三星恐遭冷遇，苹果与台积强化A5合作

关于苹果公司与台积电拓展晶圆厂合作的流言正散布开来，这对三星电子来说可能是一次打击。

消息称苹果公司与台积电近期正在默默准备着开展晶圆厂方面的合作。之前就有报道称台积电将会代工生产苹果公司iPad 2所采用的A5双核处理器。

据称苹果公司的A5上使用了台积电的40纳米制程。另有消息称“苹果公司正与台积电就28纳米工艺展开合作”。

这对三星来说是一次挫折。三星正在为苹果公司的初代iPad代工生产A4处理器，同时也是iPhone所用处理器的生产商。现在还不清楚三星会不会为苹果公司生产A5处理器。

A4、A5以及iPhone所用处理器均由苹果公司自行设计，基于ARM的技术。

点击进入第二页：选择台积电有三方面考虑

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有消息称苹果选择台积电是处于三方面的考虑：1，三星在和iPhone、iPad竞争；2，台积电40纳米制程良率全球最高；3，台积电40纳米制程产能全球最高。

三星、摩托罗拉、RIM以及其它大量产商也在出售平板电脑。VLSI Research的一份新研究报告评论：“总体供货情况目前是良好的，但平板世界有源器件产能过剩的担忧”。

“这里部分受产量增长预测过度乐观的影响，特别是对苹果以外的平板厂商而言，新产品太多(我们查到超过200个SKU)。此外，虽然平板之战转向价格方面，很多公司发现自己难以与苹果公司竞争，后者在成本方面优势巨大。”报告指出，“虽然有些平板会在市场上获得成功，但也有很多不会。如果平板生产今年最终供大于求，晶圆厂也会因各自积极的资本扩张而受损失。”

但根据FBR的报告，“iPad 2的试生产速度超过预期，我们的联系人获悉2011年1季度iPad产量550万部，上一季度为510万部。更重要的是iPad 2的生产计划一开始就设为200万部，之前只有30万部。一些瓶颈(比如触摸面板的供货)的及时解决带来了三月产量的大幅增长。”至于2011年二季度，“iPad产量将为720万部，高于此前预测的700万部。更重要的是，二季度生产的几乎所有iPad都是第二代产品，比之前的试生产计划有了显著提升。”

报告指出：“我们的联系人之前预期2011年全年iPad产量将达到4,500万部，现在依然保持这样的预期，高于华尔街的估计。考虑到2011年上半年iPad产量1,300万，而下半年为3,200万，苹果公司似乎计划在今年下半年推动iPad 2销量大幅增长以达到年度目标。进入更低的价格点可能是达到下半年销量的必要手段”。

点击进入参考原文：Microsoft to pay Nokia $1 billion for support

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Apple, TSMC to expand foundry ties

Rumors are running rampant that Apple Inc. and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC) are expanding their foundry ties-a possible blow for Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.

With little or no fanfare, Apple and TSMC have recently entered into a foundry relationship, sources said. As reported, TSMC will make the A5 dual-core processor on a foundry basis for Apple's iPad 2. That can be read here and here.

Apple will use TSMC's 40-nm process for the A5, according to a source. "Apple will also work with TSMC on 28-nm" processes, according to a source.

This could be seen as a setback for Samsung. Samsung is making the A4 processor on a foundry basis for Apple's original iPad. Samsung is also making the processor for the iPhone. It's unclear if Samsung will make the A5 for Apple.

Apple itself designed the A4, A5 and processor for the iPhone. The processors are based on ARM's technology.

Apple, according to the source, will use TSMC for three reasons: 1. Samsung competes with the iPhone and iPad; 2. TSMC has the highest yielding 40-nm process in the foundry world; and 3. TSMC has the most 40-nm capacity.

Samsung, Motorola, RIM and a plethora of others are also selling tablet PCs. "Overall inventories are healthy at the moment, but there are concerns of component overbuild in tablet space," according to a new report from VLSI Research.

"This is driven in part by overly optimistic unit growth, especially for non-Apple tablets where there's a plethora of new devices (we're tracking more than 200 SKUs). Moreover, as the tablet war shifts into the pricing front, many companies will find it difficult to compete with Apple, which has a significant cost advantage over the competition," according to the report. "While some of these tables will likely gain traction in the market place, many others will not. If the tablet build up turns into a glut late in the year, foundries are likely to suffer, given their aggressive capital expansion plans."

Still, "iPad 2 production ramping faster than expected," according to a report from FBR. "Our contacts now see 1Q11 iPad production at 5.5 million units, up from 5.1 million units previously. Importantly, iPad 2 production is now set at about 2 million units, up from about 300,000 units previously, as some key bottlenecks (likely touch panel availability) were addressed in time to meaningfully ramp March production."

For 2Q11, "our contacts now see 7.2 million units of iPad production, up from our prior forecast of 7.0 million units. Importantly, almost all of the 2Q11 production is of iPad 2 devices, meaningfully ahead of the prior iPad 2 production ramp plans," according to the report.

"Our contacts expect 45 million iPads produced in 2011. Our contacts continue to expect 45 million iPad builds in calendar 2011, meaningfully ahead of the Street. When looking at the linearity of 1H11 (13 million units) and 2H11 (32 million units) iPad production, it seems Apple is planning on some very large iPad 2 sales volumes in 2H11 in order to achieve its annual target, with even cheaper price points likely necessary in order to achieve these 2H11 volumes," according to the report.