由
於
未能憑借搭載谷歌(Google Inc.)安卓(Android)操作系統的平板電腦獲得大量市場份額﹐三星電子(Samsung
Electronics Co.)如今把賭注押到搭載微軟(Microsoft Corp.)
Windows操作系統的新設備上。目前﹐三星在繼續與蘋果公司(Apple Inc.)爭奪移動設備市場的主導地位。三星電子本週四在德國柏林的一個展會上展示了今年下半年將推出的一系列新產品。此前﹐上週三星電子在美國遭遇了滑鐵盧﹐陪審團認定三星侵犯了蘋果公司的設計和軟件專利﹐要求三星向蘋果支付逾10億美元的賠償金。
Samsung
三星ATIV智能手機屏幕尺寸4.8英寸﹐搭載Windows Phone 8操作系統。
三星此前嚴重依賴安卓設備同蘋果在全球市場奪取市場份額﹐但上週五美國法院做出的裁決讓外界開始關注三星等安卓設備廠商及其對谷歌手機操作系統嚴重依賴的問題。
三星在一份聲明中說﹐該公司致力於向消費者提供基於Windows 8平台的更多選擇。
韓 國券商NH Investment & Securities的分析師Lee Sun-tae說﹐三星很有可能會爭取降低對谷歌的依賴﹐同時繼續擴大基於Windows系統的產品陣容。他說﹐推出Windows設備表明三星正在加快 其從安卓向微軟操作系統的轉變過程。
儘管如此﹐分析師對三星能否憑借微軟操作系統獲得更多市場份額持懷疑態度。Windows手機的銷售 情況已經令諾基亞公司(Nokia Corp.)倍感失望。諾基亞會定期從微軟收到用於研發Windows手機的資金。由於來自蘋果的競爭令諾基亞舉步維艱﹐其Lumia系列智能手機賣得並 不好。
韓國券商Korea Investment & Securities的分析師Seo Won-seok說﹐在三星發佈上述設備之後﹐預計三星與微軟的合作將會加強。但他也說這些新產品在短期內對提振三星業績沒有多大幫助﹐原因在於消費者需 求疲軟導致Windows手機銷量並沒有大幅增長。
安卓系統已經給三星智能手機業務打了一針強心劑。按發貨量計算﹐今年早些時候三星一舉 超越蘋果和諾基亞成為全球最大的智能手機製造商。市場研究機構國際數據公司(IDC)的數據表明﹐今年二季度三星在全球智能手機市場的份額達到 32.6%﹐領先於蘋果的16.9%和諾基亞的6.6%。但在平板電腦市場﹐三星就顯示出明顯的落後。蘋果iPad以68.2%的市場份額在這一領域遙遙 領先。IDC的數據表明﹐三星在平板電腦市場的份額僅有9.6%。
週四三星還展出了新一代Galaxy Note跨界產品。該產品搭載的是安卓系統﹐融合了智能手機和平板電腦的各種功能。
三 星試圖創建這一名為“平板手機”(phablet)的新產品類別。去年11月﹐就在三星和蘋果的專利戰在全球範圍內不斷升級之際﹐三星推出了第一代 Galaxy Note。去年4月﹐蘋果首先對三星提起訴訟﹐稱三星“完全”抄襲了蘋果iPad和iPhone的設計和外觀。三星隨後提出反訴﹐稱蘋果侵犯了其與電信技 術相關的多項專利。
Galaxy Note已經成為三星移動設備業務最大的利潤來源之一﹐作為三星旗艦產品的Galaxy智能手機也是主要利潤來源。今年二季度﹐在三星近60億美元的營業利潤總額中﹐超過60%來自移動設備的銷售。
Galaxy Note II屏幕尺寸更大﹐為5.5英寸﹐用戶可以使用一種特製的筆在屏幕上進行書寫並瀏覽互聯網。自第一代Galaxy Note上市以來﹐三星說其銷量已經超過1,000萬部。
三星表示﹐Galaxy Note的設計和iPhone不同﹐前者屏幕更大﹐邊角更圓潤。在美國進行庭審的整個過程中﹐蘋果始終認為三星智能手機的長方形造型看上去和iPhone過於相似。
週一﹐蘋果公司提交了一份動議﹐請求法院禁止三星八款智能手機在美國市場進行銷售。法庭文件顯示﹐自2011年這些產品上市以來﹐到目前為止其在美國的銷售收入累計超過30億美元。
三星希望﹐一旦其智能手機今年晚些時候在美國遭遇銷售禁令﹐新一代Galaxy Note II能夠幫助其緩解由此帶來的沖擊。
Jung-Ah.Lee
三星中国工厂被指“不人道”
中国劳工观察称，三星电子在华工厂违反劳动法，工人加班时间超长，并雇佣未成年工
A Japanese Court Sides With Samsung Against Apple
Voice of America
... has won the latest round in its continuing battle with the American owned computer company Apple over property rights. A court in Japan ruled in favor of the South Korean company last week in a case involving its Galaxy series of smartphones and ...
See all stories on this topic »
In Japan, Apple suffers patent setback
TOKYO — A Japanese court has rejected patent claims made by Apple
against Samsung, a victory for the Korean company after its crushing
defeat in the United States and a reminder of the global scope of the
patent war.
With a judge in South Korea having handed down a split decision in a patent case earlier, Apple and Samsung remain neck-and-neck in legal disputes spanning almost a dozen countries.
For both companies, Japan makes up a far smaller proportion of sales than the all-important U.S. market. But the Tokyo ruling suggests that despite Apple’s victory in the United States — which included a $1 billion judgment against Samsung — jostling between the two companies for the upper hand in the fast-growing smartphone and tablet segments is just beginning.
The Tokyo District Court ruled that Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones and tablets did not violate an Apple patent on technology that synchronizes music and videos between gadgets and servers.
With a judge in South Korea having handed down a split decision in a patent case earlier, Apple and Samsung remain neck-and-neck in legal disputes spanning almost a dozen countries.
For both companies, Japan makes up a far smaller proportion of sales than the all-important U.S. market. But the Tokyo ruling suggests that despite Apple’s victory in the United States — which included a $1 billion judgment against Samsung — jostling between the two companies for the upper hand in the fast-growing smartphone and tablet segments is just beginning.
The Tokyo District Court ruled that Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones and tablets did not violate an Apple patent on technology that synchronizes music and videos between gadgets and servers.
亞洲手機生產商重新審視依賴安卓的策略
隨著蘋果公司與使用谷歌安卓軟件的智能手機生產商之間的專利訴訟
索尼手機業務部擬裁員1,000人
索尼公司手機業務部門Sony Mobile Communications計劃於2014年3月底前在全球裁蘋果勝訴改變手機行業力量平衡
蘋果在與三星的專利訴訟戰中取得決定性勝利﹐蘋果是如何打贏專利官司的？
蘋果勝訴之後谷歌會成為大輸家嗎？
蘋果尋求在美國市場禁售八款三星產品
專欄：三星敗訴 蘋果成移動市場霸主
三星電子計劃提起裁後動議和上訴
美國陪審團裁定三星侵犯蘋果六項專利權
韓國法院裁定三星和蘋果各自侵犯對方專利
Samsung Widens Handset Lead
Samsung
Electronics widened its market share lead over rivals Nokia and Apple
in the second quarter, selling 90.43 million handsets, research showed.
實習記者吳鈺潔／台北報導
今(13)日下午2時許，摩托羅拉行動(Motorola Mobility)通過其官方微博宣佈，全球將裁減約4,000個工作崗位，並且計劃關閉或合併90家運營機構的三分之一，以幫助行動終端業務重新盈利。
摩托羅拉官方聲明顯示，全球將裁減約4,000個工作崗位，即裁員20%，其中美國之外的地區占總裁減人數的三分之二。除此之外，摩托羅拉計劃關閉或合併 90家運營機構的三分之一，同時還將精簡產品線，將業務重心從功能手機逐步轉向更具創新性和盈利性的終端產品。摩托羅拉期待通過此項決策創造新機遇，幫助 其行動終端業務重新實現盈利。
至於被裁減的員工，摩托羅拉則表示，將會盡一切努力，幫助這些員工順利度過這個艱難的時期，並為他們提供相應的裁員補償金和再就業服務，幫助他們找到新工作。
根據《紐約時報》報導，智慧型手機領域90%的利潤被蘋果和三星拿走，摩托羅拉已經落後於這兩個強大的競爭對手，本次裁員將是Google改造摩托羅拉的第一步。同時，Google還希望加強Android行動業務，欲突破搜索和軟體業務，進軍硬件製造領域。
.......三星不僅僅是世界最大的智慧型手機製造商，它也是全球最大的DRAM與液晶面板製造商。然而，「第一」光環的背後，卻潛藏了巨大的危機。
根據英國《金融時報》報導，三星全球22萬名員工當中，研發部門就佔了將近四分之一。這支大規模的研發部隊，過去6年，每年申請的專利數在美國市場僅次於IBM，名列第二。
除了龐大的研發人力成本之外，三星的資本支出更是高得驚人。今年上半年，三星的資本支出達到120億美元。過去5年，三星每年的資本支出高達營業額的11％，遠高於索尼的5％、蘋果的4％。
三星運用「錢海戰術」，換取高速成長，但效益卻遠遠落後其他科技公司：每一美元的資產，只創造1.4美元的營收；相較之下，蘋果每一 美元的資產可創造4美元的營收。再比較另一個數字，2011年三星的營業利潤將近10％，雖然高於索尼和鴻海，但反觀蘋果與英特爾，均超出於30％以上。
這不得不讓人擔憂，三星是否會步上索尼或其他亞洲科技公司的後塵。
不過客觀來看，三星或許不是市場的先進者（first-mover），但卻是快速的追隨者（fast-follower），這也是它能成功避免陷入索尼長期衰退命運的關鍵因素。
新加坡國立大學教授張錫金接受英國《衛報》採訪時表示，「三星最大的優勢就在於速度。」再加上高度的危機意識和軍隊般嚴明的紀律，造就了三星的霸業。最令人 印象深刻的，是1987年李健熙接任董事長時，公開對著員工說，三星是一家二流企業，從今而後每位員工必須「徹底改頭換面，除了太太和小孩之外，所有的一 切都必須改變。」直到兩年前，李健熙仍不忘在推特上寫道：「如今我們面臨的是真實存在的危機。如今三星絕大多數的旗艦業務和產品未來10年內都將消失。因 此我們必須從現在開始就要改變。」三星的成功，自有其道理。
但韓國人自己面對三星，內心是又愛又恨。三星讓韓國人在國際上揚眉吐氣，但是大財閥的企業生態也為人所詬病，不僅嚴重阻礙創新，更扼殺了小規模供應商的生存空間。此外，財閥的稅務與接班問題，更是內幕重重。李健熙便因涉嫌逃漏稅，被韓國政府罰款1.09億美元。
如今，與蘋果之間的專利官司仍在進行，另一端的中國又開啟新的戰場。近日中國勞工觀察網站公布，為三星製造智慧型手機和MP3的海格國利電子公司，非法雇用童工，這對三星的品牌形象將是重大打擊。
近兩年，三星在行動市場的迅速竄起，讓世人見識到韓國企業的能耐，但這份能耐能否持久下去，就等待時間的證明。【新聞來源】
The Guardian - Samsung: Olympic smartphone firm aims for big global wins
Financial Times - Lex in depth: Samsung
Apple-Samsung Case Is a Proxy for Google
The
trial pitting Apple against Samsung that kicks off Monday in federal
court in California could help bolster or refute Apple's contention that
Google's operating system illegally copies software features of its own
devices.
根據IDC先前報告，三星在2012年第2季出貨5,020萬之手機，年增1,840萬支；蘋果出貨由1年前的2,040萬支增加到2,600萬 支；諾基亞(Nokia)則從1,670萬支下滑至1,020萬支。三星跨越5,000萬支門檻，是重要里程碑，今年下半與iPhone的競爭亦持續受到 關注。----
宏達電上季排行第4，出貨880萬支手機，較去年同期1,160萬支下滑，但仍比2012年第1季好。IDC指出，宏達電在亞太市場的強勁表現讓公司排名持續上升，同時公司持續修正庫存問題。
サムスン営業利益、史上最高に スマホ売り上げ７５％増
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韓国の電機大手２社の４～６月期の決算が２７日出そろった。サムスン電子は、スマートフォン（多機能携帯電話）の売り上げが好調で増収増益に。本業のも
うけを示す営業利益は四半期で史上最高額を記録した。ＬＧ電子は減収だが、３Ｄ（立体）テレビなど収益の高い製品が伸びて増益となった。
サムスン電子の連結売上高は前年同期比２１％増の４７．６兆ウォン（約３．２兆円）で、純利益は同４８％増の５．２兆ウォン（約３６００億円）。営業利益は同７９％増の６．７兆ウォン（約４６００億円）を記録し、２期連続で史上最高を更新した。
半導体や液晶パネルの売り上げは落ち込んだが、「ギャラクシー・シリーズ」で知られるスマートフォンなど通信機器が同７５％増の売り上げを記録し、実績を押し上げた。
***
三星上週五公佈﹐在截至6月底的這個季度實現利潤5.19萬億韓圓（合46億美元）﹐同比增長48%﹐利潤連續第二個季度創歷史新高。該公司的電信部門收入增長60%﹐營業利潤增長近兩倍﹐公司財務業績的增長幾乎完全歸功於該部門。
與此同時﹐蘋果上週早些時候宣佈﹐它在這一季度實現利潤88億美元。儘管利潤同比增長了21%﹐但仍令分析師們感到失望。蘋果iPhone手機銷售情況不及預期。據該公司高管說﹐這一定程度上是因為顧客預計新一代iPhone將很快上市。
不過﹐蘋果的代理律師本週將在加州聖何塞(San Jose)的聯邦法庭上給出一種不同的解釋。蘋果的律師在上週提交給法院的文件中聲稱﹐三星通過侵犯蘋果的知識產權獲得了數十億美元的利潤﹐給蘋果造成了數億美元的損失。
除非能在最後一刻達成和解﹐否則蘋果與三星將對簿公堂。去年4月﹐蘋果就是在這家法院提起了對三星的第一樁訴訟﹐指控其非法抄襲iPhone的技術功能和設計﹐用於自己的旗艦智能手機產品Galaxy S。
三星則在另外五個國家對蘋果提出反訴﹐雙方之間的大戰由此擴展至十多個國家﹐涉及數十樁案子。
分析人士說﹐自雙方間的第一樁訴訟開始以來﹐三星在智能手機發貨量方面一直高於蘋果。在三星的電視機、半導體和顯示屏零部件等其他產品的增長微乎其微或經歷週期性的下滑之際﹐智能手機業務成為對三星總體業務影響最大的一塊。按收入計算﹐三星是全球最大的科技產品製造商。
與此同時﹐蘋果的手機業務則增長緩慢﹐不過其手機業務的利潤率依然是行業內最高的。
三 星從去年年初開始停止公佈其手機發貨量的數據。但在三星上週五發佈季度業績後﹐市場分析人士估計﹐三星第二季度的智能手機發貨量在5,000萬部以上﹐幾 乎得到蘋果在本季度公佈的iPhone發貨量2,600萬部的兩倍。分析人士還估計﹐三星智能手機的發貨量超過了其第二季度全部手機發貨量9,500萬部 的一半。
蘋果在提交給法庭的文件中要求三星賠償25.25億美元的損失﹐大約相當於三星電信部門在推出受到蘋果指責剽竊其設計的第一款手機後的兩年里獲得的運營利潤（170億美元）的15%﹐大約相當於三星這一期間全部運營利潤的8%。
三星也在上週向法庭提交了文件﹐公司的多名律師在文件中稱蘋果的損害賠償請求相當荒謬。
三星在訴訟摘要中寫道﹐蘋果指控三星使用與蘋果借鑒自其他競爭者的完全相同的公共領域的設計理念﹐此舉意在把三星趕出市場﹔蘋果在三星開始研發手機技術差不多20年後才賣出第一部iPhone﹐若非得益於三星的專利技術﹐蘋果一部手機也賣不出去。
在 週五舉行的三星管理人員與投資分析師的電話會議上﹐三星沒有對蘋果的訴訟做進一步評論﹐投資分析師也沒有提起此事。相反﹐他們關注的是三星電信部門運營利 潤率的小幅下降──從第一季度的18.4%下降到17.4%。面對外界的疑問﹐三星的高管們說﹐運營利潤下降是三星向網絡運營商出售電信設備的這一規模相 對較小的業務所致﹐他們還表示﹐智能手機的利潤率出現了增長。
根據湯森路透(Thomson Reuters)的StreetEvents對此次電話會議的記錄﹐在被要求估計該部門現階段的運營利潤時﹐電信部門的高管金漢中(Kim Han-joong)說﹐他預計本季度的運營利潤率將與第二季度持平。
不過﹐從絕對意義上講﹐在今年餘下的時間里﹐預計智能手機將繼續為三星的利潤增長提供動力。
券商Hanmag Securities的分析師Y.B. Oh說﹐據他預計﹐由於三星旗艦智能手機Galaxy S III從5月發佈之後銷售量增長一直在加速﹐電信部門當前季度的運營利潤將達到4.8萬億韓圓﹐高於剛剛結束的這個季度的4.2萬億韓圓。
分析人士預計﹐三星當前季度的整體運營利潤將超過7萬億韓圓﹐或將助三星創下另一個季度淨利潤新高。
EVAN RAMSTAD
***
サムスン電子の連結売上高は前年同期比２１％増の４７．６兆ウォン（約３．２兆円）で、純利益は同４８％増の５．２兆ウォン（約３６００億円）。営業利益は同７９％増の６．７兆ウォン（約４６００億円）を記録し、２期連続で史上最高を更新した。
半導体や液晶パネルの売り上げは落ち込んだが、「ギャラクシー・シリーズ」で知られるスマートフォンなど通信機器が同７５％増の売り上げを記録し、実績を押し上げた。
***
美
國
目前依然是三星電子(Samsung Electronics Co.)和蘋果公司(Apple
Inc.)的最大市場﹐當這兩家公司本週因產品抄襲指控在美國對簿公堂之際﹐它們最新發佈的季度收益報告使人可以清楚地看到﹐官司勝敗對兩家公司的經濟利
益究竟會有多大的影響。
Associated Press
三星智能手機的發貨量一直高於蘋果。
與此同時﹐蘋果上週早些時候宣佈﹐它在這一季度實現利潤88億美元。儘管利潤同比增長了21%﹐但仍令分析師們感到失望。蘋果iPhone手機銷售情況不及預期。據該公司高管說﹐這一定程度上是因為顧客預計新一代iPhone將很快上市。
不過﹐蘋果的代理律師本週將在加州聖何塞(San Jose)的聯邦法庭上給出一種不同的解釋。蘋果的律師在上週提交給法院的文件中聲稱﹐三星通過侵犯蘋果的知識產權獲得了數十億美元的利潤﹐給蘋果造成了數億美元的損失。
除非能在最後一刻達成和解﹐否則蘋果與三星將對簿公堂。去年4月﹐蘋果就是在這家法院提起了對三星的第一樁訴訟﹐指控其非法抄襲iPhone的技術功能和設計﹐用於自己的旗艦智能手機產品Galaxy S。
三星則在另外五個國家對蘋果提出反訴﹐雙方之間的大戰由此擴展至十多個國家﹐涉及數十樁案子。
Bloomberg News
三星和蘋果本週將因產品抄襲指控在美國對簿公堂。圖為三星旗艦智能手機Galaxy S III。
與此同時﹐蘋果的手機業務則增長緩慢﹐不過其手機業務的利潤率依然是行業內最高的。
三 星從去年年初開始停止公佈其手機發貨量的數據。但在三星上週五發佈季度業績後﹐市場分析人士估計﹐三星第二季度的智能手機發貨量在5,000萬部以上﹐幾 乎得到蘋果在本季度公佈的iPhone發貨量2,600萬部的兩倍。分析人士還估計﹐三星智能手機的發貨量超過了其第二季度全部手機發貨量9,500萬部 的一半。
蘋果在提交給法庭的文件中要求三星賠償25.25億美元的損失﹐大約相當於三星電信部門在推出受到蘋果指責剽竊其設計的第一款手機後的兩年里獲得的運營利潤（170億美元）的15%﹐大約相當於三星這一期間全部運營利潤的8%。
三星也在上週向法庭提交了文件﹐公司的多名律師在文件中稱蘋果的損害賠償請求相當荒謬。
三星在訴訟摘要中寫道﹐蘋果指控三星使用與蘋果借鑒自其他競爭者的完全相同的公共領域的設計理念﹐此舉意在把三星趕出市場﹔蘋果在三星開始研發手機技術差不多20年後才賣出第一部iPhone﹐若非得益於三星的專利技術﹐蘋果一部手機也賣不出去。
在 週五舉行的三星管理人員與投資分析師的電話會議上﹐三星沒有對蘋果的訴訟做進一步評論﹐投資分析師也沒有提起此事。相反﹐他們關注的是三星電信部門運營利 潤率的小幅下降──從第一季度的18.4%下降到17.4%。面對外界的疑問﹐三星的高管們說﹐運營利潤下降是三星向網絡運營商出售電信設備的這一規模相 對較小的業務所致﹐他們還表示﹐智能手機的利潤率出現了增長。
根據湯森路透(Thomson Reuters)的StreetEvents對此次電話會議的記錄﹐在被要求估計該部門現階段的運營利潤時﹐電信部門的高管金漢中(Kim Han-joong)說﹐他預計本季度的運營利潤率將與第二季度持平。
不過﹐從絕對意義上講﹐在今年餘下的時間里﹐預計智能手機將繼續為三星的利潤增長提供動力。
券商Hanmag Securities的分析師Y.B. Oh說﹐據他預計﹐由於三星旗艦智能手機Galaxy S III從5月發佈之後銷售量增長一直在加速﹐電信部門當前季度的運營利潤將達到4.8萬億韓圓﹐高於剛剛結束的這個季度的4.2萬億韓圓。
分析人士預計﹐三星當前季度的整體運營利潤將超過7萬億韓圓﹐或將助三星創下另一個季度淨利潤新高。
EVAN RAMSTAD
***
Samsung Gets Boost From Smartphones
Strong
sales of high-end smartphones likely helped Samsung Electronics post a
fresh record quarterly operating profit in the second quarter.
HTC's Profit Falls 58%
HTC's Profit Falls 58%
Taiwanese
handset maker HTC said its unaudited second-quarter net profit fell 58%
to $247 million due to intense competition and a slowing global
economy.
Apple Gets Sales of Samsung Tablet Blocked in U.S.
Money Box: The ruling is "good news for people who hate competitive markets."
New Samsung CEO to Have Less Clout
Samsung
Electronics named Kwon Oh-hyun as its new CEO and redefined the
position to create more separation between consumer and component
businesses.
Samsung 考驗TSMC
Chip shaker: TSMC, Samsung to flex foundry muscle
TAIPEI, June 4 |
(Reuters) - Morris Chang, the father of
Taiwan's chip sector, once shrugged off Samsung Electronics'
entry into the foundry business - making private-label
semiconductors under contract for others. Now, he calls the
South Korean group the industry's "700-pound gorilla" with
formidable financial firepower.Samsung's rise highlights the rapid changes in one of Asia's top industries - where speed, creativity and deep pockets count in a race to make chips smaller, but smarter, to keep up with a consumer shift from computers to mobile gadgets such as Apple Inc's iPhone and iPad.
While U.S. firm Intel remains the dominant player, with as much as a two-year lead in process technology, the chip industry is going through its biggest shakeout in a decade, and the less well-known contract makers, or foundries, are set to emerge strongest.
Once-dominant Japanese firms have been battered by rising costs and the investment clout of Samsung and Chang's Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) .
The Japanese have the technology, but the likes of Elpida Memory, a maker of DRAM memory chips for computers, and Renesas Electronics Corp, the world's leading maker of microcontroller chips for automobiles, just don't have the money to plough into the constant plant and technology upgrades.
"As technology moves forward, companies simply can't afford to individually build advanced fabs. The foundry model of aggregation is very good for addressing the cost issue," said Len Jelinek, director and chief analyst of semiconductor manufacturing at research company IHS iSuppli.
While the word conjures up images of red-hot steel and pounding metal, a chip industry "foundry" is a company that makes chips for others in large, modern and ultra-clean plants, or fabs, that cost billions of dollars to build.
IHS predicts revenue from the foundry business will jump to $42 billion by 2015 from around $30 billion this year, pushing up its share of the total chip industry to 10.8 percent from 9.1 percent. Foundries will account for almost a quarter of total chip capacity by 2015, up from a fifth currently.
The world's top foundries are Taiwanese: TSMC and United Microelectronics (UMC) .
TSMC, founded by Chang in 1987, had revenue last year of $14.5 billion and a 49 percent market share, about four times the size of UMC, according to industry researcher Gartner. Then come GlobalFoundries, the former manufacturing arm of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), which is backed by the Abu Dhabi sovereign fund and had revenue last year of $3.58 billion, China's SMIC and Israel's Towerjazz.
The foundries' workload is dictated by rapid technological change as consumer hunger for mobile devices means chips must be smaller and lighter yet do more and use less power. This means a bigger focus on logic or system chips, which make such devices work.
"For the first time in semiconductor history, the most leading-edge technology is not being driven by computers, but now mobile processors need it, too," said Samuel Tuan Wang, chief analyst for semiconductor manufacturing at Gartner.
SHRINKING CHIPS
The key for foundries is to perfect that technology, and shrink the space between the transistors on a chip that make it work, so more of them can be fitted on. Currently, the thinnest TSMC and other top makers are able to produce at is the 28 nanometre (nm) level - meaning the gap between the transistors is several thousand times thinner than a human hair, and tens of millions of transistors can fit on the head of a pin.
Intel's latest Ivy Bridge chips are produced at the 22nm level. Both TSMC and Samsung are working on 20nm technology, but this has so far proved unstable. A 28nm fab costs around $5 billion.
Samsung, which has a near-50 percent share of the memory chip market, is converting lines to non-memory chips to boost production of mobile processors used in Apple products and its own mobile devices such as the Galaxy smartphone and Note tablet-phone. In non-memory, it competes with Intel, Qualcomm , Broadcomm and specialist chip designers such as ARM.
Samsung's foundry business, ranked 9th globally with a 1.6 percent market share, is set to grow as it pushes into these logic chips. The firm is one of very few with the money and capacity to seriously challenge TSMC in advanced technologies. It already has foundry clients such as Qualcomm, and increased capacity could see it win more clients such as Texas Instruments and Nvidia away from TSMC - which is itself struggling to keep up with demand for chips in 28nm.
In January-March, non-memory chips accounted for nearly 40 percent of Samsung's total semiconductor revenue, and the group's investment in non-memory chips is expected to overtake memory chips for the first time this year.
"In future, Samsung will take a bite out of the orders that foundries get," said Clark Tseng, senior manager of market analysis at chip industry association SEMI, who sees TSMC and Samsung dominating the top-tier foundry business, with UMC and GlobalFoundries forming a second-tier and the rest trailing.
TECHNOLOGY HANDOVER?
But Samsung does have an Achilles heel: it competes in some product areas such as mobile phones with potential foundry clients, raising the question of whether firms would feel comfortable handing over their technology to a rival.
Its recent dispute with Apple over mobile patents while at the same time being a supplier of chips to Apple shows the sensitivity and complexity of such arrangements.
And the smaller foundries aren't giving up just yet.
UMC has broken ground on an $8 billion expansion of a plant in Taiwan, and U.S.-based GlobalFoundries, with its Middle East backing, has been linked with a bid for Elpida. SMIC, too, has big backers - the Chinese government - keen to develop high-value-added industries in a country better known for low-margin assembly work.
Now in his 80s and showing no signs of stepping down from an industry he created, TSMC's Chang is up for the challenge.
"I'm not afraid," he told a recent youth gathering in Taipei. "If I were, I wouldn't be doing this."
Samsung Seeks Outside Talent
Samsung
has long shunned outside help in favor of developing devices on its
own. But the smartphone industry's shift in emphasis from hardware to
software is forcing the Korean manufacturer to look for acquisitions and
foreign engineers.
Samsung Unveils Challenger to iPhone
Samsung
introduced a faster, larger version of its flagship smartphone, aimed
at sustaining its growth in advanced cellphones and challenge Apple's
iPhone dominance.
|
小編在現場試玩了這部機皇真身半小時左右，
現在最後就為大家送上自己對於此機的一些感受吧。 說實在，今次Samsung 推出 ...
閱讀所有與此主題相關的文章 »
Unwire
南韓在倫敦推出新一代智慧手機
鉅亨網
南韓「三星電子」，在英國倫敦推出新一代智慧手機「Galaxy S III」，月底首先在歐洲上市，隨後在其他國家發售。 據南韓媒體今天報導，三星電子在倫敦厄爾斯考特展覽中心，
舉行了新款手機發佈會，
有世界各國的資訊通信行業有關負責人和新聞工作者，
近兩千人參加。
閱讀所有與此主題相關的文章 »
三星Galaxy SIII 今晨倫敦曝光旗下首部四核機
鉅亨網
韓國三星電子(005930-KR) 於香港時間今(3) 日凌晨2 時，在倫敦公布最新旗艦Android 智能手機「Galaxy SIII」。隨著三星成為全球手機市場一哥，
外界都關注今次產品發布會否帶來驚喜，
有關新手機的傳言和疑似機身照片，更網上瘋傳。 香港《文匯報》綜合外電消息，雖然三星在 ...
閱讀所有與此主題相關的文章 »
倫敦直擊！三星：S3不只四核心，要靠創新應用拚第一
數位時代
正當外界把目光放在四核心處理器時，三星GALAXY S III則是聚焦人性化使用介面、社群分享等應用，
台灣三星電子行動通訊部總經理杜偉昱強調，
三星要把在硬體製造的優勢，借重（leverage）
到軟體應用上，拉開與競爭對手之間的距離，
閱讀所有與此主題相關的文章 »
Samsung to launch next Galaxy phone at London event
Samsung has run an online teaser campaign to raise awareness of the launch
Samsung
will put the rumours and alleged leaks about its next flagship
smartphone to rest when it unveils the handset in London later on
Thursday.
More than 20 million copies of the existing Galaxy S2 have been sold since its launch in April 2011.Analysts say its success helped Samsung overtake Nokia to become the world's best-selling mobile phone maker.
Changes in screen size, form factor and a higher-resolution camera are among changes that may drive its appeal.
Battery life Samsung has been close lipped ahead of the event, refusing even to confirm the device's name - its website only states that its is "the next Galaxy".
It has, however, said the phone will not include a 3D display, but will be the first device to feature its new Exynos 4 quad-core chip.
It promised the Arm-based design would offer double the processing capability while using 20% less energy than the chip used in the S2. It can also record and playback video in 1080p high definition resolution.
But many company watchers believe the presentation will concentrate on what the device is like to use rather than raw statistics.
"To the normal consumer the chip is not important per se, but the experience it offers is," said Carolina Milanesi, research vice president at the tech analysis firm Gartner.
"So less battery use, better touch response and the ability to better handle multitasking to let more operations be carried out simultaneously will all be noted."
Smartphone shoppers can be very fickle. Blackberry-maker Research In Motion and HTC have both seen sales lag after misjudging the appeal of their high-end devices to consumers.
Analysts say the Galaxy S2 helped boosted Samsung's brand and increased sales of other devices
"There are only two big companies in the smartphone market making sizeable volumes of profit at the moment - Samsung and Apple," he said.
"Samsung is now a long way ahead of its Android-based rival HTC after the Taiwanese firm had misses with some of its launches.
"Samsung on the other hand has finally learned the lesson that software and making its devices desirable in themselves counts, rather than just having the best technology and specifications."
Special event The level of speculation surrounding the phone suggests Samsung's decision to hold a special event, rather than launch the handset at Barcelona's Mobile World Congress, is already paying off.
But that also increases the risk of a backlash if the upgrade is not seen as a major step forward.
"Events such as this are incredibly important as it gives the company a world stage to launch their product," said Stuart Miles, founder of the tech site Pocket-lint.
"I'm a great believer that trade shows are good for trade but not launches, as a company only has an hour until a rival's product comes along competing for attention.
"It's all about positioning and timing - if you don't get it right the fire isn't lit and the product won't carry forward."
Samsung will reveal details of the device at 7pm BST at London's Earls Court Exhibition Centre.
Samsung Places Bet With Logic Chips
BY EVAN RAMSTAD AND JUNG-AH LEE
SEOUL—Samsung Electronics Co.'s rapid ascent in smartphones got lots of attention last year. But the company is growing even faster in the market for chips inside the phones, springing into the most challenging and lucrative part of the semiconductor industry.The South Korean company long has been the world's second-largest chip company, after Intel Corp., using its manufacturing muscle to control nearly 50% of the market for memory chips that store data in devices. Samsung has been a smaller competitor in logic chips—the "brains" of computers and other digital devices.
But when Samsung releases its fourth-quarter earnings on Friday, it ...
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