OBJECTIVE ANALYSIS IN THE PRESS
The Objective Analysis team is in touch with the industry, our clients, and the press.
These few examples highlight some of the team’s press quotes concerning recent industry developments.
Hynix DRAM Power Outage May Yield Short Price Spike
(PC Magazine, 5/21/08)
According to analyst Jim Handy of Objective Analysis, Hynix's Wuxi China fab underwent a 15 hour and 20 minute blackout.
Power outage at Hynix's fab. Now all eyes on chip prices
(CNET News, 5/20/08)
A study by Jim Handy of Objective Analysis found that while NAND prices climbed after a March 2007 earthquake in Japan, they didn't also rise after a July earthquake.
STEC Sued for SSD Patent Infringement
(TMCnet,
According to Jim Handy, analyst at Objective Analysis, the royalties, as claimed by Seagate, would become like a tax on SSDs and potentially other flash.
Data Storage Seagate Claims SSD Maker Violates Patents
(Top Tech News,
Jim Handy, an industry analyst with Objective Analysis, said the suit is indeed mostly about competition.
Seagate Fires First SSD Legal Salvo
Handy wrote that it is "rare and very costly for such cases to be taken all the way to trial"
Seagate Drops Legal Bomb on SSD Memory Maker
The cost differential of flash drives to hard drives is 20-to-1, Jim Handy, an analyst with Objective Analysis, told the E-Commerce Times
Seagate's suit against STEC could change the storage game
(Computerworld
A Seagate victory in the suit, or a settlement, could result in the company winning cross-licensing agreements and collecting royalties not only from STEC but also from other SSD makers such as Samsung Electronics and Intel Corp., or see them facing similar lawsuits, according to Jim Handy, analyst at Objective Analysis.
Top Hard-Drive Maker Files Suit Against Rival
(
“Right now there’s a lot of excitement about the solid-state market, but not a lot of business,” said James Handy, an analyst with Objective Analysis.
Intel, STMicro Map Out Flash Venture's Path
(Wall Street Journal,
Samsung has the size and resources to cause Numonyx problems, said Jim Handy, an analyst at market-research firm Objective Analysis.
A New Memory Company
(MIT Technical Review,
Samsung is also developing phase-change memory. But Numonyx is in a good position to lead the industry in phase-change memory, says Jim Handy, an analyst at Objective Analysis.
Intel, STMicro Memory Spin-off Finally Official
(Internet News,
“When they were part of Intel, they had to share memory fabrication with CPU fabrication, which took the focus off making money with memory," said Jim Handy, director and chief analyst for Objective Analysis.
Intel, STMicroelectronics open doors to Numonyx
(InfoWorld,
Intel and STMicroelectronics will no longer duplicate manufacturing and design or research and development efforts, which should lead to savings, Handy said.
HP Keeps Computing Personal With Digital Storage First and Customizable PC Lineup
(FoxBusiness,
By 2013 the average home will require 9 TB storage capacity, of which 5 TB will be needed for commercial digital downloads of music, videos and photos.( Tom Coughlin and Jim Handy, "Digital Storage in Consumer Electronics 2008," January 2008)
Rumor mill indicates SSDs closely watched
(eChannelLine, 3/27/08)
Jim Handy: “Although Objective Analysis has faith that SSDs will eventually find widespread use in the PC, we dont expect this to occur until substantial benefits can be realized for a reasonable cost.”
Analyst: Returns, technical problems high with flash-based notebooks
(C-Net News.com,
Flash sells for around $3 a GB, about a 50 percent decline from the last quarter of last year, according to Jim Handy of Objective Analysis.
Micron/Nanya MOU – Qimonda's Bane Or Boon?
(Portable Design,
At Objective Analysis we believe that the opposite is more likely – that Nanya’s agreement with Micron may prove to bolster the Qimonda JV.
No white flag: Micron tries another makeover
(EE Times,
Jim Handy, an analyst with Objective Analysis, said in a recent report that the "new approach marries Qimonda's unique trench know-how with the stacked capacitors used by most other DRAM makers.
A flash memory notebook: The sounds of silence
(CNet.com
Prices rose a bit in 2007, but then dropped 50 percent from the fourth quarter of 2007 to the first quarter of 2008, says Jim Handy of Objective Analysis.
Getting Past the Hype - Synapse Instant-On Wireless Mesh Network Technology Really Works
(TMCnet, 3/10/08)
Tom Starnes, Processor Analyst for Objective Analysis, visited Synapse to experience the new product line first-hand. Tom said, "Synapse utilizes a scripting language that makes it easy for the non-professional programmer to pull together programs that will wirelessly monitor the environment and control equipment.”
Flash output ramps up at 65nm in
(ElectronicsTalk.com,
A 300mm fab usually gives about a 30% cost reduction over 200mm, according to Jim Handy, a Principal Analyst with Objective Analysis.
Bloodied Micron tries extreme (re)makeover
(EETimes,
Jim Handy, an analyst with Objective Analysis, said in a recent report that the "new approach marries Qimonda's unique trench know-how with the stacked capacitors used by most other DRAM makers.
Spansion ramps to 25k WPM at 300mm NOR fab
(
Jim Handy, a principal analyst with Objective Analysis, echoed in the statement that ramping production at SP1 enables MirrorBit products with a lower cost structure, boosting Spansion's market competitiveness.
Spansion Reaches Significant Milestone at Industry's First 300mm NOR Wafer Fab
(Earth Times,
A 300mm fab usually gives about a 30 percent cost reduction over 200mm, according to Jim Handy, a principal analyst with Objective Analysis.
Dell Forges Ahead on SSD Notebooks
(InternetNews.com,
Jim Handy of Objective Analysis told InternetNews.com that Dell doesn't seem to be dealing with a major obstacle ahead in its efforts to mix SSD drives into laptop configurations.
Solid state drives still 'far from practical'
(VUnet.com
Jim Handy, of Objective Analysis, believes that the chip-based drives may not see significant use in notebook computers for three to five years.
Moving to a
(eWeek,
Jim Handy, and analyst with Objective Analysis, said this is why EMC chose to make a big announcement around the SSDs as part of its product portfolio rather than simply integrate flash into its existing systems.
SHIFT: Are solid-state drives really better than hard disks?
(DVICE,
Semiconductor analyst Jim Handy of market research firm Objective Analysis says Mac OS X and Windows XP and
Cell Phone OEMs Want NOR/RAM Stack, says Objective Analysis
(Tekrati,
“NAND is making great headway in cell phone handsets through both cards and embedded NAND stacks, but the MCP (multichip package) is still largely a NOR/RAM product,” said Jim Handy, founder and principal analyst of Objective Analysis.
Intel doubles phase change memory
(Bit-Tech.net,
Jim Handy, an analyst at Objective Analysis, claims that “[mobile] handset manufacturers are excited about phase-change memory”
A Memory Breakthrough
(MIT Technology Review,
One of the features that makes phase-change so compelling as a flash alternative is that it has the same benefits as flash with faster speed, says Jim Handy, an analyst at Objective Analysis
ARM Achieves 10 Billion Processor Milestone
(International Business Times,
"ARM's success is a result of its processor architecture being licensed to nearly every semiconductor company in the world," said Tom Starnes of analyst firm Objective Analysis."
Freescale Unleashes Entry-Level ColdFire Core for Mass Market
(TMCnet,
"IPextreme seems to serve as a virtual shopping mall for Freescale cores," said Tom Starnes, processor analyst at Objective Analysis."
Microchip Extends PIC Microcontroller with PIC32
(ChannelTimes.com, 1/2/08)
Starnes, processor analyst at semiconductor market research firm Objective Analysis said, "The peripheral-compatible PIC32 family should bring comfort to Microchip's customers, knowing that the headroom is available as their applications evolve."
Two New Reports From Coughlin Associates To Be Released At The 2008 Storage Visions Conference
(Eworldwire 1/2/08)
“More than 650 Exabytes of consumer storage could be shipped annually by that time,” added Jim Handy, principal of Objective Analysis.
Hybrid hard drives Stalled by Software, firm says
(EDN, 12/24/07)
Jim Handy said, “Unfortunately, the hardware is ready but the software support is weak. Hybrid drives will have to wait for better support to justify their small additional cost.”
HHDs stalled by software, says Objective Analysis
(eChannelLine, 12/20/07)
"Once all the kinks are ironed out, hybrid drives and their counterparts should sweep the market," said Jim Handy, the report’s author.
Software snafu slows hybrid hard drives
(EETimes, 12/19/07)
"Microsoft has a good concept with its ReadyDrive software, but they can't devote attention to it because they have diverted energy to fixing Vista bugs," said Jim Handy, principal of Objective Analysis.
Intel Rolls Out New Hafnium-Based Transistor Technology
(Design News,
“Conventional technology has reached the point where transistors have gotten so small, they leak more current than they consume in an active state,” notes Tom Starnes, a semiconductor market analyst for Objective Analysis.
Micron marks entry into solid state drive market with 3 form factors
(Electronic News, 11/29/07)
Los Gatos, Calif.-based market research firm Objective Analysis believe solid-state drives could save the NAND flash market next year.
DRAM prices may hit speed bump on way down
(The Washington Post, 11/29/07)
“Today's DRAM price drop is not about to end - it has just begun,” said Jim Handy, memories analyst at Objective Analysis.
Long-term trouble for DRAM
(eChannelLine, 11/29/07)
Jim Handy: ‘Ten years from now we will look at PC and server memory architectures from 1981 to 2007 and say: “Did we really do that?’”
Memory maker looks to new tech for turnaround
(CNet News.com, 11/28/07)
"Once you get down to a certain cell size, you have real problems with conventional flash," said Jim Handy, president of analysis firm Objective Analysis.
Intel Rolls Out New Hafnium-Based Transistor Technology
(Design News, 11/19/07)
"Conventional technology has reached the point where transistors have gotten so small, they leak more current than they consume in an active state," notes Tom Starnes, a semiconductor market analyst for Objective Analysis
Spansion Unveils Plans for SONOS-based MirrorBit ORNAND Family
(CNN Money 11/15/07)
ONFi Breaks Speed Barrier for NAND Flash
(BusinessWire 11/14/07)
“ONFi members have shown that they have the vision to bring the NAND interface into the world of serious computing,” said Jim Handy, director of market research firm Objective Analysis.
Microchip Makes Jump to 32 Bits
(Design News, 11/12/07)
"Current Microchip customers who already like their set of peripherals will think this is great," says Tom Starnes, a semiconductor market analyst for Objective Analysis
NAND is the fastest growing market in the history of semiconductors, says Objective Analysis
(Tekrati, 11/12/07)
Microchip Technology Unveils New PIC32 Family
(Hulig, 11/7/07)
"Microchip brings a new perspective to the ever-growing 32-bit microcontroller market, born of their tremendous success in the 8-bit market," said Tom Starnes, processor analyst at semiconductor market research firm Objective Analysis
Microchip Technology Extends PIC Microcontroller Line to 32 Bits With New PIC32 Family
(Electronic Design , 11/5/07)
"Microchip brings a new perspective to the ever-growing 32-bit microcontroller market, born of their tremendous success in the 8-bit market," said Tom Starnes, processor analyst at semiconductor market research firm Objective Analysis
Chandler's Microchip plans 32-bit production
(The Arizona Republic, 11/4/07)
Tom Starnes, an analyst with semiconductor research firm Objective Analysis, said, "Microchip brings a new perspective to the ever-growing 32-bit microcontroller market, based on their tremendous success in the 8-bit market."
Power couple reconciles
(EE Times, 9/28/07)
"You would think Freescale would be more open--after all, standards are what Power.org is supposed to be about," said Tom Starnes
World's first 300mm NOR fabrication plant opens
(Computerworld,
"Cell phone designs are moving from being exclusively NOR and DRAM or NAND and DRAM to being a mix of NOR, NAND and DRAM," explained Jim Handy, an analyst at Objective Analysis.
Spansion ramps first 300-mm NOR fab
(EETimes.com,
With SP1, Spansion will be able to reduce is production costs, said Jim Handy, principal analyst with Objective Analysis
NOR rivals' gambits fly in the face of flash capacity glut
(EETimes.com,
The dark horse is Samsung. The South Korean company is the leading supplier of DRAMs, SRAMs and NAND flash, and it has the potential to "steamroll everybody" in NOR if it is determined to do so, Handy said.
Samsung says it will cooperate in
(Austin American-Statesman,
Jim Handy, with Objective Analysis said the flash investigation may be an extension of other price-fixing cases. The Justice Department "is like a dog with a bone lately," Handy said
The 8-bit Microcontroller Is Still Kicking...
(EEcatalog.com, 9/09/07)
Flash vs. hard drives: The battle intensifies
(
In reality, NAND and HDD have stayed on nearly parallel paths of price per megabyte decreases over time. Furthermore, it appears that HDDs are poised to continue to follow a curve of price decreases roughly parallel to that of NAND for years to come.
Next-Generation Memory Faster, but Slow to Take Off
(Computerworld
Jim Handy, analyst with Objective Analysis in
EU Gives Thumbs-Up to Intel, STMicro Flash Memory Partnership
(TechNewsWorld
The combined firm does bring a hefty amount of intellectual property to bear on the flash memory market and could well move into other technologies, Objective Analysis Principal Analyst Jim Handy told the E-Commerce Times.
Flash memory replacement coming this year?
(C-Net News
Jim Handy of Objective Analysis noted that the Intel-ST joint venture is named Numonyx.
iPhones, iPods to Hog Flash Chip Market
(TechNewsWorld, 7/19/07)
The projections may be a bit high, said Jim Handy, a principal with Objective Analysis.
Industry Luminaries Proclaim Flash as “King of the Memory Jungle” at Flash Memory Summit 2007
(EARTHtimes, 7/17/07)
“The NAND memory market has grown faster than any technology in the history of semiconductors, exceeding $11 billion in 2006, only a decade after its introduction.” -- Jim Handy, Principal Analyst of Objective Analysis
DAC 2007 - Perceptions of Primacy in Pleasantville
(EDACafe.com 6/11/07)
Starnes lead off with a lengthy discussion of multi-core processors: "Pity the poor bastard who has to program the thing and make it work."
EDA is Multi-Core, EDA is Parallelism, EDA is Software
(edacentrum, 6/11/07)
"Multiple processors are here. Deal with it. You're going to have to work with the entire system design team." -Tom Starnes from Objective Analysis
EDA “software challenged,” Gary Smith says
(EE Times, 6/4/07)
Tom Starnes, analyst at Objective Analysis noted: “You've got to have a way to simulate the entire system and certainly all the processors and all the software in a timely fashion. One of the most difficult things to simulate is the dynamics of power.”
Samsung celebrates opening of new chip factory
(Austin American-Statesman 6/15/07)
Said analyst Jim Handy with Objective Analysis: “Video chips gobble up gobs and gobs of memory space”
A Cure For Memory Headaches: The iPhone
(Forbes 6/14/07)
Here's a quick calculation, courtesy of Jim Handy, an analyst with market researcher Objective Analysis. If Apple is buying between 400 million and 500 million 4 gigabit NAND flash memory chips from Samsung…
Samsung plant sets the stage for Austin's chip rebound
(Austin American-Statesman 6/10/07)
“Samsung is the slow-moving steamroller,” Jim Handy of Objective Analysis said. “It is perfectly clear where they are going, but your only chance is to get out of the way.”
Tough Times Ahead For NOR Flash Makers
(Subscription: Dow Jones Newswires 5/29/07)
Jim Handy, an analyst at U.S.-based market research firm Objective Analysis said: “Few companies other than Intel, Spansion, STMicroelectronics and Samsung are shrinking processes to 90-nanometers and further, so their costs will be too high to compete.”
La mémoire Flash NAND, nouvel eldorado du semiconducteur
(l’Expansion, 5/25/07)
Ce composant enregistre la plus forte croissance de l'histoire du semiconducteur. Pour l'avoir ignorée, Intel et STMicro en sont réduits à associer leurs activités Flash basées sur une autre technologie. Décodage de ce marché explosif avec Jim Handy, du cabinet Objective Analysis.
Intel-STMicro deal may change fortunes of beaten down NOR flash market
(MarketWatch, 5/24/07)
If successful, Spansion is likely to be the first NOR maker to return to profitability, distancing themselves from the combined Intel-STMicro company, according to Jim Handy, analyst at Objective Analysis, a semiconductor researcher.
Intel gets what it deserves in NOR deal, analyst says
(EE Times, 5/23/07)
Even though Intel had larger revenues, ST managed to pocket 8 percent more than Intel in stock and cash compensation in the deal, according to a recent research note from Objective Analysis.
Samsung, Apple NAND rumor good sign for memory market, firm says
(Electronic News, 5/3/07)
Market research firm Objective Analysis said in a report Monday that the level of flash consumption from Apple’s rumored request would make 50 million to 60 million 4-Gbyte iPods... so the rumored request is “reasonable,” Objective Analysis’ Jim Handy said.
Memory makers: Predicting future investments in a commodity world
(WaferNews, 5/3/07)
Jim Handy at Objective Analysis agreed, noting that vendors compete on price in the commodity market and do everything they can to reduce their cost structure – “it's like an obsession,” he said.
Power To The People: Power.org Grows with Major Players
(Chip Design, May 2007)
According to analyst Tom Starnes, Power.org now effectively functions as "the world's strategic marketing organization for Power"
Starnes joins Objective Analysis
(EE Times 4/24/07)
Embedded-processor guru Tom Starnes has joined Objective Analysis, a semiconductor market research firm, as director of processors.
Intel rolls 128M phase-change memory
(EE Times 4/23/07)
“It’s too early to tell which memory will succeed flash,” said Jim Handy, principal flash analyst at Objective Analysis…
Semico, spin-off don't see eye to eye on chip growth
(EE Times, 4/16/07)
“The first quarter of 2007 was not as dire for the semiconductor industry as some have suggested,” said Dave Cavanaugh…
IC industry revenue to hit $316B in 2008, forecasts analyst
(EETimes Asia 4/12/07)
“The first quarter of 2007 was not as dire for the semiconductor industry as some have suggested,” said Dave Cavanaugh, Objective Analysis’ director of manufacturing.
IC Revenue to Hit $316B in 2008, Says Analyst
(Circuits Assembly 4/12/07)
Strong end market growth and stabilizing average selling prices will drive semiconductor industry revenue to $316 billion in 2008, an increase of nearly 18% from projected 2007 sales, according to Objective Analysis.
Samsung Expects Worst Earnings in 4 Years
(Korea Times, South Korea – 4/11/07)
“The first quarter of 2007 was not as dire for the semiconductor industry as some suggested,” said a report from market research firm Objective Analysis.
Consumer spending to drive semi demand up 18% in 2008
(EDN 4/11/07)
Dave Cavanaugh, director of manufacturing research for the firm said in a statement, “...by the end of 2007 we expect revenues to grow to $268 billion representing a 6.3 percent increase over a healthy 2006.”
Analyst forecasts 18% chip sales growth in '08
(Electronics Supply & Manufacturing 04/11/07)
“The first quarter of 2007 was not as dire for the semiconductor industry as some have suggested,” said Dave Cavanaugh.
Analyst forecasts 18% chip sales growth in '08
(EETimes 4/10/07)
Dave Cavanaugh, Objective Analysis’ director of manufacturing, said in a statement. “Recent gains in new orders and low inventories of end-market electronics have already improved the pace of a slow-starting quarter.”
Cramming in ever more content
(Australian IT - 3/27/07)
Jim Handy of Objective Analysis predicts that flash-based technologies will have eliminated CD-R as a backup medium by 2008, and will have a similar effect on DVD by 2010.
Hynix-SanDisk: what it means
(EETimes 3/21/07)
Objective Analysis’ Jim Handy issued a point-by-point analysis of the deal, showing what it will mean to various companies in the memory supply chain. Here's his view:...
3-D could stack deck for IC makers in fight to tame interconnect
(EE Times 2/19/07)
Several 3-D packaging and product startups, including Cubic Wafer, Tezzaron, Ziptronix and ZyCube, have emerged and are sampling products, but those offerings are “nowhere near the mainstream,” said Jim Handy, an analyst with market research firm Objective Analysis
Analysts have mixed outlook for Micron stock
(Idaho Business Review 2/12/07)
“The competitive strength of Micron is managing those cost reductions better than their competition.” Jim Handy of Objective Analysis said.
Flash memory makers heading for tough times
(CNET News.com, 1/31/07)
Jim Handy now at Objective Analysis that “in aggregate, the entire flash market has had zero profit.”
Flash swamps hard drives in consumer market
(ITWire, 1/7/07)
“There will always be a hard disk drive in the PC,” Handy said. “Flash will not take that over, but it has a chance of getting past all the other removable media.”
Analysts Criticize, Debate Hybrid DVD Plans
(PC Magazine, 1/6/07)
“Jim Handy, chief analyst at Objective Analysis, said that he could only see a high-capacity flash drive, such as the one recently announced by SanDisk, being used in ruggedized applications like a jet fighter, where both pilot and drive are subject to the kind of stresses that ‘rattle your teeth,’ he said.”
SanDisk rolls out flash hard drives for laptops
(CNET News.com, 1/4/07)
“There are certain applications where it can be used, but I just don't see it for business where the most violent thing they (users) will encounter is a cab ride in New York,” said Handy.
Chipmakers see strong end to the year Analysts say 2007 prices should stabilize, but worldwide supply is expected to rise
(San Francisco Chronicle, 1/3/07)
“Our best guess is that sometime in 2008 (memory) prices come down perhaps by half,” Handy said.
Hynix Unveils World's Fastest DRAM Chip
(TechNewsWorld 12/18/06)
“Hynix is sometimes not all that highly regarded as a technology leader,” Objective Analysis Director Jim Handy told TechNewsWorld. “Getting to 1 GB proves they’re no slouch in the R&D department.”
Simple products boost Microchip's sales, profits
(The Arizona Republic, 12/20/06)
"The company has done phenomenally well," said Tom Starnes an independent semiconductor industry analyst in Austin, Texas. "To make that kind of gains against competitors such as Intel and Motorola (now Freescale) is incredible."
Water Cooler: Comings and Goings
(EE Times, 11/22/06)
Jim Handy, flash analyst at Semico, left to form a new research firm, dubbed Objective Analysis.