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seaEE
It would be interesting for someone ("somebody else, not me" as they say ;) ) to ...
resistion
"post-PC" indeed sounds a little dramatic. PC has become more like TV, still ...
Freescale eyes post-PC era
Kariyatil Krishnadas
8/24/2011 10:44 AM EDT
BANGALORE, India – Freescale Semiconductor, its interest payments decreasing and its debt reduced through the funds generated through an IPO, says it is poised to invest in more R&D as it seeks to move beyond PCs to supply mobile device and “white box” manufacturers.
“Semiconductor companies now need to become much more systems-oriented,” Freescale CEO Rich Beyer said during Freescale’s technology forum here this week. “We are into an era of connected intelligence where data is ubiquitous, and these devices [such as tablets] will conform to us and not have us conform to them, as in the case of the personal computer.”
Beyer predicted the post-PC era will be characterized by a change from content creation to content consumption. That means service providers will be forced to upgrade their networks more frequently, often before the costs of these investments can be fully amortized.
Beyer also stressed that Freescale will continue to target the automotive, medical, smart grid, wireless and smart mobile devices markets.
While many chip makers are targeting design wins in the next round of tablets from Apple and others or Dell netbooks, Beyer recently said Freescale “would like to work with white-box vendors in China.” The company is betting it can collaborate with Chinese makers of what it refers to as “non-branded consumer products.”
“Semiconductor companies now need to become much more systems-oriented,” Freescale CEO Rich Beyer said during Freescale’s technology forum here this week. “We are into an era of connected intelligence where data is ubiquitous, and these devices [such as tablets] will conform to us and not have us conform to them, as in the case of the personal computer.”
Beyer predicted the post-PC era will be characterized by a change from content creation to content consumption. That means service providers will be forced to upgrade their networks more frequently, often before the costs of these investments can be fully amortized.
Beyer also stressed that Freescale will continue to target the automotive, medical, smart grid, wireless and smart mobile devices markets.
While many chip makers are targeting design wins in the next round of tablets from Apple and others or Dell netbooks, Beyer recently said Freescale “would like to work with white-box vendors in China.” The company is betting it can collaborate with Chinese makers of what it refers to as “non-branded consumer products.”
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chanj
8/24/2011 12:34 PM EDT
Wireless and mobile are no doubt a growing technology. As more people go mobile, the demand of bandwidth is going to be higher in both wireless and wireline infrastructure. In addition, the smart delivery of content is crucial to the excellency of user experience. What's freescale position in in-home network?
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selinz
8/24/2011 2:56 PM EDT
Seems like the situation could get worse rather than better. Each mobile manufacturer makes his own demands for custom interfaces and designs...
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LarryM99
8/24/2011 10:27 PM EDT
Service providers are actually moving in the opposite direction as they reduce competition. Cellular in the US is moving to a duopoly, and cable networks are more interested in choking off competitors like Netflix than spending on infrastructure to please their captive customer bases. The only real competition would be municipal Internet, and they are working the government at the state and federal levels to choke that off. Unfortunately, the passive consumer of media described here is much less capable of working around those toll booths. Dedicated devices are much less flexible than general-purpose computing platforms (i.e. PCs).
Larry M.
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seaEE
8/24/2011 11:22 PM EDT
It sounds like Freescale has a strategy. I hope they thrive.
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asimecs
8/25/2011 12:36 PM EDT
It's interesting that he wants to work with white box makers instead of brand name guys. This is the MediaTek style strategy. Can it work for an American company from afar? I have heard of how many people MediaTek has on the ground to deal with the white box guys. But they are doing it from Taiwan, which is so close to China. We shall see.
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elctrnx_lyf
8/25/2011 3:19 PM EDT
Great to see Freescale is thinking about post PC era already. With right strategy and right investment Freescale has potential to reach a number one position in next 5 years.
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Robotics Developer
8/25/2011 5:28 PM EDT
It is both interesting and illustrative to see Freescale's stating the company's approach to for their future roadmap. I may not know if it is right or wrong but I am interested in understanding the direction. Is there similar statements for future direction plans by others in the industry? It would be very interesting to compare and contrast the various approaches.
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Ajmal182
8/25/2011 11:45 PM EDT
I see great potential in Freescale's i.MX Application processors. Theyy are getting more and more powerful! Seen the i.MX6? It has 1-4 cores. I would still buy a no brand chinese tablet instead of the ipad2 with such a processor. It's a good strategy, as Freescale can win big with these no brand tablets.
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wilber_xbox
8/27/2011 2:26 PM EDT
I donot think of this as a strategy but just reiterating what other companies actually are taking their business towards. Everything smart, connected and content specific.
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Dave.Dykstra
8/27/2011 5:42 PM EDT
It looks like maybe they're getting things on track, although a bit later than some others. Hopefully this will pay off for them.
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prabhakar_deosthali
8/28/2011 2:02 AM EDT
Why assume that the mobile revolution is a post-pc era?. PC are going to stay here and co-exist with all these new gadgets for quite a long time. So companies planning their strategies should not count out PCs as something gone by
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resistion
8/28/2011 9:06 PM EDT
"post-PC" indeed sounds a little dramatic. PC has become more like TV, still there but not "hot".
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seaEE
8/28/2011 10:32 PM EDT
It would be interesting for someone ("somebody else, not me" as they say ;) ) to write a book following the trajectories of high-tech manufacturer's like Motorola/Freescale and HP. I remember the richly diverse product base that Freescale had--discretes, optoelectronics, communication IC's, processors, and comprehensive coverage of the logic families, including their ECL products, and how some of these products were spun off, with the creation of On-Semiconductor as an example.
In what ways is a company's growth encouraged, and what factors stifle or subvert creativity? It seems that creativity, properly guided and harnessed propels a company forward and helps created new markets that provide positive feedback for further growth. It will be interesting to follow Freescale over the next few years and watch their progress.
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