在2012年，我们见证了电子产业生态系统的种种成就及其持续强化的趋势(如苹果公司)；另一方面，也看到它出现了一些纰漏(同样地，例如苹果)。在接下来的页面中，我们将回顾过去一年来发生在电子产业中最值得关注的企业延误、失策、失算以及重大纰漏。
俗话说，“不经一事，不长一智”；我们衷心希望，所有曾经在2012年失足跌倒过的，都能从错误与失败中学习经验。
苹果从“地图”上迷失方向
苹果所造就的“i经济”(iEconomy)在媒体大幅报导其主要制造合作伙伴──富士康(Foxconn)侵犯劳工权益后已经大受打击，新的iPhone 5在今秋推出后，更因地图应用程序错误而蒙上一层阴影。
在苹果CEO库克(Tim Cook)的带领下，该公司决定放弃原本使用可靠的Google Mpas，改采另一款设计不佳且未经充份测试的地图系统版本，导致许多用户因而迷路，甚至身陷险境，也让这个错误成为美国脱口秀节目上的笑柄。这家消费电子巨擘最后只得公开道歉，并郑重宣布将尽快修复iPhone地图应用程序。但随着年终将至，用户因iPhone地图迷路的事件仍频传，让用户至今深感困扰。
学到的教训：市场上已经存在最佳应用程序了，即使你是世界上最大的公司，也不必再多此一举。
苹果iPhone 5地图错误导航？
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本文授权编译自EE Times，版权所有，谢绝转载
本文下一页：谁是英特尔的新掌门人？
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谁是英特尔的新掌门人？
当飞思卡尔(Freescale)和英特尔(Intel)公司的CEO突然在今年宣布退休计划，而却未指名新任CEO人选时，这让我们觉得很不寻常。两家公司均表示将从外部寻找合适人选，并解释这是”必要的程序之一”。
一旦一家公司开始对外物色新的CEO人选，他们可没义务再坚持保密协议了。幸运的是，飞思卡尔任命德州仪器(TI)前高阶主管Gregg Lowe接任该公司前董事长兼CEO Rich Beyer的职位交接过程尚称顺利。然而，但在英特尔方面，这个接班过程却显得十分耐人寻味。为什么英特尔CEO欧德宁(Paul Otellini)宣布提前6个月退休呢？
据报导，欧德宁对于英特尔公司内部人选表示满意。他认为，从英特尔目前面临的挑战来说，从公司内部挑选人才将是较为明智的作法。但他也说，”这件事并不由我决定，但我认为这应该会是最有可能的结果。”
英特尔在物色下一任CEO时又会发生什么事呢？英特尔能顺利地找到适合人选并完成CEO职位交接吗？在缺少一项明确继任计划的情况下，无疑地将对于这家芯片巨擘的创办人以及业界观察家带来诸多困扰。
英特尔CEO欧德宁即将退休，谁将会是接班人？
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本文下一页：HP越陷越深？
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HP越陷越深？
2011 年8月，《EETimes》记者Rick Merritt曾经指出，Leo Apotheker并不足以带领昔日辉煌的惠普公司(HP)突破困境。这个观点很快地被证实了──Leo Apotheker当初以110亿美元溢价收购英国软件开发公司Autonomy的愚蠢决定，让HP面临巨额亏损，同时也颜面尽失。
有些人认为，惠普收购Autonomy面临88亿美元资产减记的命运，可说是继2000年AOL收购时代华纳公司(Time Warner)以来，最糟糕的一次收购交易。
惠特曼(Meg Whitman)能带领HP力挽汪澜吗？
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本文授权编译自EE Times，版权所有，谢绝转载
本文下一页：Google Nexus Q无限期跳票
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Google Nexus Q无限期跳票
Google公司在六月发布Nexus Q音乐播放器，而后才过了五周的时间又宣布将无限期延迟发售。
Google 在今年六月的开发者大会上先是大方送出5,000台Nexus Q，接着没多久却宣布延迟产品上市，还不得不送出免费版本给预先订购用户。虽然该公司承诺会推出更好的产品，但这颗外型超酷、专为串流视频与音乐的黑球看 来是没法太快回来了。Google的Nexus网站上可是完全再也不提 Nexus Q 了。
Nexus Q 基本上是一台点唱机，能让不同的 Android 用户串流音视频内容。但有批评指出这款产品价格太高(299美元)，但功能有限。
Google Nexus Q的失败暴露出该公司在硬件方面的弱点。
但值得注意的是，Google十分认真经营其硬件业务。事实上， Nexus 4 手机和 Nexus 7 、Nexus 10 平板电脑已业经证明是十分有吸引与竞争力的产品了。但是，当涉及到为家庭所设计的设备时，Google却显得不足。最典型的例子是该公司在几年前推出的网络电视Google TV 。虽然目前还能在市面上看到这款产品，但消费者的反应冷淡。
就像其它任何一家软件公司一样，Google已经形成一种在产品开发早期预先介绍至市场上并在上市后实时进行修改的策略。尽管这种策略途径可能适用于软件，但却很难直接套用在消费电子产品上，特别是如果消费者得花好多钱来购买的昂贵产品。
对于许多传统以硬件为导向的消费电子产品制造商来说，虽然“软件升级”被视为的新的必杀技，但Google Q 以及 Google TV 都提供了一个宝贵的教训：硬件设计必须从定义明确且具差异化开始做起。
就Google Nexus Q来看，硬件比软件更困难
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本文下一页：AMD、英特尔放弃WSTS
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AMD、英特尔放弃WSTS
AMD和英特尔在2012年离开世界半导体贸易统计组织(WSTS)的决定可说是十分短视，而且可能对于全球半导体产业带来负面影响，对于这两家芯片制造商本身也不例外。
为什么这是一项错误的决定？
英特尔和AMD分别是2011年全球IC销售排名第一和第十二的厂商。根据WSTS，两家公司芯片销售总计563亿美元，占2011年全球芯片销售额2,471亿美元的23%。
“由于英特尔和AMD在全球IC市场上至关重要，以及其于处理器市场占主导地位(两家公司总计占90%的市占率)，无疑地，两家公司退出WSTS将对WSTS数据库带来负面影响，”IC Insights公司总裁Bill McClean认为。
对于服务全球芯片公司的供应链而言，拥有一个可靠的数据库至关重要，这当然也包括英特尔与AMD公司。这一产业供应链包括芯片制造商、化学物质与和气体供应商、半导体设备公司、封装厂，以及EDA和其它软件供货商。 “这些厂商都依靠WSTS的资料来协助他们为业务发展预先规划与编列预算，”McClean强调。
接下来还会发生许多意想不到的政治后果。WSTS的数据库中如果少了英特尔和AMD的销售资料，“那么美国IC市场最终出现的结果可能比实际的规模更小、重要性也持续降低，”McClean表示。
美国半导体产业协会(SIA)常为半导体产业发声。少了AMD和英特尔，“将会削弱SIA创造和建立其政策目标的能力，”McClean警告。
数字会说话
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本文授权编译自EE Times，版权所有，谢绝转载
本文下一页：PC时代宣告结束？
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PC时代宣告结束？
“后PC”时代的概念在过去十年来逐渐出现在科技业对话中。不过， PC将死的概念，仍让人感觉十分震撼。
根据市场研究公司IHS表示，PC出货量预计将出现11年来的首次下滑。 2012年PC市场预计将缩减1.2%，出货量约3.487亿台。
以英特尔为首的PC产业持续经营着Ultrabook所建构的不实假象。微软耗资20亿美元的宣传活动，期望带动可翻转的平板电脑和 Windows 8 销售。然而，这显然是一项自欺欺人的宣传行动，也成为2012年电子产业最明显的失误之一。
你可能会说，现在就宣判 Windows 8 大打广告战的成绩如何还为时过早。但无论是 Ultrabooks 或是以 Windows8 为主的 Surface 平板都无法扭转2013年PC销售预计将持续下滑的趋势。
目前，消费者已经找不到一个可吸引他们去买新PC的好理由了。无论是在 Facebook 上张贴留言透过 Google Maps 导航或是收发email，消费者想执行的作业几乎都可在其行动设备上完成了。当然，在办公室上我们将会继续使用PC，但光是这样也不足以提升PC出货数字。
现在正是每个人都得接受PC时代结束的时候了。正如基于英特尔X86 CPU和微软Windows操作系统的传统PC不再主导计算机运算世界一样，PC产业也不能再完全依赖微软和英特尔的承诺和决心来推动成长。
大手笔投入宣传活动足以拯救PC业务吗？
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本文下一页：RIM、诺基亚美景不再
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RIM、诺基亚美景不再
Research In Motion (RIM)和诺基亚(Nokia)仍勉强地在以苹果iPhone与三星Galaxy S3主导的智能手机市场挣扎求生。2012年，也是两家公司流失市占率以及更多相关一切的一年。
RIM的失策在于延迟 BlackBerry 10 平台至2013年第一季以后才会推出。该公司将问题归咎于“该平台整合的将新功能以及相关编程码过于庞大”。
RIM计划2013年1在纽约发表 Blackberry 10 。但现实情况是6个月的延迟期间，让RIM并未针对圣诞节推出其它新产品。从180天的产品周期来看，这一延迟也让RIM几乎被市场所遗忘。
相较于RIM，诺基亚至少已经在几个国家发表了 Lumia 手机。根据一项来自欧洲的报导指出，诺基亚的 Windows 手机表现其实并不算太差。然而，一些观察家认为，诺基亚可能处于比RIM更糟糕的情况，因为它一直依赖的是微软 Windows Phone OS 的长期生存能力。诺基亚已经无法再掌握自身于智能手机市场的命运了。
相形之下，RIM仍保有其操作系统的专有控制。此外， 今年12月，美国国土安全部宣布一项试验计划，将在其网络上测试RIM的新手机和 BlackBerry 10 软件。这个已经转而支持 iPhone 而逐步淘汰 BlackBerry 手机的联邦机构传来这样的计划，对RIM来说也算是个好消息。
尽管对于 BlackBerry 10 抱持厚望，RIM仍可能遭受现实重创。分析师Anil Doradla警告说，RIM在美国市场的“种种问题在过去几季来一直困扰着该公司(如缺乏新的操作系统、疲弱的消费产品组合以及竞争威胁)，同时由于竞 争产品迅速超越RIM硬件而更为加剧。”
另一方面，诺基亚在2012年宣布裁员10,000人，期望能在2013年年底前省下16亿欧元。该公司还将出售其芬兰总部。但采取这些措施就足以扭转诺基亚的命运吗？
美国一个政府机构展开RIM手机及其OS测试，能为RIM带来一线曙光吗？
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日本消费巨擘受重创
2012年可说是日本电子产业的一个转折点。包括松下(Panasonic)、Sony与夏普(Sharp)等几家重要的日本消费电子公司，均因受到电视制造业务亏损而严重拖累。
几家消费电子公司积极地展开重组，夏普先在今年三月迈出了第一步，宣布与台湾EMS巨擘鸿海集团达成合作协议。夏普最初同意出售公司9.9％股权给鸿海，使 鸿海成为最大股东。此外，鸿海创办人郭台铭也投资夏普在Sakai的面板厂，取得46.5%的股权。Sakai厂不但能处理超大尺寸的玻璃基板，也是最先进的液晶(LCD)面板厂。
一开始标榜为台湾和日本之间的历史性合作，很快地就陷入僵局。双方意见分歧的焦点在于夏普公司股价持续大幅下跌三分之一。尽管后来持续针对收购交易重新谈判，但至今仍未能完成交易。
今年12月，高通公司(Qualcomm)表示将投资夏普约1.2亿美元，使其成为这家陷于困境的日本最大电视制造商的最大股东。高通透过其Pixtronix子公司，将与夏普共同提供最新 iPhone 的屏幕。双方还将共同开发采用夏普 IGZO 技术的新节能屏幕。
鸿海指出，高通公司的投资并不影响其购买夏普股权的计划，但如今在夏普与鸿海合作事宜几乎停滞的情况下，这听起来更像是一个顾全面子的声明。
据报导，鸿海可望以6.67亿美元收购夏普在海外的电视组装厂，包括分别位于中国、马来西亚与墨西哥的三座工厂。
“鸿夏恋”即将进入2013年3月的最后期限，但仍未能修成正果？
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本文授权编译自EE Times，版权所有，谢绝转载
本文下一页：EUV微影技术尚未到位
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EUV微影技术尚未到位
超紫外光(EUV) 微影技术实现商用化的时程继续延迟，似乎已经是业界每年的惯例了。EUV仍未能准备好成为主流技术，很可能会在未来几年内对于半导体产业带来实质影响。一些微影技术专家们预测，除非能够开发出更强大的完美EUV光源，否则14nm芯片制造的商用化可能得延迟到2014年或甚至更久以后。
同时，英特尔和台积电(TSMC)公司并未轻言放弃。在今年10月，双方斥资数十亿美元投资荷兰EUV开发公司ASML。英特尔预计将在2013年开始生产 14nm芯片，并且表示可以现有的浸润式微影技术在2015年制造出10nm处理器。然而，如果少了EUV的话，英特尔将必须为一颗芯片进行五次曝光。
未来要能实现商用化的EUV，所使用的EUV光源必须比目前所用的更强大20倍。这种光源才能在14nm节点上用于曝光下一代芯片。
比利时IMEC的研究人员已经在其EUV系统中采用较弱光源制造出晶圆了。但对于英特尔、三星和台积电来说，其吞吐量仍慢了约15至30倍。
所 有这一切都意味着，摩尔定律可能最终走向尽头。IMEC先进微影计划总监Kurt Ronse表示，“半导体产业无法再全力前进，而只能实现半节点制程。”换句话说，尽管芯片供货商仍可实现到所谓的14nm，但在现实上可能被迫只能使用 接近16nm或17nm的制程技术。
EUV微影技术能带来预期效果吗？
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A123破产打击能源产业
A123公司崛起于奥巴马政府成立之际，这一家具政府背景的公司一开始看起来就像是洁净能源技术领域下一个值得关注的焦点。虽然该公司拥有极具前景的锂离子电池技术，但却接二连三发生电池召回的事件，显示A123将难以实现对于洁净能源技术的所有承诺。
在奥巴马政府提出 20 亿美元电动车刺激方案时，市场普遍相信汽车电池商 A123 将大幅受惠，被认为是下一场科技业的关注焦点。公司原本 8 月协议出脱大部分股权，售与中国汽车零件商万向集团，然而 10 月中旬却惊传协议破局，A123 无力偿还高额债务，落得声请破产命运。
该 公司在年中申请破产保护，当时电源管理专业厂商Johnson Controls公司提出1.25位美元条件收购A123公司，看来这项技术将能根留美国。然而，在今年11月的破产资产拍卖时，这家威斯康辛州公司、西门子和其它打算收购的竞标厂商，最后输给了来自中国汽车零件企业集团万向(Wanxiang Group)高达2.566亿美元的出价。
虽 然A123的失败并未像太阳能新兴公司Solyndra在2011年破产时跌得惨重──A123重要的政府合约仍与另一家美国公司Navitas Systems共同持有，然而，一家拥有重要电池技术且极具前景的洁净能源新创公司最后以破产告终，似乎正为可再生能源领域带来重大打击。
绝大部份A123的创新电池技术如今全归一家中国汽车组件公司所有
DGTesmc
编译：Susan Hong
本文授权编译自EE Times，版权所有，谢绝转载
参考英文原文：Top 10 tech blunders of 2012，by George Leopold, Junko Yoshida
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Top 10 tech blunders of 2012
George Leopold, Junko Yoshida
Failure is a stern teacher, and there were plenty of technology blunders in 2012. Here's our list of the worst missteps.
In a year that saw consolidation around several electronics ecosystems (think Apple), 2012 also had its share of missteps (think Apple, again). In the pages that follow, we chronicle the year’s most notable corporate delays, false steps, miscalculations and screw-ups.
They say there is no experience without suffering. Let’s hope those who goofed in 2012 will learn from their mistakes.
Apple loses its way on maps
The engine of the “iEconomy” was already taking a beating over reports of labor abuses at its leading manufacturing partner, Foxconn, when the roll out of the iPhone 5 in the fall was overshadowed by a map-app fiasco. Under new CEO Tim Cook, Apple decided to ditch a reliable Google maps system for a poorly designed and inadequately tested version that led users astray and became the butt of talk-show jokes. The consumer electronics giants apologized profusely and vowed to fix the iPhone’s map app, but reports were still trickling in at year’s end of lost, confused and angry users.
Lesson: Don’t try to reinvent the wheel, even if you are the biggest corporation on Earth.
A bum steer?
Related stories:
Teardown: Inside Apple 's iPhone 5
Will maps snafu hurt Apple?
Who will run Intel?
When CEOs at Freescale and Intel suddenly announced retirement plans this year without naming successors, it struck us as odd. The moves were explained as "a necessary step" by companies that said they were also looking at external candidates.
Once a company conducting a CEO search starts calling external candidates, those people are under no obligation to keep the overture confidential. Fortunately, Freescale's CEO transition moved fairly smoothly as the company tapped ex-TI executive Gregg Lowe to replace Rich Beyer, Freescale’s former chairman and CEO.
But the succession drama at Intel – which had $54 billion revenue in 2011 – is more intriguing. Why would CEO Paul Otellini announce his retirement six months in advance?
Otellini has reportedly expressed his satisfaction with Intel’s internal candidates. He argued that picking an insider would be the smart path for Intel given the challenges the chip giant faces. But he added, “It’s not up to me, but I think that’s the most likely outcome.”
What happened to grooming the next CEO, which at Intel was an important part of the top job? Are the days of seamless leadership transitions over at Intel? The lack of a clear succession plan at Intel undoubtedly troubles the chip maker’s founders as well as company watchers.
Paul Otellini is leaving his CEO post at Intel. Who replaces him?
Related story:
Intel CEO search begins, and the nominees are...
The hole gets deeper at HP
In August 2011, our colleague Rick Merritt opined that Leo Apotheker was not the chief executive to lead once-proud Hewlett-Packard out of the wilderness. That view was confirmed in spades a year later when Apotheker’s ill-advised $11.1 billion acquisition of British software developer Autonomy blew up in HP’s face.
Some have called November’s stunning $8.8 billion write-down by HP of the ill-fated Autonomy deal the worst corporate deal since AOL's acquisition of Time Warner in 2000.
Precisely where HP goes from here is pretty clear: If it survives, it can only go up since it now appears the computer company has just about hit rock bottom.
Meg Whitman has her hands full cleaning up the financial mess at embattled HP.
Related story:
Viewpoint: Why I don't think Leo can save HP
Google's Nexus Q flops
Google pulled the plug on its media streamer, Nexus Q, only five weeks after its introduction in June.
Google initially gave away about 5,000 Nexus Qs at its developers’ conference in June, and when the company announced it was delaying the product, it shipped free versions to those who had pre-ordered. Despite promises to “make it better,” the cool-looking black ball device designed to stream video and music won’t be coming back any time soon. Google’s Nexus Web site makes no mention of Nexus Q.
Nexus Q was essentially a jukebox that allowed different Android users to stream content to it. Critics said the device cost too much ($299) and did too little.
Google’s failure with Nexus Q exposed its weakness in the hardware business.
It’s important to note that Google is serious about hardware. In fact, the Nexus 4 phone and the Nexus 7 and 10 tablets have proven compelling and are competitively priced. But when it comes to devices designed for the home, Google comes up short. The case in point is the company’s Internet-connected Google TV, unveiled a few years back. Although it is still on the market, it has met only lukewarm consumer reception.
As with any software company, Google has forged a strategy of introducing new products early in their development and revising them on-the-fly. While that approach tends to work for software, it’s tougher to pull off in consumer electronics, especially once consumers pay for an expensive device.
While “software upgrades” are viewed as the new nirvana for many traditionally hardware-oriented CE manufacturers, Google’s Nexus Q, along with Google TV, have provided an invaluable lesson: You need to start with hardware that’s clearly defined and, above all, different.
Google's Nexus Q: Hardware is harder than software.
Related story:
Teardown: Inside Google's Nexus 7 tablet
AMD, Intel ditch WSTS
The decision by AMD and Intel to leave World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) organization in 2012 was short-sighted and harmful to the global semiconductor industry, not to mention both chip makers.
Here’s why it’s a mistake.
Intel and AMD were ranked No. 1 and No. 12, respectively, in worldwide IC sales in 2011. Combined chip sales for the two firms ($56.3 billion) represented 23 percent of global IC sales ($247.1 billion, according to WSTS) last year.
“Given the sheer size of Intel and AMD, their significant share of the worldwide IC market, and their dominance of the microprocessor market (with a combined share of more than 90 percent), there is no doubt that their withdrawal from reporting into WSTS will have a negative effect on the WSTS database,” argues Bill McClean, president of IC Insights.
A reliable database is critical to the supply chain serving every chip company -- including Intel and AMD. That supply chain includes raw wafer manufacturers, chemical and gas suppliers, semiconductor equipment companies, packaging houses along with EDA and other software suppliers . “They rely in some part on WSTS data to help them plan and budget their businesses,” noted McClean.
Then there are the unintended political consequences. Without Intel and AMD sales included in the WSTS database, “the Americas IC market could eventually appear much smaller and less important than it actually is,” said McClean.
The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) is the voice of the semiconductor industry. The loss of AMD and Intel will weaken “the ability of the SIA to create and establish its policy goals,” McClean warns.
The numbers speak for themselves.
Related stories:
Intel, AMD pull out of WSTS
Why Intel, AMD departure from WSTS harms U.S. chip industry
PC pronounced dead
The notion of the "post-PC" era has insinuated itself into technology conversations over the last decade. Still, the imminent death of the PC feels like a shock.
PC shipments are expected to decline for the first time in 11 years, according to market researcher IHS. The PC market is expected to contract in 2012 by 1.2 percent, to 348.7 million units shipped.
The PC industry, led by Intel, continued to nurse false hopes with Ultrabooks. Microsoft has pushed convertible tablets and Windows 8 by running an estimated $2 billion marketing campaign. This is a campaign of denial that signifies one of the electronics industry’s notable blunders of 2012.
You could argue it’s too early to gauge the results of the massive Windows 8 ad blitz. But neither Ultrabooks nor Windows 8-based Surface alone are expected to buck the trend of sliding PC sales in 2013.
Today, consumers have few compelling reasons to purchase new PCs. Practically everything consumers want to do – like posting photos on Facebook, getting directions on Google Map, or e-mail – can be done on mobile phones.
Of course, we’ll all continue to work on PCs at the office, but this alone won’t drive up the numbers for PC shipments, either.
It’s time for everyone to accept the end of the PC era. Just as traditional PCs based on Intel’s X86 CPU and Microsoft’s Windows operating system no longer rule the computing world, the PC industry can no longer depend on the sheer commitment and determination of Microsoft and Intel to drive PC sales ever upward.
Marketing campaigns won't be enough to save the PC.
RIM, Nokia become irrelevant
Research In Motion (RIM) and Nokia scrambled in 2012 to stay afloat in the smartphone market dominated by Apple’s iPhones and Samsung’s Galaxy S3. It was also the year when both companies lost their market presence, and much of their relevance.
RIM’s blunder was delaying a BlackBerry 10 platform launch until the first quarter of 2013. The company blamed the setback on “the integration of new features and the associated large volume of code into the platform.”
RIM plans a Blackberry 10 launch next month in New York. But the reality is that the six-month delay of the company’s new platform left RIM with no new products to sell for Christmas, plunging it into oblivion in a market where 180 days is a lifetime.
Compared to RIM, at least Nokia launched its Lumia phones in several countries. Initial reports from Europe say that Nokia’s Windows phones aren’t doing badly. Yet, some observers believe Nokia might be in worse shape than RIM since it is dependent on the long-term viability of Microsoft’s Windows Phone OS. Nokia no longer controls its destiny in smartphones.
In contrast, RIM retains exclusive control of its operating system. In December, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced a pilot program to test RIM’s new phone and BlackBerry 10 software on its network. Coming from a federal agency that has been phasing out BlackBerry in favor of iPhones, that’s a bit of good news.
While hope springs eternal for BB10, RIM could be still hit hard by reality. Analyst Anil Doradla warned that the U.S. market “continues to indicate the issues that have plagued the company over the past several quarters (such as lack of new OS, weak consumer offering, and threat from competition) have been compounded by RIM hardware getting leapfrogged by the competition.”
Meanwhile, Nokia announced 10,000 job cuts in 2012 alone in a bid to save 1.6 billion euros by the end of 2013. The company will be also selling its head office in Finland. Will those moves be enough?
RIM gets one more shot at relevance when a government agency tests its next phone and operating system.
Japan's consumer giants stumble
This year marked a turning point for the Japanese electronics industry as major consumer electronics companies, including Panasonic, Sony and Sharp, fell apart as their TV manufacturing business collapsed.
As they scramble to restructure, Sharp took the first step in March by announcing a deal with Taiwan-based EMS giant Hon Hai. Sharp originally agreed to cede to Hon Hai’s 9.9 percent stake in the company, making Hon Hai its biggest shareholder. Separately, Hon Hai's billionaire founder Terry Gou invested his own money in Sharp’s Sakai fab, gaining a 46.5 percent share. Capable of handling super-large glass substrates, the Sakai fab is the state-of-the-art in LCD panel production.
Originally billed as an historic collaboration between Taiwan and Japan, the soon deal stalled. The central disagreement was a dramatic slide in Sharp’s stock price to about one-third the price that the two sides had specified in March.
In December, Qualcomm said it will invest as much as $120 million in Sharp, making it the struggling Japanese TV maker's biggest shareholder. Qualcomm, through its Pixtronix subsidiary, will work with Sharp which supplies screens for the latest iPhone. They also will develop new power-saving screens based on Sharp's IGZO technology.
Hon Hai claimed the Qualcomm’s investment was unrelated to the Taiwan firm’s plan to buy into Sharp, but that looks more like a face-saving statement now that it’s deal with Sharp has hit the skids.
Hon Hai may reportedly buy some of Sharp's overseas TV assembly plants – including three factories in China, Malaysia and Mexico for $667 million.
Hon Hai founder Terry Gou put his money where his mouth was, but couldn't close the deal with Japan's ailing Sharp.
EUV: Not ready for prime time
Continuing delays in delivering a commercial extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography capability have become an annual ritual. The inability to bring the technology home will likely have real consequences for the semiconductor industry over in the next few years. A group of lithography experts estimates that commercialization of 14-nm chip fabrication could slip to 2014 or beyond unless powerful light sources of EUV can be perfected.
Meanwhile, Intel and the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. aren’t giving up. In October, they committed billions of dollars to the Dutch EUV developer ASML. Intel, which expect to begin manufacturing 14-nm chips in 2013, said it could make 10-nm processors in 2015 using existing immersion lithography. Without EUV, however, Intel knows it will have to write as many as five immersion patterns on a chip.
Holding up the promised delivery of EUV is the use of light sources nearly 20 times more powerful than those used today. The light source is used to pattern next-generation chips with feature sizes as small as 14 nm.
IMEC researchers in Belgium have created wafers using less powerful light sources in its EUV systems. But throughput remains 15 to 30 times too slow for Intel, Samsung and TSMC.
All this could mean that Moore’s Law might finally be running out of steam. The semiconductor “industry is no longer taking full steps, but implementing half nodes,” said Kurt Ronse, IMEC's director advanced lithography program. In other words, while chip vendors might still call it 14 nm, they will be forced, in reality, to use the process technology closer to 16 or 17 nm.
Let's hope the rewards of EUV technology are as big as the tools themselves.
Related stories:
Moore's Law threatened by lithography woes
ASML doubles down on EUV
Battery maker A123 goes belly up
A123 looked like the next big thing in cleantech when it emerged as one of the hottest MIT spinoffs about the time the Obama administration arrived. The company had – and still has – promising lithium ion battery technology, but at least one battery recall showed that A123 would have a hard time delivering on all the promise of clean technology.
The company filed for bankruptcy protection mid-year, and it looked for awhile like its technology would remain in domestic hands when power management specialist Johnson Controls made a strong bid to acquire A123. But the Wisconsin company along with Siemens and other suitors were outbid in November by the well-heeled Chinese auto parts conglomerate Wanxiang Group Corp. for $256.6 million.
While A123’s demise falls short of matching the failure of solar startup Solyndra in 2011 – A123’s key government contracts will remain with another U.S. company (Navitas Systems) – the bankruptcy of a promising cleantech startup with solid battery technology represents a blow to the renewable energy sector.
Most of A123's innovative battery technology now belongs to a Chinese auto parts conglomerate.
Related stories:
A123's battery tech goes to extremes
There's an upside to A123's bankruptcy
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