Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : IDTI - an IC Play on Growth Markets -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lockhart who wrote (9762)	10/13/1998 8:58:00 PM
From: Chris Tomas	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 11555

Filling Intel's holes -- alternative chip makers aim to be where chip giant isn't By Robert Lemos, ZDNet SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Running against common wisdom, three microprocessor vendors unveiled technology on Tuesday that aims to steal market share from Intel at the bottom of the PC market. Their aims are modest. "We don't have the world's fastest microprocessor," said Centaur Technology President Glenn Henry, "but we have the lowest cost -- and we are still in business." Centaur, a subsidiary of Integrated Device Technology Inc. (Nasdaq:IDTI), joined National Semiconductor Corp. (NYSE:NSM) and Rise Technology Co. in announcing product plans here at the Microprocessor Forum. The trend toward more competitors in the chip space will not go away, said the show's organizer, Michael Slater. "No longer can the industry focus on one design," said Slater, an analyst at MicroDesign Resources Inc. Now chip makers aim not to be the fastest -- but to best serve a particular segment of the market. Cyrix wants PC-on-a-chip For National Semi's Cyrix subsidiary, that segment is the integrated information appliance. Whether it's an integrated Internet/DVD set-top box, a palm PC connected to the Internet, or a car navigation computer, the keys are features and price, said Brain Halla, president and CEO of National Semi. "These PCs-on-a-chip are going to be everywhere," said Halla. To that end, National Semi has bought out companies that make the pieces to put on the chip. Aside from PC processor maker Cyrix, the semiconductor giant also bought DVD video decoder maker Mediamatics, graphics chip maker FIS and network hardware maker Comcore Semiconductor. The result is what National Semi is calling the Media PC. The chip will have networking, graphics, and video decoding built in, and it is scheduled to hit the market in June 1999. IDT KISSes off Intel It may be old, but "Keep It Simple, Stupid" works well for these chip makers. IDT's newest chip - the WinChip 4 - will focus on being simple, not sexy. "Tricks are better than transistors," said Centaur/IDT's Henry. The chip will be released in late 1999 with the goal of being the best low-end microprocessor. Weighing in at least at 400MHz, the chip is comparable to today's Pentium II from Intel. Rather than add an on-chip secondary cache of memory -- a technique growing in popularity since the new Celeron hit the market -- the chip will have the largest primary cache yet: 128KB. The company has already proven there is a market for this, albeit a small one. IDT's current low-cost chip -- the WinChip 2 -- has sold around 500,000 units so far this year. While less than half a percent of the overall market, it is enough for the company to survive, Henry said. Rise: New kid on the block The new kid on the block, Rise Technology Co., outlined the workings of its initial entry into what is quickly becoming a crowded market. Targeting the basic desktop and notebook markets, Rise claims its chip will deliver good application performance while speeding multimedia tasks, such as DVD playback, 3-D graphics, and audio synthesis. The mP6 will be entering full production this quarter.