Eagerly awaiting info on Apple's A4 chip for the iPad and how its PA Semi buy fits in ...
The iPad is finally here and, in classic Apple fashion, the company announced the flashy details on the tablet device – the cool, sleek design, etc – but didn’t offer many details on the inner workings of the technology.
My specific interest is in the Apple-built “A4” chip, which the company pretty much glances over in its Web site statements on the iPad, except to boast that the A4 is so powerful and efficient that it allows for a 10 hour battery life.
Based here in NY and not graced with an invite to Apple’s San Francisco iPad event, I was not in the room when Steve Jobs revealed Apple’s “latest creation,” but from what I can see based on reports live from the introduction, not much was said on the A4.
It’s assumed that the A4 has come out of Apple’s April 2008 acquisition of PA Semi. That nearly two-year old buy gave Apple a fabless chip designer that specializes in low-power PowerPC microprocessor technology. The buy also caused a lot of trouble for Mark Papermaster, now Apple’s senior VP of devices hardware engineering. As you’ll recall Papermaster’s career move to Apple was fought by his former employer, IBM, which claimed it violated a non-compete agreement as Apple had bought PA Semi and could be readying a chip design unit based on PowerPC architecture. Papermaster was a veteran at IBM and had inside information on its PowerPC work, IBM argued.
At the time of acquisition, it was presumed that Apple would use the PA Semi technology in its popular iPhone line or perhaps to build chips for its Mac computers, ending the then 2-year-old relationship it had forged with Intel. It, of course, did not. And for the most part Apple hasn’t mentioned the PA Semi buy or its technology since its purchase. Now there’s this new undefined A4 and, without confirmation, industry speculation is that the silicon is based on knowledge and design acquired through PA Semi.
I’m eager to hear from Apple on the A4 but am not holding my breath. The company is one of the most closed mouth out there when it comes to its inside information. Meanwhile, the iPad is an exciting new device that could offer some serious competition to netbook makers. Priced as low as $499 and focused on e-mail, quick surfing, and entertainment options like watching videos, reading e-books, and listening to music, it does much of what netbooks pitch that they do to consumers and in the same price range. Yet, it’s sleeker, slimmer, touch-capable, and, frankly, just a lot cooler than most other laptop substitutes out today.
What are your thoughts on the iPad? Will it challenge netbooks, one of the PC segments major growth opportunities right now? What do you make of this A4? And will you be among the hordes of consumers that will inevitably wait on long lines to buy the iPad when it arrives at Apple stores in March? Share your thoughts below.
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