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HP Planning ARM-Based Servers With Calxeda, Challenging Intel: eWeek.com

October 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

HP reportedly will become the first major server maker to use ARM-based processors in some of its data center servers.

Hewlett-Packard reportedly will partner with chip-maker Calxeda to develop data center servers powered by low-power processors designed by ARM Holdings.

Quoting unnamed people close to the situation, Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal are reporting that HP will become the first major OEM to adopt ARM-based processors for some of its servers, a move that would heighten the growing competition between ARM and Intel, the world’s top chip maker.

Intel, which holds more than 80 percent of the overall global chip market and 90 percent of the $9 billion worldwide server chip space, has been aggressive in trying to break into the mobile device space, particularly smartphones and tablets, the bulk of which currently are powered by ARM chips manufactured by the likes of Texas Instruments, Samsung, Qualcomm and Nvidia.

At the same time, ARM executives have been vocal about their plans to move up the ladder and into PCs and low-power servers, and a number of manufacturers—including Calxeda, Marvell Technologies and Nvidia—are developing chips for the data center. Calxeda has a product-based event scheduled for Nov. 1, though the company has not yet said what the event will be about.

via HP Planning ARM-Based Servers With Calxeda, Challenging Intel: Reports – IT Infrastructure – News & Reviews – eWeek.com.

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IBM’s Next-Gen Memory Is 100 Times Faster Than Flash | PCWorld

June 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Phase Change Memory (PCM) technology–one of the new forms of faster, smaller, and denser memory chips destined to replace flash–has been on the table for a while now. Now IBM has come up with a breakthrough making PCM data transfer “instantaneous” and 100 times faster than flash memory.

IBM scientists in Zurich came to these new breakthroughs for their PCM chips while solving two major problems with the architecture. PCMs work by using a specialized alloy that can change its physical state, between a low-resistance crystalline to a high-resistance amorphous phase, by applying voltage.

When the resistance of the chip goes up the chip can store multiple bits of data over the one bit that flash can handle. Combine this with a write latency of 10 microseconds and PCM performs 100 times better than flash.

via IBM’s Next-Gen Memory Is 100 Times Faster Than Flash | PCWorld.

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Nvidia Shows Tablet Running Quad-core Tegra Chip | PCWorld

May 31, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Nvidia has shown a prototype tablet computer running a four-core version of its Tegra processor and said products based on the new chip will go on sale starting in September.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the Computex trade show in Taipei on Monday, Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang also announced that Nvidia will have shipped 10 million of its existing dual-core Tegra 2 processors by the end of June.

Best known for its graphics chips, Nvidia has emerged as a force in the market for ARM-based processors used in smartphones and tablets, where it competes with more established mobile chip vendors such as Qualcomm and Texas Instruments.

The dual-core Tegra 2 is used in the Samsung Galaxy Tab, the LG Optimus and the Acer Transformer, which has a snap-on keyboard for people who type too much to use only a touch screen.

Huang showed the quad-core chip, code-named Kal-El, running a prototype tablet built by Nvidia to demonstrate its capabilities. Tablets with Kal-El will go on sale in September, followed by smartphones later in the year, Huang said.

He didn’t say which vendors would make the products but it seems likely they will come from existing Nvidia partners, who include Motorola, Dell, Sony and Asustek.

via Nvidia Shows Tablet Running Quad-core Tegra Chip | PCWorld.

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Mobile Enterprise: Using your Smartphone to Pay, Google Enabled Print Ads

November 18, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Accepting Cash, Credit & Mobile

It’s been awhile since your phone was just a phone. The proliferation of smartphones has turned phones into mobile devices fit for the most savvy multi-taskers. We can read, text, play games, watch videos and oh yeah, make a phone call. Soon our mobile devices will become credit cards, meaning we can soon say goodbye to the Constanza wallet.

Google’s new Android operating system plans to work with a new chip so that users can tap their phones on in-store terminals to pay for purchases. But Google wasn’t the only one making news. Recently, three major US wireless carriers announced they were launching a joint venture to allow customers to pay for goods and services with their handsets.

Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile USA plan to cover 220 million customers through a venture called Isis Mobile Commerce Network. Expected by mid-2012, Isis will use a Near-Field Communication (NFC) chip that will enable secure wireless data communications over a distance of up to 4 inches, securely transmitting data from the phone to the retail outlet.

Through Isis, digital wallets aim to make it possible to fundamentally change how you shop, pay and save. Without having to carry and keep track of cash, credit and debit cards, reward cards, coupons, tickets and transit passes, the digital wallet will ce

via Mobile Enterprise: Using your Smartphone to Pay, Google Enabled Print Ads.

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Nexus One successor to be a mobile credit card? | TG Daily

November 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

While we still have virtually no details about what Google’s alleged follow-up to the Nexus One phone will be able to do, thanks to a presentation from CEO Eric Schmidt yesterday, we’re pretty sure that mobile payments is at the top of the list.

Schmidt showed off a device that was obscured so as not to reveal the manufacturer or other specifics. What he did demonstrate was that it was running Android 2.3, the latest version of the mobile operating system, and that it is able to function as a mobile payment solution.

The device has what’s called a Near Field Communication chip, which could replace credit cards for point-of-sale transaction payments.

“This could replace your credit card,” said Schmidt. It will assumedly become a regular feature for future phones. Any device with an NFC chip and Android 2.3 could function as a mobile payment device.

Mobile payments are being looked at by a whole bunch of players in the mobile segment. Right now, the credit card oligopoly has an exclusive hold on cashless retail payments in the US. There is no alternative, period. Google is the frontrunner on the technology lines to change that.

via Nexus One successor to be a mobile credit card? | TG Daily.

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FTC Modifies Intel Antitrust Settlement – Desktops and Notebooks News & Reviews

November 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The FTC has modified the agreement it reached with Intel that settled antitrust complaints against the chip maker. The modification removes an interface requirement from Intel’s “Oak Trail” Atom platform.

Intel’s legal dispute with the Federal Trade Commission appears to be wrapping up, after the agency announced Nov. 2 that it had modified the initial agreement reached with the giant chip maker in August to settle antitrust allegations.

According to the FTC, the agreement was amended to allow Intel to ship its upcoming “Oak Trail” Atom platform without the required PCI Express interface because Intel began manufacturing it before the two sides reached the settlement Aug. 4. The FTC’s modification will allow Intel to ship the Oak Trail chip until June 2013, but all future generations of the chip after that date must come with the PCIe interface.

via FTC Modifies Intel Antitrust Settlement – Desktops and Notebooks News & Reviews.

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Is Apple About to Cut Out the Carriers?: Tech News «

October 28, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Sources inside European carriers have reported that Apple has been working with SIM-card manufacturer Gemalto to create a special SIM card that would allow consumers in Europe to buy a phone via the web or at the Apple Store and get the phones working using Apple’s App Store.

It’s rumored that Apple and Gemalto have created a SIM card, which is typically a chip that carries subscriber identification information for the carriers, that will be integrated into the iPhone itself. Then customers will then be able to choose their carrier at time of purchase at the Apple web site or retail store, or buy the phone and get their handset up and running through a download at the App Store as opposed to visiting a carrier store or calling the carrier. Either way, it reduces the role of the carrier in the iPhone purchase. Gemalto and Apple have not responded to requests for comment. I’m also waiting to hear back from other sources to get more details.

via Is Apple About to Cut Out the Carriers?: Tech News «.

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Intel Looks to Protect More Than Computers – WSJ.com

August 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Intel Corp.’s deal for McAfee Inc. envisions using hardware to accelerate antivirus and security software to help the chip giant move into new devices and markets.

The companies said Thursday the combination will allow them to modify future Intel microprocessors to add security features into the brains of machines. It’s a venerable idea in security circles that has so far made little headway in consumer products.

Their partnership makes possible specially enhanced chips that could help encrypt data faster to protect email privacy and help authenticate the identity of users before they boot up portable devices or tap into corporate …

via Intel Looks to Protect More Than Computers – WSJ.com.

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Intel, FTC in Settlement Talks – WSJ.com

June 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Intel Corp. and the Federal Trade Commission appear close to settling the agency’s high-profile antitrust case against the chip giant, a development that could lead the Santa Clara, Calif. company to modify practices criticized by government agencies on three continents.

Lawyers for Intel and the FTC on Monday submitted a proposed consent decree to the commission, asking for a suspension of proceedings in the case until July 23 while the deal is reviewed by the five FTC commissioners. Terms of the proposed agreement were not disclosed.

If accepted, the agreement would head off a September trial before an FTC administrative law judge that was likely to detail dealings between Intel and such chip customers as Hewlett-Packard Co., Dell Inc., International Business Machines Corp. and Acer Inc. The company has been grappling for several years with antitrust proceedings in Europe, Japan and South Korea as well as suits by the FTC and the New York Attorney General.

It paid $1.25 billion in November to rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. to settle a private antitrust suit, and paid a $1.45 billion fine to the European Union in the wake of an adverse ruling that Intel is appealing.

Most of the actions have accused Intel of monopolistic tactics in the market for microprocessors, the chips that act as the electronic brains of personal computers and server systems. One key focus is the rebates offered by Intel, which agencies allege are contingent on computer makers agreeing to shun chips from AMD. The FTC complaint, filed in December, echoed those charges and added allegations that Intel illegally stifled competition from Nvidia Corp. in the market for chips that handle PC graphics.

Intel has denied the allegations. The company insists it has never sought exclusivity from customers, arguing that its rebates are simply lawful forms of price discounting.

via Intel, FTC in Settlement Talks – WSJ.com.

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Startup Builds Low Power Servers With Netbook Chips | Gadget Lab | Wired.com

June 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

tom chips are the underpowered CPUs inside most netbooks. But one company has found a way to stitch 512 of them together to create a single powerful server.

SeaMicro has used 1.6 GHz Intel Atom-based processors to create a system that consumes just a fourth of the power and space as a traditional server, while aiming to deliver comparable computing performance.

The concept eschews the use of specialized, high performance server chips in favor of the Atom processor, which was been designed for netbooks and other mobile devices. Atom is a low power chip that is designed for tasks such as surfing webpages and checking e-mail among other things.

“We are trying to to build a single big server out of a lot of little chips,” says Andrew Feldman, CEO of SeaMicro. “”We can have 2,048 Atom-based processors on a rack delivering the highest density of CPUs in the market.” SeaMicro’s Atom-based server will be available starting July.

Traditionally most servers use Intel’s Xeon or Itanium processors, or AMD’s Opteron chips. These processors deliver high computing strength but also suck power, making utility bills one of the most expensive costs for a data center. Based on its measurements, an Atom chip can deliver half the performance of a Xeon processor for a sixth of the power, says SeaMicro.

“For a server of this nature, this is the first time we have seen Atom chips used,” says Cal Braunstein, chief research officer for research firm Robert Frances Group.

SeaMicro’s server module uses just three components: Intel’s Atom chip, memory and an ASIC designed by the company.

The Atom-based servers target a few specific tasks performed by data centers. In the past, servers were largely used to solve a small number of complex data-based problems, says Feldman. But the internet changed this. In the internet-focused data center, the challenge is to handle millions of small tasks such as searching, mapping and viewing pages quickly, and to do this in a way that can handle unpredictable bursts of traffic.

via Startup Builds Low Power Servers With Netbook Chips | Gadget Lab | Wired.com.

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