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  • iSuppli: Apple’s A5 Microprocessor Builds on Success of Predecessor

    Driven by the soaring sales of products including the iPad and the iPhone 4, Apple’s shipments of products based on its A4 microprocessor reached nearly 50 million units in 2010 from virtually zero sales in 2009, IHS iSuppli research indicates.

    Building on the success of its A4 microprocessor, Apple recently announced that its second-generation iPad line will be based on a new microprocessor, the A5, which the company said doubles the performance of the A4. Apple said the A5 will include dual microprocessor cores, compared to a single core for the A4. Along with the rise in computing power, Apple said the A5 will offer nine times faster graphics performance than the A4.

    In an indication of how successful the microprocessor has been, Apple in 2010 shipped nearly four times as many units of A4-based products as it did of X86-based .

    According to the analysts, the low-cost, highly integrated A4 and A5 designs represent an important element in Apple’s philosophy of offering products focused on delivering a compelling user interface (UI) and a greatly optimized computing platform for Apple’s iOS operating system.

    "In the new design paradigm of smart phones and tablets, computing efficiency trumps raw computing power. Designs like the iPad demand highly integrated microprocessors that emphasize graphics performance, lower power consumption and small space usage," Wayne Lam, Senior Analyst at iSuppli.

    Apple so far has introduced five products based on the A4: the first-generation iPad, the AT&T version of the iPhone 4, the Apple TV, the iPod Touch and the CDMA iPhone 4 carried by Verizon Wireless.

    The A4 combines an A4 microprocessor core and a graphics processing unit (GPU). The device was custom designed by P.A. Semi—a company acquired by Apple in 2008—and is manufactured by Samsung Electronics Co.

    Partly because of the popularity of Apple’s iPad, companies around the world are developing media tablets and other products that feature small and innovative form factors. These products require highly integrated semiconductor solutions that consume less power and space, similar to the A4 microprocessor.

    "In the PC market, this trend is driving rising sales of notebook microprocessors that integrate graphics processing capabilities, eliminating the need for separate GPUs," said Lam.

    In tablets and smart phones, companies are offering alternatives to the A4 that provide similar levels of integration. For instance, Intel and Nvidia have announced plans for tablet-oriented microprocessors with similar characteristics to the A4.

  • Vizio Maintains Lead in U.S. LCD TV Market

    Riding a wave of demand for its light-emitting diode (LED)-backlit televisions, Vizio managed to maintain leadership in the U.S. market for LCD TV in the fourth quarter as well as for the entire year in 2010, according to new IHS iSuppli research.

    U.S.-based Vizio in the fourth quarter shipped 2.9 million LCD TVs, up 78.9 percent from 1.6 million in the third quarter. This gave the company a 27.6 percent share of unit shipments, up from 19.5 percent in the third quarter. Vizio’s lead over second-place Samsung expanded to 7.4 percentage points in the fourth quarter, up from 2.1 percentage points in the third quarter.

    Topped by a strong fourth-quarter performance, Vizio padded its leadership of the U.S. LCD TV market for the entire year of 2010. Company market share amounted to 21.3 percent in 2010, up from 18.3 percent in 2009. Vizio’s lead expanded to 2.5 percentage points over chief rival Samsung, up from 1 point in 2009.

    “Vizio’s market share gains in the U.S. LCD TV market in 2010 were driven by strong consumer demand for the company’s LED-backlit sets,” said Riddhi Patel, director, television systems for IHS. “Vizio has been able to offer sets with this advanced feature while maintaining competitive pricing. Consumers are snapping up LED-backlit LCD TVs from Vizio and others because of their thinner profile, superior picture, lower power consumption and reduced prices.”

    Vizio Takes Flat-Panel Lead in Q4 2010 but Samsung Takes the Year

    Vizio in the fourth quarter of 2010 also managed to displace Samsung for leadership in the U.S. market for flat-panel televisions, a category that combines the LCD TV and plasma segments. With its strong business in both plasma and LCD sets, Samsung historically has led this area. However, Vizio captured the lead because of aggressive shipments of feature-rich LCD TVs at attractive pricing through its distribution network.

    Vizio in the fourth quarter shipped 2.9 million flat-panel sets, up 78.9 percent from 1.6 million in the third quarter and a 55.5 percent increase from 1.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2009. This gave Vizio a 23.9 percent share of the U.S. flat-panel market in the fourth quarter, up from 16.6 percent in the third quarter.

    Meanwhile, Samsung’s share rose to 21.5 percent in the fourth quarter, up from 18.8 percent in the third. While its share rose, the increase was not sufficient to keep it from falling to second place in the U.S. flat-panel television market.

    Samsung shipped 2.6 million flat panel sets in the fourth quarter of 2010, up 41.5 percent from 1.8 million in the third quarter and a 22.8 percent rise from 2.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2009.

    However, because Samsung led Vizio in flat-panel television shipments during the first three quarters of 2010, it maintained leadership for the year as a whole. Samsung accounted for 20.1 percent of U.S. flat-panel shipments in 2010, compared to 18.4 percent for Vizio.
     

  • Amazon Opens Android Application Store to Developers

    US-based online retailer Amazon has opened its mobile application store to submissions from developers. The Amazon "Appstore" is due to launch in the US during 2011 and will be available for Android devices that run versions 1.6 of the operating system and above.

    Developers will be able to set a list price for their applications for which they will receive the industry standard 70 per cent share of revenues. Amazon, however, reserves the right to discount applications and will guarantee to give developers at least 20 per cent of the list price.

    Amazon will take a more hands-on role with its store than Google, with a stricter approval process than for the official Android Market; a move which will likely see Amazon’s store focus on high quality premium applications. Unlike the official Android Market, which comes preinstalled on all Google-approved devices, users will have to download the Amazon Appstore.

    According to iSuppli, Amazon’s control over pricing may see developers receive lower revenues per download than from other stores. However, the retailer’s ability to offer scale, its wealth of customer data and track record in online retailing will guarantee developers’ interest.

    "Developers’ major issues with Android Market include the poor opportunity for monetisation due to the plethora of free, low quality applications and consumers’ reluctance to use Google Checkout as a billing platform. The Amazon Appstore offers a solution to both these issues. Amazon has credit card/bank details from all its customers and offers a trusted billing platform. Its stricter approval process will ensure higher quality content and its wealth of customer data and expertise in providing customer recommendations will also improve app discoverability and monetisation," said iSuppli analysts Jack Kent.

    According to him, as a downloadable store, rather than one that arrives preinstalled on the device, Amazon’s store will struggle in the face of competition from the official Android Market and other embedded application stores run by operators and handset manufacturers. At launch, the store’s availability is limited to the US; a rapid international rollout will be vital for the store to attract wide developer interest.

    Amazon already has a considerable presence on mobile platforms; it offers its Kindle e-book app for Blackberry, Windows Phone 7, iOS and Android devices and has a number of mobile apps that enable users to make purchases from Amazon’s online store directly from the app. It will hope to leverage its existing Android mobile audience to boost the adoption of its own mobile application store.

  • iPhone 4 Turns up the Volume for MEMS Microphone Technology

    Highlighted by their adoption in Apple’s iPhone 4, microelectromechanical system (MEMS) microphones are set to achieve a more than 50 percent increase in shipments in 2010 and a fourfold rise by 2014, according to the market research firm iSuppli.

    Global MEMS microphone shipments are set to expand to 695.5 million units this year, up 57.7 percent from 441 million in 2009. By 2014, shipments will rise to 1.7 billion units, four times the total for 2009.

    MEMS microphones are tiny microphones that employ a pressure-sensitive diaphragm etched on a semiconductor using microelectromechanical technology. They are commonly employed in cell phones, headsets, notebook PCs and video cameras, replacing conventional electret condenser microphones (ECM).

    “In a major milestone, Apple in 2010 employed MEMS microphones in the iPhone 4, the first time the company used the technology in the iPhone line,” said Jérémie Bouchaud, director and principal analyst, MEMS, for iSuppli.

    “Although Apple previously used MEMS microphones in the fifth-generation iPod nano released in 2009, the company exclusively had been employing ECM technology in the iPhone line. With this move, Apple in 2010 will become the world’s second-largest buyer of MEMS microphones, behind Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. Apple was the sixth largest buyer in 2009,” he added.

    Although they are significantly more expensive than ECM devices, MEMS microphones provide a host of advantages in terms of size, scalability, temperature stability and sound quality.

    The iPhone 4 employs two separate MEMS microphones for noise suppression, a technique that reduces background sounds to improve the clarity of voice communications. Although noise suppression has been available since 2006, the arrival of Motorola’s Droid as well as the iPhone 4 has caused the popularity of the technology—and of MEMS microphones—to soar. The majority of smart phones by 2014 will use two or more MEMS microphones.

    The mobile handset market in 2010 is the largest consumer of MEMS microphones, ahead of notebook PCs. Headsets will form the third largest user of MEMS microphones, due to their use by Apple. By 2014, mobile handsets and notebook PCs will still be the largest application for MEMS microphones, followed by slate-type tablets, such as Apple’s iPad.

    Since establishing the business in 2003, MEMS microphone pioneer Knowles Electronics has maintained market dominance, with the company set to account for more than 80 percent of shipments this year. The company has benefitted from its strong intellectual property portfolio. However, competition is rising, with three of the world’s five largest MEMS microphone suppliers now being Asian suppliers of conventional ECM—AAC Acoustic Technologies Holdings Inc., BSE Co. Ltd. and Hosiden Corp.—all of which recently added the product to their portfolio. These companies buy MEMS die from Infineon Technologies, package them and sell them, using their existing channels. Analog Devices Inc. is the only other pure MEMS company in the Top 5.

  • iSuppli: Vizio and Samsung Split Leadership in U.S. TV Market in Q3

    In the latest twist in the battle between Vizio and Samsung for leadership in the U.S. television market, Vizio managed to retake the No. 1 rank in LCD TV shipments, while Samsung maintained the top position in overall flat-panel sets, according to the display market research firm iSuppli.

    Vizio in the third quarter shipped 1.6 million LCD TVs, up 14.9 percent from 1.4 million in the second quarter. This gave the U.S. LCD TV maker a 19.9 percent share, allowing it to surpass Samsung, to take the No. 1 rank. Samsung’s shipments declined by a slight 1.5 percent in the third quarter, leaving it with it a 17.7 percent share.

    However, Samsung held onto its first-place position in U.S. shipments of overall flat-panel televisions, a category consisting of LCD TVs and plasma sets. The South Korean technology giant shipped 1.82 million flat-panel sets in the third quarter, up 0.2 percent from 1.81 million in the second quarter. This gave Samsung a 19.3 percent share of shipments, enough to maintain the No. 1 rank over Vizio.

    “Vizio in the third quarter managed to retake leadership in the U.S. LCD TV market based on strong shipments of sets equipped with LED backlighting,” said Riddhi Patel, principal analyst, television systems, for iSuppli. “Consumer demand is rising rapidly for LED-backlit LCD TVs because of their thinner form factors, improved picture quality, better color saturation, lower power consumption and other green attributes—along their with declining prices. This allowed Vizio to increase its LCD TV sales by 208,000 units in the third quarter compared to the second.”

    According to Patel, Vizio’s competitiveness in the LED backlit television market reflect how much the company has evolved from its beginnings as a low-end LCD TV seller. LED backlighting represents a premium feature, not associated with inexpensive LCD TVs.

    “Vizio can no longer be called a value LCD TV brand and now is a direct competitor with premium sellers, including Samsung,” Patel observed.

    Samsung in the third quarter capitalized on its broad product line to hold on to U.S. flat panel leadership. Along with its LCD TV line, Samsung is a major seller of plasma sets. The company achieved a 7.2 percent increase in plasma set shipments, more than compensating for its LCD TV decline.

    U.S. LCD TV shipments expanded in on a sequential basis in the third quarter as a range of compelling new models arrived on the market. Shipments amounted to 8.04 million units, up 8.1 percent from 7.4 million in the second quarter.

    However, in a worrying sign for the U.S. LCD TV market in 2010, shipments declined slightly compared to 8.09 million units in the third quarter of 2009.

    “Sales promotions in the third quarter did not offer very aggressive price cuts, because pricing already was at low levels,” Patel said. “This kept shipment levels flat compared to a year earlier, and contributed to a buildup of LCD TV inventory among retailers.”

  • iSuppli: Wireless Carriers See Tiers as Key to Rising Profits

    T-Mobile’s move to offer tiered pricing based on bandwidth usage represents the latest development in the wireless industry’s attempt to cash in on exploding demand for mobile data demand, according to iSuppli. Global mobile data traffic is expected to nearly double each year through 2014.

    “We believe that strong execution of a tiered pricing model will translate to significant increases in market capitalization for wireless carriers,” said Steve Mather, principal analyst, wireless, for iSuppli.

    “Rapidly rising demand for wireless data access represents the biggest opportunity of the decade for wireless carriers,” Mather said. “iSuppli’s discussions with leading wireless carriers indicates that tiered pricing, like that offered by AT&T and T-Mobile, represents one of the best tactics to monetize growing demand to access their pipes. Tiered pricing will allow these companies to find data consumption sweet spots, enabling them to segment users into various pricing and data cap buckets, and to prompt upgrades as mobile services become even more a part of consumer’s lives. The flexibility of adjusting both the price and the cap is particularly compelling.”

    For carriers, the stakes are enormous as they try to regain their share value and profitability. “iSuppli’s analysis of the top 15 wireless carriers worldwide indicates operating margins have dwindled to 20 percent in 2010, down from 22 percent just three years ago,” Mather said. “With the rise of data usage and the arrival of tiered pricing programs, we expect margins to rise over the two years from their summer 2010 lows.”


    T-Mobile’s first tiered pricing offer became available in the United States on Nov. 3.

    The first tier is a promotional offer with a two-year contract, priced at $10 per month for 200Mbytes of data. The next tier charges $15 per month on a month-to-month basis, with no contract. Moving up, the next tier charges $30 per month for unlimited data. Finally, tethering costs an additional $15 per month.

    T-Mobile also launched of a variety of Android-powered smart phones with retail prices less than $100 to complement its new service plans.

    The move follows in the footsteps of the tiered program offered by industry benchmark AT&T for the Apple Inc. iPhone and iPad. AT&T charges $15 per month for 200Mbytes, $25 per month for 2Gbytes and tethering for an incremental $20 per month.

    Verizon is also experimenting with a promotional offer of $15 per month for 150Mbytes, $30 per month for unlimited data to phone and $15 per month for 2Gbytes of tethering. It also is charging $20 per month for the phone to be used as a multi-line tethering hotspot.

    “Wireless carriers are intent on spurring incremental data usage among their subscribers,” Mather said. “This strategy centers on enticing more consumers to adopt mobile data access as part of life’s necessities. Two tactics to encourage more data consumption are to experiment with tiered pricing, and to heavily market data-hungry devices.”

    Tiers put carriers back in control of their pipe’s capacity, with a newfound capability to monetize the increasingly essential mobile data demands.

  • Smartphone and Tablet Sales Ignite Advanced LCD Market in 2010

    Rapidly rising sales of smartphones and tablet PCs in 2010 will cause the global market for small- and medium-sized TFT LCD panels to expand at its fastest pace in three years, according to iSuppli.

    In its latest report, the market research firm finds that global shipments of small/medium TFT LCD panels, which are advanced types of displays used in sophisticated mobile devices like smartphones and tablet PCs, are set to rise by 28.1 percent in 2010 to reach 2.3 billion units, up 28.1 percent from 1.8 billion in 2009. This will represent the highest level of growth for the market since 2007, when shipments rose by 49.8 percent.

    “Sales of smartphones and tablets are booming in 2010 courtesy of the iPhone, the iPad and a range of competing products. Because such devices focus on delivering a high-quality user experience, many are employing TFT-LCD displays that offer bright, sharp images—a move that represents a boon for the suppliers of these displays,” said Vinita Jakhanwal, director of small and medium-sized displays at iSuppli.

    Global smartphone shipments are set to rise by 35.5 percent in 2010, according to iSuppli. Meanwhile, tablet PC shipments will grow by a stunning 787.3 percent, driven almost entirely by Apple’s iPad.

    Inspired by the iPhone 4, smartphone makers are adopting TFT LCDs using In-Plane Switching (IPS) technology. IPS supports a wider viewing angle and better picture quality in terms of presentation of color than a conventional LCD. It also consumes less electricity.

    Jakhanval said that all TFT-LCD suppliers now are making alliances or developing their own technology so that they can offer IPS displays to their smart phone and tablet customers.

    Meanwhile, a competing advanced display technology known as the Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode (AMOLED) also is experiencing rapid growth in the small/medium display market, iSuppli’s electronic display research indicates. AMOLEDs are expanding because of the rise of the Android smart phone market.

    Growth in TFT LCD shipments will slow in 2011 and beyond as the expansion of the smart phone and tablet markets cools to more normal levels.

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  • Slow Television Sales Spur LCD Panel Oversupply

    Shipments of large-sized LCD panels vastly exceeded end-market sales of televisions, monitors and notebook PCs in the first half, spurring a major buildup of inventory of the LCDs and finished products, including LCD-TVs, according to iSuppli.

    The research firm finds that a total of 46.8 million LCD-TV panels shipped in the first quarter of 2010. However, although LCD-TV set shipments equaled only 37.5 million units—an overage of 24.5 percent, iSuppli’s electronic display industry analysis indicates.

    In the second quarter, large-sized LCD-TV panel shipments grew to 52.0 million units, but actual set shipments amounted to only 38.7 million units. This gap of 36.4 percent, higher than anything seen in 2009, has pushed the market to further levels of oversupply, especially in the face of an uncertain outlook in the second half of 2010.

    “Coming amid fears of a slowing economy and the possibility of a double-dip recession, the inventory increases in the LCD TV retail channel are raising concerns throughout the display supply chain—from panel suppliers to contract manufacturers and brands, to retailers,” said Sweta Dash, senior director for LCD research at iSuppli.

    According to iSuppli, inventory levels for both suppliers and buyers have caused a ripple effect on pricing as large-sized LCD panel pricing dropped again in July, taking some panels down to the manufacturing cost level. In August, prices dropped another 4.4 percent because of the continuous inventory adjustment, with a further decline expected in September.

    Some low-priced panels were already reaching the cash cost level—and the oversupply situation is not helping matters, iSuppli indicates. These developments have prompted a series of production cuts by some panel suppliers in order to bring panel supply and demand back to balance.

    Although pricing for the LCD-TV sets themselves surged upward in July in the United States, prices are likely to have declined in August and will do so again in September, as brands and retailers have to become aggressive once again with their promotions in the upcoming months in order to fuel demand, iSuppli believes.

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  • Cell Phone Antenna Troubles? Radio Frequency MEMS Come to the Rescue

    Help may be on the way for iPhone 4 users frustrated by dropped calls with the arrival of Radio Frequency Microelectromechanical Systems (RF MEMS), semiconductors that can improve the performance of antennas in cell phones, according to the market research firm iSuppli.

    Long plagued by technological hurdles and other disappointing setbacks, RF MEMS are finally ready for the big time, with revenue projected to double in 2010 and more than triple in 2011, as the analysts say.

    From slightly less than $4 million in 2006, global RF MEMS revenue is anticipated to climb to $8.1 million this year—and then surge to $27.9 million in 2011, according to iSuppli. By 2014, revenue will reach a whopping $223.2 million—a far cry from the industry’s extremely modest beginnings.

    “More than 50 percent of cell phones shipped in 2014 will feature some form of front-end-module tuning using RF MEMS technology,” said Jérémie Bouchaud, principal analyst for MEMS and sensors at iSuppli.

    “The implementation of RF MEMS switches and varactors in mobile phones could help boost the performance of smart phones like the iPhone 4, which made news headlines recently because of a problematic antenna that resulted in dropped signal strength. RF MEMS are also ideal for impedance matching of the Power Amplifier,” he said.

    Although other technologies will address antenna issues, including SoS FETs and BST varactors, MEMS deliver the best performance in terms of insertion loss.

    According to iSuppli analysts, RF MEMS switches have been used in small volumes in instrumentation applications because of their small form factor and excellent RF performance. However, despite initial promise, they failed to take off on a large scale because of myriad commercialization and technological obstacles. All that is about to change as RF MEMS technology begins to realize its potential because of strong product offerings from a number of major suppliers.

    The report finds that Seven firms are sampling RF MEMS products.

    California-based WiSpry Inc. and Japan’s TDK-Epcos are offering RF MEMS for high-volume cell phone applications. On another front, U.S. firms Analog Devices Inc., Radant Technologies Inc. and XCOM Wireless Inc.—in cooperation with relay manufacturer Teledyne Technologies Inc.—as well as Japanese supplier Omron Corp. are targeting high-end applications for testing and instrumentation such as ATE and RF test. U.S. startups Radant MEMS and MEMtronics focus on defense applications.

    "In particular, interest is growing among mobile handset manufacturers on how RF MEMS can be used for the front-end tuning of cell phones to improve antenna performance, given the advent of new wireless standards like LTE for 4G technology. WiSpry—which has garnered several design wins for its MEMS varactors—is expected to commence volume production by the fourth quarter this year," said Bouchaud.

  • U.S. LCD-TV Market: Samsung Maintains Lead, but Vizio Closes Gap in Q2

    The battle for the top spot in the U.S. LCD-TV market heated up in the second quarter as the gap in market share between No. 1 Samsung and No. 2 Vizio dwindled to less than 1 percentage point, according to the electronic display research firm iSuppli.

    The research show that Samsung in the second quarter held a 0.7 percentage point lead over Vizio in terms of U.S. LCD-TV shipments, compared to 1.3 points in the first quarter. Both companies in the second quarter dramatically outperformed the overall market by offering sets with advanced features desired by U.S. consumers.

    “Leadership in the world’s largest television market—the United States—represents the marquee position for global LCD-TV brands,” said Riddhi Patel.

    “Because of this, companies are competing intensely to secure every point of market share—with the most closely fought battle occurring between South Korea’s Samsung and U.S.-based Vizio. The two companies have swapped quarterly leadership multiple times during the past few years, and now are virtually tied in the race for market leadership,” she added.

    According to the report, U.S. LCD-TV shipments rose by 12.8 percent in the second quarter to 7.36 million units, up from 6.53 million in the first quarter.

    Samsung’s shipments grew at more than twice the pace of the overall market, rising by 26 percent to 1.45 million units, up from 1.15 million in the first quarter. Vizio grew even faster, with its shipments rising by an industry-leading 30.8 percent to 1.39 million units, up from 1.07 million in the first quarter.


    Pattel noted that in the past, the two companies pursued very different strategies to attain LCD-TV market leadership, with Samsung focusing on premium products and Vizio stressing low-cost value-oriented LCD-TVs. However, as U.S. consumer preferences have shifted to higher-end LCD TVs, Vizio has realigned its product line to offer more advanced features.

    “Most LCD-TVs purchased in the United States in 2010 are replacements of first-generation flat panels,” Patel said. “Because of this, U.S. consumers are more informed and demand larger LCD-TVs with better picture quality and more premium features, including 3-D, LED backlighting and built-in Internet connectivity. While Samsung continues to lead these technological trends, including the nascent 3-D TV segment, Vizio has significantly closed the feature gap.”

    Television research from iSuppli’s U.S. TV Consumer Preference Analysis service, which surveys Americans on their attitudes regarding television purchases, illustrates the rising importance of advanced features when buying a television.

    Of consumers surveyed in the second quarter, 17.2 percent said the LCD-TV sets they had purchased used LED backlighting, an increase of 5 percentage points from the first quarter. Furthermore, 60.8 percent of the consumers purchased a 40-inch or larger set in the second quarter of 2010, up from 51 percent during the same period in 2009. Finally, about 32 percent consumers say they connected their new televisions to the Internet.