CES 2019, which calls itself the largest and most influential tech event in the world — “where the entire technology ecosystem gathers to conduct business, launch products, build brands and partner to solve some of today’s most pressing societal challenges” — gets underway today with a full day of conference sessions and media briefings before the millions of square feet of exhibit space opens on Tuesday, January 8. CTA, owner of the show, highlighted a number of key sessions and exhibit marketplaces that visitors to CES may want not want to miss and our team will cover this week. Continue reading CES Returns to Las Vegas This Week with Expanded Exhibits

CES 2019 keynotes will reflect the priorities of industry leaders and the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) with corporate presentations by IBM, LG, Verizon, AMD, a keynote policy talk and panel featuring Secretary of Transportation Elaine Choa and president and CEO of the National Safety Council Deborah Hersman, and a mobile and marketing focused keynote panel with AT&T, Adobe, National Geographic and Magic Leap. Topics range from artificial intelligence, display technology, smart products, telecom and transmission to core technology, the future of transportation, 5G, hyper-connectivity and consumer engagement. Continue reading CES 2019 Keynotes Reflect Priorities of Industry and Leaders

At CES 2019 next month, Innovation Award honoree zSpace will show a portable Windows PC laptop that is focused on “spatial content,” allowing users to interact with augmented reality and virtual reality content. Based in Sunnyvale, zSpace’s creators claim it is the first portable Windows PC that “breaks the screen barrier” between users and AR/VR, and tout its ability to foster creativity and collaboration in a flexible, immersive environment. It features patented 3D screen technology and lightweight glasses. Continue reading zSpace to Show Windows Laptop for AR/VR Viewing at CES

Amazon revealed last month that it had spent the previous few years building a chip for use in its worldwide data centers. It’s not alone; Apple and Google also seek to design and manufacture their own chips, as part of a cost-saving strategy. Intel, which thus far hasn’t had much competition, will feel the impact as its own customers undercut the company’s annual $412 billion in sales. Amazon’s massive need for chips means it will likely continue to buy from Intel, with which it will enjoy a better bargaining position. Continue reading Tech Companies Challenge Intel by Building Their Own Chips

CES 2019 in January will highlight discussions about what we can expect with 5G next year and beyond. Fifth-generation mobile communications brings faster speeds, lower latency and the ability to connect more devices, meaning it will not simply speed up mobile phones but power nascent digital technologies from VR and IoT to autonomous vehicles and smart cities. CES 2019 offers a Wednesday 5G summit, and the first 5G products will be sprinkled across the show floor. The ETCentric team will be in Las Vegas reporting on a number of companies in this space. Continue reading CES: Understanding the 5G Ecosystem in 2019 and Beyond

In a surprise announcement, Amazon revealed that it is making its own chips, dubbed Graviton, for its cloud computing division. Similarly, Google also recently stated its plans to create chips for artificial intelligence algorithms in its data center. Amazon’s chips are likewise targeting its data centers, where the company hopes to better integrate software and hardware, resulting in less expensive services for customers. Typically, companies like Amazon and Google would use AMD or Intel’s off-the-shelf chips. Continue reading Amazon Unveils Graviton, Its Own ARM Chips for Data Centers

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) debuted Zen 2 processor architecture, a follow-up to the Zen design introduced in March 2017, to be launched beginning in 2019. AMD chief executive Lisa Su said the Zen 2 doubles performance of the first Zen generation, which itself could process 52 percent more instructions per clock cycle than its previous generation. The company hopes its new processors will help it surpass or at least maintain parity with Intel processors. AMD is also relying on new chiplet design to maintain growth. Continue reading AMD Debuts Zen 2 Chip Architecture, Turns to Chiplet Design

Silicon Valley-based Ampere introduced two versions of its first ARM-based 64-bit server processor featuring its Ampere eMAG processors for data centers. Currently, Intel dominates this arena with 99 percent of the market using its x86-based processors. According to Ampere chief executive Renee James, a former Intel president, customers can order the chip — which is aimed at hyperscale cloud and edge computing, using ARMv8-A cores — from the company website. The Carlyle Group backs Ampere, which has 400 employees. Continue reading Ampere Takes On Intel With its ARM-Based Server Processor

Building a new chip manufacturing plant is expensive, usually costing between $10 billion and $15 billion. GlobalFoundries has now opted out of building a cutting edge fabrication plant for 7-nanometer chips, indicating it plans to focus its attention on older 12-nanometer and 14-nanometer factories, which would require less investment. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) said it would switch from GlobalFoundries to Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC) for its latest chips. With the GlobalFoundries move, only TSMC, Intel and Samsung are left to build the new 7-nanometer factories. Continue reading GlobalFoundries Will Not Build Factory for 7-Nanometer Chips

Apple’s latest 15-inch and 13-inch MacBook Pros feature improvements in processor speeds, RAM and internal storage, and allow the user to access Siri with voice commands. The new MacBook Pros also feature a much quieter keyboard. The 15-inch version, with a six-core processor, is estimated to be 70 percent faster than the previous model, and the amount of memory and storage is double the amount of the previous model. It also gave a seal of approval to Blackmagic’s eGPU peripheral, ideal for intensive graphics use. Continue reading Apple Targets Creatives With MacBook Pro Speed, Features

Facebook has used Intel CPUs for many of its artificial intelligence services, but the company is changing course to adapt to the pressing need to better filter live video content. At the Viva Technology industry conference in Paris, Facebook chief AI scientist Yann LeCun stated that the company plans to make its own chips for filtering video content, because more conventional methods suck up too much energy and compute power. Last month, Bloomberg reported that the company is building its own semiconductors. Continue reading Facebook to Develop Live Video Filtering Chips for Faster AI

Microsoft’s booming Azure business is now Amazon’s chief rival in the cloud. Since the company began reporting its metrics in October 2015, its growth has never dipped below 90 percent. In Microsoft’s latest fiscal Q3, it grew 93 percent, and in the preceding quarter it grew 98 percent. The company’s commercial version of its Office 365 productivity service also grew 42 percent this latest quarter. Amazon began renting cloud-based computing and storage 10 years ago. Meanwhile, Intel also reported quarterly profit increases, including a 45 percent jump in sales of data-center gear to cloud providers. Continue reading Microsoft and Intel Profits Buoyed by Growth in Cloud Services

Google, which created tensor processing units (TPUs) for its artificial intelligence systems some years ago, will now make those computer chips available to other companies via its cloud computing service. Google is currently focusing on computer vision technology, which allows computers to recognize objects; Lyft used these chips for its driverless car project. Amazon is also building its own AI chips for use with the Alexa-powered Echo devices to shave seconds off its response time and potentially increase sales. Continue reading Google Offers Its AI Chips to All Comers via Cloud Computing

Intel confirmed a report indicating that its microprocessor chips contain two major security flaws, which makes the vast majority of world computers vulnerable to hacking. Intel is working with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), ARM Holdings and other chipmakers and operating system providers to develop a comprehensive, industry-wide approach to combating the potential problems. The two major security flaws, dubbed Meltdown and Spectre, could let hackers access the entire memory contents of computers. Continue reading Flaws in Intel Chips Could Present Security Risk for Computers

Qualcomm just showcased Asustek Computer and HP laptops with mobile phone chips that allow their wireless connections to use battery power so sparingly that they can go for days between charges. That’s part of the chip titan’s strategy to break Intel’s dominance in the laptop market, where 90 percent ship with Intel chips. By using mobile chips, says Qualcomm, the company hopes to create a new kind of PC that represents a new category. Qualcomm aims to expand in this market through its purchase of NXP Semiconductors. Continue reading Qualcomm, Microsoft Debut Laptops Powered by Mobile Chips