#1 in '08: Battery charger promises faster charging for portables

The top product news story for 2008 in terms of page views is about TI's bq24150, a 3MHz, switch-mode battery charge management IC for portable electronics.

HB LED driver simplifies green lighting designs

Maxim's MAX16834 is designed to reduce the size, complexity, and cost of solid-state lighting designs, thus simplifying the implementation of green lighting tech.

Multiply your sampling rate with time-interleaved data converters

Interleaving multiple ADCs is usually performed with the intent to increase a converters effective sample rate. However, time-interleaving data converters is not an easy task, because even with perfectly linear components, gain/offset mismatches and timing errors can cause undesired spurs in the output spectrum.

Explore key issues about amplifiers.

Part 3 answers questions likes what is a closed loop buffer? What is a open loop gain, voltage feedback op amp? What is an amplifier's intercept point?

DRAM adopts better features

Samsung Electronics' 56nm DRAM is something to watch out for. Changes to the basic transistor design for both the cell access transistor in the memory array and the peripheral support transistors used to design the control logic are in the works.

Maximizing multi-vendor
compatibility

This article will determine what Consumer Electronic Control is and what is not, explain the key features of interests to consumers of home entertainment products, describe details of the physical interface, and address system level hardware and software considerations.

Know the basics of video transcoding for CE

Adapting media to play on different CE devices requires transcoding, adapting container formats, and adapting network protocols. This article addresses these functions and describes how they can be implemented using Texas Instrument's DaVinci family of processors.

Manage power supply systems

Power supply designers are using flexible supply monitoring, sequencing, and adjustment circuits to manage their systems. This article discusses why and how.

Reduce standby mode energy use

The number of electrical products used in private homes and offices is growing at an extremely fast pace. The problem with most of these products is that they consume considerable amounts of electrical power during standby.

Save battery life with ambient light sensors

Active optical sensors can dramatically increase the range and usefulness of ambient light sensors, which are now found in a wide range of display apps. But power management strategies are critical in order to reduce total consumption and preserve battery life.

Enabling next-generation
mobile TV handsets

Designers faced with making mobile TV a reality have a number of challenges in front of them, including battery life, reception, range, screen size, and picture quality.

#1 in '08: Hackers crack iPhone 2.0 code

Apple still got us captivated. The top news story for '08 in terms of page views is about hackers who claimed to have broken into the iPhone firmware upgrade.

• Sony rules uut further restructuring
• China plans 3G wireless in 3 flavors
• Consumer electronics on pause
• Smartphones drive mobile markets
• Taiwan consumer IC demand in China to drop
• Chip suppliers see strong demand from digital broadcasting
more headlines

Analog hype overcrowds market

Industry pundits proclaimed 2008 the year of analog. But the odds for analog foundries' survival aren't looking good they face an market downturn, price war and ears about IP theft in China.

Single-stream .11n chips enter Wi-Fi markets

Atheros Communications and other chipmakers drive .11n into mainstream markets with chips using a streamlined version of the spec.

WiMAX demands conformance

WiMAX, has become the poster child of the mobile Internet world but WiMAX devices, terminals and base stations require rigorous testing and conformance to tight specification standards, more so than those required for Wi-Fi.

Group notes key markets to revive IC industry

Hedging away from continued downturn reports, The Information Network has compiled a list of growth markets for 2009 that could buck the downturn trend.

Chip execs brace for gloomy '09

A recent global survey of semiconductor company executives conducted by KPMG LLP, found that executives anticipate a steep decline in profitability over the next 12 to 18 months.

iSuppli warns of inventory surplus in chip market

iSuppli warned the semiconductor market of a flood of excess inventory that could further depress sales in 2009 as equipment manufacturers across the high-tech industry severely slash component demand amid a downturn in end demand.

Intel: No job cuts despite market slump

A Wall Street analyst again reduced earnings estimates for Intel., citing continued deterioration in PC demand, but noted that Intel said it is not planning a meaningful headcount reduction.

PV materials market to hit $2.4B by 2011

NanoMarkets has released an updated analysis of the thin-film PV and organic PV materials markets. The new analysis and forecast projects revenues of $2.4 billion in 2011 that will grow to just under $7.5 billion in 2015.

Taiwan govt offers assistance to photovoltaics industry

Taiwan's MOEA will provide assistance to support the domestic production of low-iron glass, EVA), silver/aluminum paste, solder and other raw materials that are needed in the photovoltaic industry but not currently produced in Taiwan.

Alliance seeks funds to create Li-ion cell fab

The National Advanced Transportation Battery Cell Manufacture alliance is seeking $1 billion or more of U.S. government funding to create a fab for Li-ion cells.

India awaits WiMAX-ready notebooks

Intel Corp. is working with Indian service providers and device manufacturers to help bring WiMAX-ready notebooks and netbooks to the India market segment mid-2009.

TerreStar, Qualcomm collaborate on comms tech

TerreStar Networks and Qualcomm have agreed to develop integrated satellite-cellular communications technologies for conventional-sized mobile devices designed for government, public safety, enterprise and consumer users.