A rather curious report has emerged from the Deutsche Bank technology conference in Las Vegas.
Texas Instruments CEO Richard Templeton told the gathering that he has “lost some interest” in seeing the company’s chips used in smartphones and tablets. Although it is rather unusual to see a tech CEO say is lost interest in design wins, Templeton makes an interesting point.
Templeton argues that the size and quality of opportunities in those wireless products have declined. The two main players in the market, Apple and Samsung, vertically integrating chips into their gear, so there doesn’t appear to be as much room for chipmakers like Texas Instruments. We are not sure Qualcomm and Nvidia would agree with his assessment, but still it is a valid point.
Although Templeton might not be as interested in design wins as one might expect, Texas Instruments announced a few high-profile design wins in recent weeks, the most significant of which was Amazon’s Kindle Fire range. However, until OMAP 5 chips arrive, TI simply won’t have competitive high-end chips to take on Qualcomm’s S4 line or Samsung’s Exynos 4. Skeptics might say that this explains Templeton’s sudden lack of interest in the hotly contested smartphone/tablet market.
Templeton told the crowd that Texas Instruments plans to expand into automotive and industrial markets.
More here.