ACQUISITIONS Gettin’ Them Gratings
Holographic and diffraction gratings manufacturer Hyperfine has been acquired
by Zolo Technologies, who engage in dense wavelength division multiplexing
components. These companies have worked together previously, with the
former supplying gratings to the latter for their firstgen photonic offerings.
Many companies involved in the optical equipment market have initiated
actions to ensure they have ample supplies of gratings, as such are key
components for active photonic components.
DISPLAYS Higher Detail Delivery
A new monitor with increased detail is being debuted by IBM this week,
their T220. With a 22.2–inch screen able to tackle 9 million pixels,
the product comes with a display adapter that allows the unit to connect
to a number of computers, although the target is actually for the company’s
IntelliStation workstation user base. The T220 is being developed in New
York and Japan at IBM’s Research Labs and will be ready for purchase
before the close of this month.
HANDHELDS Sturdy Offering Includes Barcoding
The 2ndgen handheld from Symbol Technologies, based on the Pocket PC form
factor, is now available and features, in addition to its WLAN or WWAN
connectivity, barcode scanning capabilities. The new handheld, call the
PPT 2800, follows the company’s keyboard–enhanced PPT 8100 for
easier data entry. Features within the new offering include an Intel Strong
Arm SA 1100 processor that pumps at 206MHz, 32MB RAM, 32MB ROM, and an
enhanced 1/4 VGA display. The unit can withstand rain and dust, four foot
drops onto concrete, as it meets the IP54 protection standards. The company
won the Microsoft Embedded Developer of the Year Award and released their
first offering in 2000. More
info.
NOTEBOOKS NEC’s Illuminating Portable
Now available from NEC Computers is their new Versa Daylite. With an illuminated
reflective display and power via a 600MHz Crusoe processor, this ultra–portable
notebook was designed to work as well indoors as outdoors. When used within
a building, the unit’s display works as normal. However, outdoors
the illumination on the screen is lowered as natural light is reflected,
allowing users to save power. An included, lithium polymer battery supplements
a removable lithium ion battery, with 7.5 hours worth of use when the
notebook’s illumination is turned off. Even if you set the illumination
to maximum brightness, you still get four hours of operation. There’s
a 10.4–inch TFT display, an external USB CD–ROM drive, 128MB
RAm and a 20GB hard drive. The profile is 1.25 inches and the system weighs
in at 3.3 pounds. More product
details.
NOTEBOOKS Tough Portable Debuts
Under its Panasonic branding, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. has rolled–out
a new portable PC. Called the proNote Air FG, the system supports IEEE
802.11b wireless networking and offers a wireless touch–p;screen LCD
that operates within 50 meters of the unit. The system includes a 5GB
drive, 64MB RAM, and a 5GB hard disk drive. Included is 8MB of SDRAM and
a display panel that’s water resistant. Additionally, the unit is
rugged, being able to withstand drops of up to 120 centimeters... this
applies to both the PC base station and the handheld screen. The SVGA
resolution is 800x600 and the battery lasts for about five hours when
the backlight is turned off. One target market is law enforcement, wherein
the company already has some 60 percent of the market. More
details.
SEMICONDUCTORS New Fab Finds Home
A new fab is going to be built for around $2 billion by Intel in Hillsboro,
Oregon. Dubbed D1D, this will be the company’s second 300mm wafer
fab at this site and supports Intel’s march towards 300mm substrates
as a method of cutting costs. Construction should start next year with
completion expected by late 2003. Installation of 157 nanometer wavelength
lithography to get to a 0.07 micron processing level is expected at the
new fab, with a 0.10 micron capability probable as their starting point.
Smaller line geometries will be transitioned over time.
SEMICONDUCTORS Optical Transmission Set Gets Going
Popping from NurLogic Designs is their first standard product, a multichannel
physical–media–dependent (PMD) chip set designed for optical
transmission as they enter the supplier market for mixed–signal chip
sets that offer transmission speeds of 40Gbits/s and higher. Already specializing
in hard and soft macro cores for mixed–signal and interface functions,
the company intends to remain active within this environment and hopes
to achieve a 50:50 mix between standard products and IP cores within the
next couple of years. A bandwidth of 240Gbits/s is provided by the chip’s
48 channels, and modulators for VCSEL arrays are integrated into the set.
Photodetector amps for receive–side functions and VCSEL modulators
for transmission are incorporated into the array.
SEMICONDUCTORS Chip Investments Not Rosey
Capital investment for their semiconductor operations have been sharply
trimmed by Toshiba. Their planned expenditures for equipment and plant
spending has been dropped about 30 percent from earlier pronouncements
this year to around $805 million. Projections were originally based upon
a chip turnaround during the second half of this year when PC sales were
expected to rise from the ashes... now such positive inclinations are
in doubt. Toshiba is but the first of what analysts see as a parade of
announcements from other Japanese chip manufacturers all reducing their
investment spending.
SYSTEMS Sony Slashes Prices in Japan
According to Reuters’ news service, Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE)
has decided to cut the price of the PlayStation 2 in Japan. Effective
this Friday, June 28, the current $319 price tag will drop to $281,
or ¥35,000. The lower price is only applicable in the domestic market.
Overseas Sony subsidiaries will decide on retail prices for their local
markets.
