Nvidia CEO and co-founder Jen-Hsun Huang's jeremiad against Intel heralds future melees with the chip giant over computer graphics technology. Behind the sound and fury lurks Moore's Law. Most observers agree that the graphics processing unit (GPU) is gaining on the central processing unit (CPU) as the single most important piece of silicon inside the PC. "When you start looking at a PC today, the (central) processor means less and less," according to Jim McGregor, an analyst at In-Stat. “The GPU is simply becoming a better way for PC makers to differentiate in a landscape dominated by Intel CPUs,” he said. The question is, who is going to be the largest provider of that differentiation and what form will it take? ………... "Nvidia faces serious challenges. One of their big customers (AMD) went out and acquired a competitor (ATI) and then (you have) Intel saying we're going into your territory." That has put Nvidia on edge. Intel, not surprisingly, is the biggest threat.

Taken from the article, “Nvidia does battle with Intell, Moore's Law,” CNET News.com, April 13, 2008

AMD's processor business has been in the dumps for well over a year. But a resumption of quad-core shipments and a reduction in its workforce, though painful, may signal a turnaround…….Partnerships may also be helping AMD in the mobile market. "They've been partnering with some of the most aggressive OEMs out there. That plays to their favor," said Jim McGregor, an analyst at In-Stat. "Companies like Acer and Toshiba have been extremely aggressive worldwide, especially in North America, at gaining market share," he said……"Plus the pullback in consumer and business spending. Q2 tends to be a little bit low in terms of revenues," McGregor warned, referring to factors that affect both Intel and AMD. "They're facing a little bit of headwind in terms of economic and spending conditions." And all of the positives cited above may happen slowly for AMD. "Things don't swing overnight. They take time," McGregor said.

Taken from the article, “Is the worst over for AMD?”, CNET News.com, April 8, 2008

A prediction: By 2012, we'll be downloading 40 percent of our music, say market researchers at In-Stat. That would be up from 10 percent last year worldwide and 6 percent in 2006, the firm says. Those numbers seem low, given the advantages of digital downloads. They're fast and convenient, and consumers can buy a favorite track instead of albums. But many people won't make the switch yet, saying digital still carries too much risk—that songs won't play on whatever device they want to use for listening. That's because the music studios demanded copy protections before they would begin selling digital downloads. Now those copy protection schemes, and how they make it hard to move music around, remain a major hurdle to digital music's growth, says In-Stat analyst Stephanie Ethier.

Taken from the article, “The Music Disk Isn’t Going Away Soon”, U.S. News & Word Report – Online, April 9, 2008

It's crunch time, yet again, for Sprint's troubled next-generation wireless network—and the unlikely collection of on-again, off-again partnerships the company needs to get the technology off the ground………On the plus side, Sprint is betting that its big-name backers will help quickly legitimize WiMax and create a giant market for high-speed mobile data services up to two years ahead of AT&T and Verizon. Those two companies are planning their own networks based on a competing standard called LTE, short for Long-Term Evolution. Such a head start could give Sprint a temporary edge over the two rivals that have been stealing its customers. "Sprint is realizing that if you want to be successful, you've got to make a big statement at launch, with lots of marketing that builds interest and excitement," says senior wireless analyst Daryl Schoolar at research firm In-Stat.

Taken from the article, “Can Sprint's WiMax Alliance Last?,” BusinessWeek, March 27, 2008

The iPhone is a monster. Apple will likely sell more than 10 million of the pricey gadgets this year, which combines a wireless phone, iPod and a mobile Web browser. Now, the Cupertino, Calif.-based computer maker is hoping many of those sales will come from businesses as it starts to pack business-friendly features into an update of the iPhone software due this June………….In-Stat Group principal analyst Bill Hughes says Apple's effort to roll business-friendly applications onto the iPhone might work someday, but right now "there are three or four devices out there today that could work with those applications today that are less expensive."

Taken from the article, “Can iPhone Beat BlackBerry?,” Forbes, March 7, 2008

Get ready, consumers: American broadcast television is undergoing a radical change that could render millions of TVs useless. That simple message isn't getting across to enough households, raising concern that whole swaths of American homes will see their TVs turn to snow next February. That's when Congress has said major stations must turn off the TV signals that have entertained us for most of a century and switch to modern, more efficient digital technology………Some homes will clearly face problems getting the new signals, agrees Gerry Kaufhold, a market analyst at In-Stat. But he thinks the transition will plow ahead largely on time. Deadlines may be extended in some markets or for some stations. But the stations themselves will almost all be ready. More important, after resisting the change for years, most broadcasters are now enthusiastic about the switch, Kaufhold says. For one, broadcasting in two formats costs the stations extra money. They also have spent billions of dollars on digital technology and want to fully exploit its power. The digital gear has eased moving local content—such as news, weather, and traffic—onto the Internet and cellphones. "Stations are making money off of those new services," Kaufhold says. The broadcast signal is no longer their only source of income.

Taken from the article, “Digital TV Switch Is a Signal Not Received,” U.S.News & World Report, March 5, 2008

For years, people in the wireless industry have been talking about the wireless wallet: using cell phones like credit cards. The big hang-up has been a lack of a standard technology for cell phones to use in communicating with soda machines, parking meters and the like. In a report filed last week, David Chamberlain, an analyst with In-Stat, a high-tech market research firm, said he's found widespread agreement among carriers and merchants on a tech standard. "Companies in several different sectors all ultimately want to deploy near-field communications, the key enabling technology," Chamberlain said. "Everybody is moving in the same direction. That wasn't true a year and a half ago."

Taken from the article, “Federal Signal's Sirens and Street Sweepers Getting Smarter,” The Chicago Tribune, February 4, 2008

This year's Macworld Expo didn't bring any big surprises like last year, when Apple CEO Steve Jobs wowed the audience with the iPhone…….Jobs, wearing a grin and his customary black turtleneck and jeans, saved the MacBook Air for last in his presentation.……..Just as Jobs did with the iPhone and the smart phone industry, the MacBook Air takes a product previously designed for the corporate business-suit crowd and makes it consumer-friendly. Until now, ultra-portable and ultra-mobile laptops "have been business-focused. They have not been as consumer-targeted as Apple," said Ian Lao, a senior analyst with In-Stat, a research firm.

Taken from the article, “Apple introduces slim notebook, online movie rental service,” San Francisco Chronicle, January 16, 2008

Today's puny sales of movie and TV downloads makes one wonder: Why are striking members of the Writers Guild of America so intent on getting a cut of Internet profits?............................About 30% of the people who have both high-speed Internet hook-ups and cable or satellite TV say they would consider scrapping their pay-TV service if they could get the shows they want online, according to a survey by research firm In-Stat. "We were surprised at the number -- we thought it would be about 5%," said In-Stat principal analyst Gerry Kaufhold.

Taken from the article, “Digital media won't be a sideshow in the future”, LA Times, November 19, 2007

Big Blue is getting a little greener.

IBM has invented a simple, inexpensive way to recycle defective silicon wafers and reuse them in its own factories and for solar-energy panels.........................The concept of wafer recycling isn't new, says In-Stat analyst Jim McGregor. Applied Materials, the world's biggest chip equipment maker, already operates a couple of silicon wafer recycling centers.
But most chipmakers are reluctant to give up old wafers.

"Could you send it to a wafer recycling plant? Yes, but you have IP (intellectual property) on there," McGregor said. "Big chipmakers, for example Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) INTC, would say that's not such a good idea."

Taken from the article, "IBM Unveils Recycle Plan For Silicon", CNNMoney.com, October 30, 2007

An international telecom standards body delivered some good news to Motorola Inc. and Intel Corp. on Friday by embracing WiMax broadband technology as acceptable for third-generation wireless mobile communications...................."The action has less practical impact on North America and other markets than Europe," said Allen Nogee, principal analyst with In-Stat, "but it does raise interesting issues from a marketing perspective."

"Sprint has been billing its new WiMax network as a fourth-generation wireless system," Nogee said, "but the ITU has now officially designated it as 3G, not 4G, which is what most of us thought it was anyway."

Taken from the article, "WiMax OKd by telecom alliance", The Chicago Tribune, October 20, 2007

One of the big complaints lodged against wireless phone companies is poor signal quality inside buildings, especially homes. Sprint Nextel Corp. is trying to overcome that obstacle with a device that boosts wireless signals indoors and directs the calls over the Internet............. Allen Nogee, principal analyst at Scottsdale, Ariz.-based research firm In-Stat, said so-called femtocell technology has been on the drawing boards of wireless carriers in the U.S. and Europe for years. He estimated demand for the devices will be slow, growing to only 21.5 million units a year by 2011. "It's a niche technology," Nogee said. But he added that such devices could become popular in densely populated areas where wireless signals are a problem and it's more expensive for carriers to build cell sites.

Taken from the article, "Sprint Nextel to Introduce the Airave," The Associated Press, September 17, 2007

“……to answer pent-up demand for untethered phones, a cell-phone carrier could differentiate its offerings by selling all of its handsets unlocked,” says David Chamberlain, an analyst with consultancy In-Stat. “It's an anomaly that the phones are tied to individual carriers," he says. "Can we change that business as usual? Maybe. But people who want that will fight for a very long time."

Taken from the article, “Why Apple Can’t Stop iPhone Hackers”, Business Week, August 28, 2007

Amp'd Mobile Inc. got a one-week reprieve Monday but still is expected to shut down its wireless phone service in the U.S. at the end of the month. Yet a rival service, Virgin Mobile USA, is going gangbusters…………David Chamberlain, analyst at research firm In-Stat, said Virgin not only developed a brand but also gave people what surveys showed they wanted — phone calls and some text messaging.

Taken from the article, “Amp'd closing shop even as rival Virgin Mobile thrives”, LA Times, 7/24/07

A new TV prototype capable of pausing live TV broadcasts without the use of a hard disk drive is about to debut...........Still, fundamental marketing issues remain for Pause TV, said Michelle Abraham, principal analyst at In-Stat. "Many U.S. consumers already have Pause TV functions in cable or satellite set tops integrated with PVR. Will consumers still want that pause function embedded in a TV? If so, at what cost?" Abraham said. "It may be hard to get consumers to understand what the Pause TV does, and why they need to pay extra $50."

From the article, "Pause TV is coming", EE Times, 7/11/07

Mobile payments and banking are now moving into the U.S. through some big names, but the speedy checkout system is slow to put in place...........Competing technologies are holding back phone payments, according to In-Stat analyst David Chamberlain. Everyone involved wants to know they won't be stranded with a system others aren't using. In addition to NFC, some companies are advocating the use of text messages or barcodes generated on the phone, Chamberlain said. The best thing Visa could do would be to convince one of its own competitors to also use NFC, he said.

From the Article "Wells Fargo, Visa test pay-by-phone in US", PC World, June 28, 2007

......a new wave of cheap Internet phone services is emerging with the promise of next-to-nothing pricing along with new simplicity. The new rivals rely almost entirely on Internet voice technology, but they differ in that the new emphasis is to offer such calls using existing phones, especially mobile phones........ Charles Gerlach, managing director of consulting at In-Stat, said the long-term future for many of these low-cost companies is cloudy because of the challenges they face and their limited resources. "I'm not sure there is a lot of growth there for them," Gerlach said. "With players like Skype or Yahoo Messenger Voice, they have a lot more to bring to the table and they have services and the ability to evolve."

From the Article, "Numbers are adding up for international callers, Internet services help to cut consumers' phone bills", The San Francisco Chronicle, June 21, 2007

Apple Inc.'s shares gained 3.8 per cent yesterday after the U.S. consumer-electronics giant disclosed its latest and greatest gadget will have more battery life than first believed when it unveiled the "magical" cellphone back in January……………..When it comes down to actually purchasing a cellphone, battery life doesn't have a major influence, according to Bill Hughes at Arizona-based market research firm In-Stat. He compared it to consumers who are worried about the price of gas, but don't end up buying cars that reflect that concern.

"Lots and lots of people from surveys take a look at what the talk time and standby time is, but then they buy the phone they want," Mr. Hughes said.

From the Article “Apple's iPhone frenzy finds new source of energy” , THE GLOBE AND MAIL, (June 19th, 2007)

“Google is still trying to figure out how to make money from YouTube, whose popularity far outstrips its revenue generation. According to market researcher In-Stat, advertising of all kinds on video-sharing networks will amount to just $337 million worldwide this year—a small fraction of the $37.8 billion TV advertising business in the U.S. alone. Even by 2011, In-Stat says, the figure will have risen to just $1.6 billion.”

From the Article “Google Takes YouTube Global”, BusinessWeek, (June 19th, 2007)

"As the digital TV services market continues to grow, service providers will search for competitive differentiators that set them apart in terms of features and overall consumer experience," said Michelle Abraham, principal analyst at In-Stat.

From the Article “M'soft extends IPTV software to PC and beyond”, EE Times, (June 18, 2007)

Clearwire has signed an agreement with two nationwide satellite-TV services that may raise the Kirkland company's profile and add customers to its cutting-edge wireless broadband Internet service................Daryl Schoolar, a senior analyst with the In-Stat research firm, said Clearwire will benefit from the additional marketing opportunities.

He said DirecTV and Echostar, which respectively have 16 million and 13.4 million subscribers, will be able to compete with cable operators and telecom operators that offer the triple play. "We continue to see trends with bundling," he said.

From the Article "Deal with satellite-TV giants signals more Clearwire growth", The Seattle Times (June 15, 2007)

Market research group In-Stat reported in its recent publication that portable connectivity applications are the primary growth driver for the global Wi-Fi chipset market……….. Dual-mode cellular/Wi-Fi handsets are pushing hard into the market in 2007, with handset vendors Nokia and HTC really leveraging Wi-Fi as an alternative high-speed broadband connectivity option," says Gemma Tedesco, In-Stat analyst. "Wi-Fi for voice is expected to pick up this year, with T-Mobile's nationwide FMC rollout in the US."

From the Article, “In-Stat: Portable connectivity spurs Wi-Fi chipset growth”, EE Times Asia, June 8, 2007