Apple puts former IBM exec in charge of handheld products

[AppleInsider]

Apple on Tuesday confirmed the imminent departure of iPod chief Tony Fadell, saying he'll be replaced by a former IBM executive who'll oversee engineering of the company's handheld products.

"Tony Fadell, Apple’s senior vice president of the iPod Division, and his wife Danielle Lambert, vice president of Human Resources, are reducing their roles within the company as they devote more time to their young family," the company said in a statement.

Fadell will remain at Apple as an advisor to chief executive Steve Jobs, while Lambert will depart the company at the end of this year after a successor is in place.

Mark Papermaster, a former vice president at IBM with 25 years of product and technology experience, will take over for Fadell as senior vice president of Devices Hardware Engineering, reporting directly to Jobs. He'll be tasked with leading both iPod and iPhone hardware engineering teams.

"Mark is a seasoned leader and is going to be an excellent addition to our senior management team," Jobs said. "Tony and Dani have each made important contributions to Apple over the past eight years. We’re sorry to see Dani go, and are looking forward to working with Tony in his new capacity."

Papermaster has a Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Texas, and Masters of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Vermont in 1988. He is also active with the University of Texas where he is a member of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Advisory Council.

During his tenure at IBM, Papermaster was largely regarded as the company's top expert in Power architecture and technology. He's expected to employ his vast knowledge of chip architectures while working with personnel and assets Apple acquired in its recent purchase of fabless chip designer PA Semi, which is expected to be integral in the development of future iPhone and iPod SoCs.

Last month, IBM filed a lawsuit in an attempt to block Papermaster's move to Apple, citing ongoing competition between the two companies.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[ltcommander.data]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

The fabless chip developer recently introduced a new, highly efficient processor based on a PowerPC design, which is likely to form the foundation of new custom SoC hardware that will power future iPods, iPhones, and other Apple handheld products.

I thought PASemi will be building a SoC based around ARM and PowerVR. So they are going to return to PowerPC afterall?

[Virgil-TB2]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

Apple on Tuesday confirmed the imminent departure of iPod chief Tony Fadell, saying he'll be replaced by a former IBM executive who'll oversee engineering of the company's handheld products. ...

Well this will certainly help in making the argument that Papermaster won't be doing work that is similar to what he did at IBM.

[wheelhot]

I thought PASemi will be building a SoC based around ARM and PowerVR. So they are going to return to PowerPC afterall?

Erm no, unless they can make PowerPC macs run Windows cause that is what fueling Apple growth besides the iPod and iPhone its because of compatibility. Besides if they go to PowerPC back, Fusion and Parallel cannot work thus making possible Switchers now to switch.

Even though Papermaster will be leading the iPod and iPhone division, I'm sure after a year he will get his old job back(with PPC architecture to develop PASemi ARM Processor for the iPhone and iPods)

[Johnny Mozzarella]

Originally Posted by ltcommander.data

I thought PASemi will be building a SoC based around ARM and PowerVR. So they are going to return to PowerPC afterall?

Apple, Acorn Computers and VLSI Technology formed ARM in 1990.
Apple, IBM and Motorola created the PowerPC architecture in 1991.

PA Semi's head, Dan Dobberpuhl designed the DEC Alpha(RISC) and StrongARM and processors back in the 90s.
"In February 2007, P.A. Semi debuted a 64-bit dual core microprocessor which the company asserted was 300% more efficient than any comparable chips. It consumes only 5 to 13 watts running at 2 gigahertz." -Forbes

Mac OS X currently runs on 3 architectures X86, ARM & PowerPC.
The purchase of PA Semi is all about Apple being able to differentiate itself in the future.
The rest of the mobile computing industry will have two choices intel Atom or ARM.
Apple will be moving future iPods and iPhone to it's own custom SoC designed by PA Semi.
No one else will have access to this chip and won't be able to easily duplicate or reverse engineer Apple's advances.

The PA Semi move is all about mobile computing and currently has nothing to do with Apple's desktop and notebook computers.

[Johnny Mozzarella]

I'm glad to see Apple putting a seasoned engineer in charge and not a marketing guy.

[Ireland]

Woops.

[robb01]

Originally Posted by Johnny Mozzarella

I'm glad to see Apple putting a seasoned engineer in charge and not a marketing guy.

As am I, they made a good decision

___________________

[marcusandree]

Originally Posted by Johnny Mozzarella

Apple, Acorn Computers and VLSI Technology formed ARM in 1990.
Apple, IBM and Motorola created the PowerPC architecture in 1991.

PA Semi's head, Dan Dobberpuhl designed the DEC Alpha(RISC) and StrongARM and processors back in the 90s.
"In February 2007, P.A. Semi debuted a 64-bit dual core microprocessor which the company asserted was 300% more efficient than any comparable chips. It consumes only 5 to 13 watts running at 2 gigahertz." -Forbes

Mac OS X currently runs on 3 architectures X86, ARM & PowerPC.
The purchase of PA Semi is all about Apple being able to differentiate itself in the future.
The rest of the mobile computing industry will have two choices intel Atom or ARM.
Apple will be moving future iPods and iPhone to it's own custom SoC designed by PA Semi.
No one else will have access to this chip and won't be able to easily duplicate or reverse engineer Apple's advances.

The PA Semi move is all about mobile computing and currently has nothing to do with Apple's desktop and notebook computers.

I double checked the information you gave us and it's quite correct. Being an electrical engineer myself, I couldn't believe this guy has created the <in>famous Alpha AXP processor. Too bad DEC was left to a slow and painful death after that Compaq merge fiasco. http://www.ieee.org/portal/pages/abo...s/2003ssc.html


Dan Dobberpuhl's microprocessor work has consistently advanced the state of the art. At Digital Equipment Corporation, in Palo Alto, Calif., he led the development of a number of microprocessors including the T11, a design that singularly cut the number of transistors on a chip from 68K to 13K and implemented a more complex machine; the ALPHA, whose fast clock design techniques are now the industry standard; and the Strong-ARM processorTM, which raised the bar on performance while decreasing power dissipation.

An IEEE Member, Mr. Dobberpuhl has published many papers on circuits and microprocessors; has 15 patents issued or pending and is co-author with Mr. Lance Glasser of The Design and Analysis of VLSI Circuits, a leading text in the field. He is vice-president and general manager of the Broadband Processor Business Unit at Broadcom Corporation, in Irvine, Calif. StrongARM is a registered trademark of ARM, Ltd.


Don Dobberpuhl has received the IEEE Solid-State Circuits Award in 2003. The Alpha AXP design is recognized in the entire field as a near perfect approach on how to design a processor. Also, as an Apple Newton user myself, I'd like to remember that Newtons also used ARM-based design in the 90's and Apple should have some experience in writing software for this architecture.

[Booga]

the <in>famous Alpha AXP processor

infamous? I was at CMU when the Alpha workstations hit, and I remember it being thoroughly impressive. They were a bit of a pain to work with at first because they only ran OSF/1 and gdb couldn't step through cores greater than 2GB (unfortunate for the first big 64-bit chip), but once the software kinks were worked out the hardware was always phenomenal.

[deanbar]

Originally Posted by wheelhot

Even though Papermaster will be leading the iPod and iPhone division, I'm sure after a year he will get his old job back(with PPC architecture to develop PASemi ARM Processor for the iPhone and iPods)

Yes, I agree, I'm sure he will spend the time learning the present architecture of the current iPods and iPhones, before he starts to drive new system designs forward a year later, when his NDA with IBM has expired. Still a good move by Apple.

[solipsism]

Originally Posted by Booga

infamous? I was at CMU when the Alpha workstations hit, and I remember it being thoroughly impressive. They were a bit of a pain to work with at first because they only ran OSF/1 and gdb couldn't step through cores greater than 2GB (unfortunate for the first big 64-bit chip), but once the software kinks were worked out the hardware was always phenomenal.

The Alpha AXP processor isn't just famous, it's more than famous, it's IN-famous.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYdbxGNVzKA (05min:15sec)

[wheelhot]

Yes, I agree, I'm sure he will spend the time learning the present architecture of the current iPods and iPhones, before he starts to drive new system designs forward a year later, when his NDA with IBM has expired. Still a good move by Apple.

Yup, guess they evaded the IBM lawsuit in time