Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I believe that high end routers and the like that use Mot's G4s could definitely use higher clock speeds, if they were available.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Yes. Embedded does not mean wimpy. It does mean that the rule that CPUs are measured by is processing power per watt.
There's a reason why Mot is crowing about the 7457 topping 1.3GHz. For a CPU that barely consumes more than 10 watts, that's impressive. Cisco and the telcos should be pleased. Unfortunately, that feeds into another of Mot's problems: This is not exactly the best time to have a stake in the telecommunications market...
If Apple does indeed go with IBM with the 970 then Motorolla will lose a lot of sales.
I think Motorolla is scared crapless of losing such a big customer.
But to bad, they did not play by Steves rules. I think Motorolla's reputation for their chip division should be ruined...I hope they do not get any customers...
Motorola dead? Motorola is dominant in the production of embedded microprocessors.</strong>
The problem is they are lagging in production. They've been lagging for awhile. That's why their semiconductor division hasn't made money in 2 or 3 years. They were late to 180 nm, late to 130 nm (and still counting, I think), and will not make it to 90 nm unless they join a consortium to split costs.
Perhaps the only thing keeping them in the game is AltiVec and Texas Instruments also being laggy. But the further and further they fall behind in fab technology, the more likely they'll sell their fab business and outsource their processors, if they survive the transition.
<strong>The problem is they are lagging in production. They've been lagging for awhile. That's why their semiconductor division hasn't made money in 2 or 3 years. They were late to 180 nm, late to 130 nm (and still counting, I think), and will not make it to 90 nm unless they join a consortium to split costs.
Perhaps the only thing keeping them in the game is AltiVec and Texas Instruments also being laggy. But the further and further they fall behind in fab technology, the more likely they'll sell their fab business and outsource their processors, if they survive the transition.</strong><hr></blockquote>
It sounds like Motorola is overly alone in this but just about everybody has been having difficulty moving to new processes except Intel and IBM. That said I quite agree with what you say and it goes for a lot of companies. The fabrication part of the semiconductor industry is becoming increasingly costly and less appealing. Over the next few years I wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of companies increasingly contract it out.
Motorola dead? Motorola is dominant in the production of embedded microprocessors.
The problem is they are lagging in production. They've been lagging for awhile. That's why their semiconductor division hasn't made money in 2 or 3 years. They were late to 180 nm, late to 130 nm (and still counting, I think), and will not make it to 90 nm unless they join a consortium to split costs.</strong><hr></blockquote>
They have, in fact, partnered with STM for fabs from .09 on down.
[quote]<strong>Perhaps the only thing keeping them in the game is AltiVec and Texas Instruments also being laggy. But the further and further they fall behind in fab technology, the more likely they'll sell their fab business and outsource their processors, if they survive the transition.</strong><hr></blockquote>
They've shut down every fab that could be better handled by a contractor - 19 out of their original 29, if memory serves. The fabs they have left are too high end or too specialized for it to be worth contracting their work out to the likes of TSMC.
It looks like Mot SPS is lined up to recover, despite the losses. I'll take the $400M cash injection as a statement of confidence in their plan by management.
Unless Mot has been sandbagging to an extent that I'm not sure is even possible, they'll be flying low on Apple radar for a while. Getting kicked out of Apple's professional line will hurt, but picking up the iBook will all but make up for that. In the meantime, they can do their best to turn around and refocus on their STM-partnered .09 fab and reenter the fray. Mot doesn't need Apple, but on the other hand Apple is a longtime customer, and a significant one. Mot will want that market, especially if Steve and company succeed in their goal of driving Apple's marketshare back up. Mot SPS' other high-end customers are either somewhat more vulnerable than they once were (Cisco) or staving off bankruptcy with varying degrees of success (telcos).
I agree with what you are saying. When people say that Apple isnt improtant as a PowerPC partner I think that they are forgetting that the Macintosh is the most visable PowerPC product on the market. Cisco dosnt advertise the PowerPC, nor do most of the other embeded chip companies. The desktop is marketing for all of Motorolla's and IBM's PowerPC chips, with the benefit that Apple is paying them for the right to market their product. It is benefitial for both Motorolla and IBM to produce competative chips for Apple in the long run becouse that is wonderfull advertising for all of their PowerPC chip lines which they dont have to pay for.
What part of Motorola's chip technology did Apple have the 'rights' to buy out again? And how much was that possibly worth?
I'm asking because of the speculation LoopRumors has today of AMD possibly producing PPC chips. Could Apple have bought the PPC rights (or whatever portion they're entitled to) from Moto and now talking to AMD about production?
Just throwing that out to see if it might make sense to anyone.
Comments
<strong>
Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I believe that high end routers and the like that use Mot's G4s could definitely use higher clock speeds, if they were available.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Yes. Embedded does not mean wimpy. It does mean that the rule that CPUs are measured by is processing power per watt.
There's a reason why Mot is crowing about the 7457 topping 1.3GHz. For a CPU that barely consumes more than 10 watts, that's impressive. Cisco and the telcos should be pleased. Unfortunately, that feeds into another of Mot's problems: This is not exactly the best time to have a stake in the telecommunications market...
I think Motorolla is scared crapless of losing such a big customer.
But to bad, they did not play by Steves rules. I think Motorolla's reputation for their chip division should be ruined...I hope they do not get any customers...
Motorola dead? Motorola is dominant in the production of embedded microprocessors.</strong>
The problem is they are lagging in production. They've been lagging for awhile. That's why their semiconductor division hasn't made money in 2 or 3 years. They were late to 180 nm, late to 130 nm (and still counting, I think), and will not make it to 90 nm unless they join a consortium to split costs.
Perhaps the only thing keeping them in the game is AltiVec and Texas Instruments also being laggy. But the further and further they fall behind in fab technology, the more likely they'll sell their fab business and outsource their processors, if they survive the transition.
[ 03-08-2003: Message edited by: THT ]</p>
<strong>The problem is they are lagging in production. They've been lagging for awhile. That's why their semiconductor division hasn't made money in 2 or 3 years. They were late to 180 nm, late to 130 nm (and still counting, I think), and will not make it to 90 nm unless they join a consortium to split costs.
Perhaps the only thing keeping them in the game is AltiVec and Texas Instruments also being laggy. But the further and further they fall behind in fab technology, the more likely they'll sell their fab business and outsource their processors, if they survive the transition.</strong><hr></blockquote>
It sounds like Motorola is overly alone in this but just about everybody has been having difficulty moving to new processes except Intel and IBM. That said I quite agree with what you say and it goes for a lot of companies. The fabrication part of the semiconductor industry is becoming increasingly costly and less appealing. Over the next few years I wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of companies increasingly contract it out.
<strong>Originally posted by Mr. Me:
Motorola dead? Motorola is dominant in the production of embedded microprocessors.
The problem is they are lagging in production. They've been lagging for awhile. That's why their semiconductor division hasn't made money in 2 or 3 years. They were late to 180 nm, late to 130 nm (and still counting, I think), and will not make it to 90 nm unless they join a consortium to split costs.</strong><hr></blockquote>
They have, in fact, partnered with STM for fabs from .09 on down.
[quote]<strong>Perhaps the only thing keeping them in the game is AltiVec and Texas Instruments also being laggy. But the further and further they fall behind in fab technology, the more likely they'll sell their fab business and outsource their processors, if they survive the transition.</strong><hr></blockquote>
They've shut down every fab that could be better handled by a contractor - 19 out of their original 29, if memory serves. The fabs they have left are too high end or too specialized for it to be worth contracting their work out to the likes of TSMC.
It looks like Mot SPS is lined up to recover, despite the losses. I'll take the $400M cash injection as a statement of confidence in their plan by management.
Unless Mot has been sandbagging to an extent that I'm not sure is even possible, they'll be flying low on Apple radar for a while. Getting kicked out of Apple's professional line will hurt, but picking up the iBook will all but make up for that. In the meantime, they can do their best to turn around and refocus on their STM-partnered .09 fab and reenter the fray. Mot doesn't need Apple, but on the other hand Apple is a longtime customer, and a significant one. Mot will want that market, especially if Steve and company succeed in their goal of driving Apple's marketshare back up. Mot SPS' other high-end customers are either somewhat more vulnerable than they once were (Cisco) or staving off bankruptcy with varying degrees of success (telcos).
[ 03-08-2003: Message edited by: Amorph ]</p>
I agree with what you are saying. When people say that Apple isnt improtant as a PowerPC partner I think that they are forgetting that the Macintosh is the most visable PowerPC product on the market. Cisco dosnt advertise the PowerPC, nor do most of the other embeded chip companies. The desktop is marketing for all of Motorolla's and IBM's PowerPC chips, with the benefit that Apple is paying them for the right to market their product. It is benefitial for both Motorolla and IBM to produce competative chips for Apple in the long run becouse that is wonderfull advertising for all of their PowerPC chip lines which they dont have to pay for.
I'm asking because of the speculation LoopRumors has today of AMD possibly producing PPC chips. Could Apple have bought the PPC rights (or whatever portion they're entitled to) from Moto and now talking to AMD about production?
Just throwing that out to see if it might make sense to anyone.