TI to shift from mobile SOCs to embedded market
updated 08:19 am EDT, Wed September 26, 2012
Texas Instruments sees future in embedded chip market, cars
Texas Instruments has indicated that it will refocus its business efforts around the embedded application processor market including the automotive market. To do this, it will shift from its current emphasis on developing its OMAP processors for smartphones and tablets, reports Reuters. According to TI, the embeded processor market offers the prospect of greater financial stability moving forward, despite its OMAP SOCs appearing in the high-profile, but low cost, Kindle Fire HD and Barnes & Noble Nook HD tablets.
“We believe that opportunity is less attractive as we go forward," said Greg Delagi, TI SVP for embedded processing. The chipmaker expressed its view to shareholders that although embedded processor market will see slower growth than the mobile devices segment in the short term, moving forward it would “generate a more stable, profitable long-term business.” However, investors responded nervously to the change in direction wiping 3 percent off the value of TI shares.
TI’s range of OMAP processors are in widespread use in the mobile devices segment, however, it has recently started to cede ground to Samsung and Qualcomm, in particular, in the higher end of the mobile devices market. Samsung’s Exynos processor design and fabrication process is moving forward at a rapid pace, while Qualcomm, as an ARM-licencee has been working hard on its own custom-designed ARMv7 compliant cores and has carved out a niche in several leading Android handsets including the LTE versions of the Samsung Galaxy S III and the HTC One X.
