users worldwide is expected to rise from 1.6 billion users in 2012, to 2.3 billion by 2016, Radicati predicts.
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
Typical Business User Sends 36 Emails, Gets 78 Each Day
The typical person at work sends 36 email messages each day, and receives 78 email messages a day, with roughly 19 percent of emails received considered spam by the recipient. Business users average 5.5 malware incidents each month.
Despite the growing popularity of social media most business users, 60 percent of survey respondents said they are sending and receiving less email because of social media.
Instant Messaging (IM) is also widely used for business communications, with 73 percent of survey respondents reporting they have an average of 8 IM conversations per day with an average of 5 different contacts.
The Radicati Group lsurvey was conducted with respondents from 67 business organizations of all sizes worldwide, representing a total of 957,786 business users.
Despite the growing popularity of social media most business users, 60 percent of survey respondents said they are sending and receiving less email because of social media.
Instant Messaging (IM) is also widely used for business communications, with 73 percent of survey respondents reporting they have an average of 8 IM conversations per day with an average of 5 different contacts.
The Radicati Group lsurvey was conducted with respondents from 67 business organizations of all sizes worldwide, representing a total of 957,786 business users.
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
FCC Ponders HigherTaxes on Broadband Access
The Federal Communications Commission is considering a proposal to impose a new tax on broadband Internet service, to support the Connect America Fund.
Consumers already pay a fee on their landline and cellular phone bills to support the FCC's Universal Service Fund. The fund was created to ensure that everyone in the country has access to telephone service, even if they live in remote areas.
Consumers already pay a fee on their landline and cellular phone bills to support the FCC's Universal Service Fund. The fund was created to ensure that everyone in the country has access to telephone service, even if they live in remote areas.
Last year, the FCC overhauled a $4.5 billion portion of the Universal Service Fund and converted it into a broadband Internet subsidy, called the Connect America Fund. The new fund aims to subsidize the construction of high-speed Internet networks to the estimated 19 million Americans who currently lack access.
The FCC issued a request for comments on the proposal in April 2012.
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
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