The Big Idea

Small Cells Shaking Up Cellular Nets

The relatively staid market for cellular base stations will see a disruption equivalent to the advent of the tablet computer: An emerging new wave of small-cell basestations sporting hybrid cellular/Wi-Fi radios are giving operators new ways to build out their networks.

Surviving the New Semiconductor Cycle

The chip industry still has a long life ahead of it, but the days of the “chip vendor” are surely numbered.

New Semi Model: Fabless and Designless

The relationship between little-known Chinese CPU vendor Ingenic Semiconductor and U.S.-based Velocity Micro, whose media tablets use Ingenic’s embedded processor, suggests an evolutionary tail that could end up wagging the big dogs of the semiconductor industry.

Survival Guide to the Mobile Patent Wars

It's an intellectual property jungle out there for mobile device developers. We provide a survival guide for navigating the crossfire among Apple, Microsoft, Oracle and Android partners.

From Chip Guy to Rocket Man

Jeff Greason had it made at Intel Corp. He was being groomed for senior management and making a pile of money. But he chucked it all to pursue his dream of building space ships that will again send humans to explore the solar system.

What Happens ‘When They Kill Someone?’

A critic questions whether commercial aerospace companies can build safe, reliable rockets and spacecraft. The consequences of a failure will be deadly, he warns.

Compal's Tsai: ‘We Have One or Two Years To Prepare for This Shift’

Leonard Tsai (shown), a key executive at Taiwan ODM Compal Electronics, is trying to navigate the unknown waters between today’s Wintel PCs and tomorrow’s ARM/Linux tablets. smartphones and other mobile gadgets.

Notebook Makers Shift Gears for Mobile Race

The direction Taiwan's notebook makers choose over the next 12 months will go a long way toward determining the look and feel of next-generation mobile systems.

Taiwan Nurtures the Next ARM

Meet Andes Technology Corp., Taiwan’s agile and ambitious answer to ARM Ltd. Andes is perhaps the best nurtured of an emerging crop of processor core companies sprouting like weeds in the cracks of science parks and university institutes in greater China. With a staff of 106, it’s putting down roots here and in China’s market but has aspirations to break into the U.S. and Europe.

Rapid Rise of China’s Fabless Industry

As many as 300 fabless companies have sprung up across China.