Spansion Recognized as Marketshare Leader in Embedded Solutions

Posted on July 23, 2012 by Glenda Dorchak

In my first couple of months at Spansion, I’ve had the opportunity to visit and interact with several customers who are pioneering significant developments in embedded applications – including industrial design and UI interface innovations that will drive the adoption of new solutions in the market.It’s clear to me that the embedded market is strong and growing at a pace beyond the more commodity-based mobile handset and smartphone markets. What’s more interesting is that the diverse marketplace for embedded applications has different requirements – higher performance, longevity, and quality – for Flash than commodity mobile phone. So, it’s no surprise that Spansion, with its primary focus on servicing the embedded market, has recently been recognized as the embedded market’s leading NOR supplier.

IHS iSuppli recently released their NOR embedded tear down analysis report that was compiled over three quarters. Based on a sample of 55 embedded products dissected, Spansion led all NOR suppliers in terms of design wins. Spansion accounted for more than one-third of the NOR chips in the torn-down devices.

The report highlights a few key growth segments for NOR: tablets, automotive, industrial and smart grid. The analysis showed that only Spansion NOR was used in head units in vehicles from Ford and GM. In the emerging smart grid industrial segment, all of the NOR flash in hardware made by Sweden’s ABB Group is from Spansion. According to the report, U.S. based Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories utilize Spansion NOR parts as well.

iSuppli Corporation is one of the leading market research firms focused on the electronics value chain. iSuppli’s team of market research analysts monitor the status of the electronics value chain and continuously update a score of self-consistent databases that track electronics industry trends and performance.

Spansion is well-positioned to continue be the leader in the embedded products market. The IHS iSuppli report validates our efforts and commitment to the market and we have all the ingredients for continued strong, strategic growth—high-performance, high-quality, innovative technology; talented and dedicated employees; and a world-class commitment to customer service.

Read the following to learn more about the tear down analysis and subsequent articles.

IHS iSuppli NOR Flash Makers Find New Growth Areas to Compensate for Slowing Sales in Cellphones, Teardown Results Reveal Press Release

NOR Flash makers balance cellphone slowdown with new design wins – Solid State Technology

The Bits Behind In-Vehicle Infotainment

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Shinsuke Okada

In-vehicle infotainment (IVI) systems are undergoing a major revolution. New technologies are expanding IVI functions beyond the traditional navigation and audio systems to increase the “cool” factor and enable safer, smarter driving. Continue reading →

The Future of NOR Flash Memory

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Cliff Zitlaw

He’s coming… he’s coming soon… he’s coming to a conference center near you. It’s “Samson,” the 66-million-year-old dinosaur skeleton – one of the largest Tyrannosaurus Rex specimens. Samson will be at the ESC Silicon Valley 2011 Conference from May 3-5^th at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, CA. It turns out so will I.

I will be presenting “The Future of NOR Flash Memory” on Tuesday May 3^, from 4:30-5:30 p.m, part of the Memory in Embedded Design track. NOR flash memory has historically been an obvious choice for embedded non-volatile memory and my presentation will discuss how NOR Flash memory’s current trajectories and operational characteristics will enable usage in future applications.

NOR Flash memory has distinct advantages in embedded applications

NOR Flash memory currently provides the lowest initial latency, highest data integrity and fastest data throughput of all non-volatile memory products. I will discuss how these attributes can be best utilized in embedded applications including some exciting emerging segments, such as XiP over serial Flash memory (SPI), 3D gaming graphics and automotive instrumentation displays. I will also cover design considerations between various interface modes and their impact on performance throughput and required pin counts. Lastly, I will examine some future high speed interface enhancements, such as DDR.

Come Learn the Details

So on your way from meeting Samson, stop by my presentation on Tuesday May 3 at 4:30PM to hear the technical details and to have a spirited discussion on the current and future use of NOR Flash memory. I am looking forward to seeing you there. You are also welcome to find out more information about Spansion and our NOR Flash memory at our website.

Instant-on Printers: Keeping Up with the Pace of Life

Posted on April 15, 2011 by Robert Fan

We’ve all been there. It is going to be one of those big days at work and you are hurrying to get to the next meeting. As you are about to leave your office you click the button to print your presentation. You rush to the nearby printer only to find it still waking up from sleep and then the panic sets in. Truly not the best way to be mentally prepared for your upcoming meeting.

Multi-Function Means Greater Requirements

While putting printers to sleep is a great way to save energy, consumers today want instant-on capabilities to avoid this exact situation. Innovations in the fuser modules have reduced the wait time to the first printed page to a matter of seconds. Also, these multi-function printers (MFP) are expanding their utilities to include color management, copying, scanning, faxing, advanced networking and internet access.

Truly, today’s MFPs are much more sophisticated than the initial days of dot-matrix personal printers. This intelligence puts demands on the electronics inside the printer to do more, including high speed printing, faster boot times, more sophisticated software and therefore higher density non-volatile memory (NVM). In order to balance the competing requirements, design engineers depend on high performance NOR flash memory to provide storage for the advanced software.

Meeting the Challenge

For example, our Spansion^® GL-S Flash memory family was designed specifically for fast data access, interactivity and boot performance. It includes multiple storage densities of 128-Mbit, 256-Mbit, 512-Mbit and 1-Gbit to support a wide platform of electronic designs. The family’s page read performance is 45% faster versus other competitive products. The read performance not only enables a fast boot experience but it also can save overall system power as it reduces the time for information transfer out of the chip.

In what ways can you leverage this idea for success with your next design?

NVIDIA in the Driver’s Seat?

Posted on April 5, 2011 by Fely Krewell

When you think of NVIDIA, most consumers have thoughts of advanced graphics chips for PC gaming. Its GeForce line has long been heralded for its realistic 3D visuals, screaming performance and fast interactive game play. That type of innovation is what NVIDIA has been known to deliver. So what’s a graphics processing unit (GPU) doing inside the car?

The Car: The Most Advanced Consumer Electronics Device Around

It’s not that odd of pairing if you think about it. Look at all of the changes happening in automotive electronics. Behind the steering wheel, the mechanical gauges are being replaced with digital screens. The center console is no longer the series of nobs and switches to control a CD player, stereo and air conditioning, but rather a large touchscreen display that lets you manage many of the car’s systems.

These new displays are also becoming a key safety element of the vehicle. Information is being collected throughout the automobile and from external conditions and fed to the driver so they are fully aware of the car’s health and potential hazards on the road. Advancements in auto electronics are enhancing the driver’s ability to navigate a vehicle while making that journey more comfortable and entertaining for the passengers.

Given these changes, it makes a total sense for NVIDIA to bring its technology to the car. These advanced displays demand instant-on performance and rich 2D and 3D user interfaces. NVIDIA has been providing those features to gaming for years.

NVIDIA: A Welcomed Addition

For those that follow semiconductors, you probably already know NVIDA has been catering to profession and science markets for some time. They have been making steady inroads in automotive as well, which was very apparent at this year’s consumer electronics show (CES) in Las Vegas. NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 processors are making its way into Audis, BMWs and the upcoming Model S form Tesla. Check out NVIDIA’s automotive page to read more on their automotive focus.

NVIDIA has some formidable competitors in automotive including Freescale, Infineon, Renesas and Texas Instruments. These companies have been focusing on the auto market for decades so the competition will be tough. I’ve been fortunate enough to work closely with all of these companies over the years as Spansion brings its NOR Flash memory solutions to market to support these continual advancements in automotive. It is an exciting segment and NVIDIA is a welcomed addition.

Consumers Thirst for Instant-On Experience

Posted on March 28, 2011 by Avo Kanadjian

With Apple’s recent launch of the iPad 2 there’s lots of discussion in the blogosphere and editorials across the web on the “post-PC” era and the improved instant-on user experience that comes with it. There’s debate whether tablets are signaling a new era beyond the traditional PC or if it is just an evolution of the PC. Stephen Skankland at CNET wrote in an interesting column recently that he thinks it’s the latter, an evolution.

I think today’s tablets highlight a trend that has been taking place for many years – the need for instant-on performance. Consumers have always had an expectation for fast boot-up and performance in their applications – on their personal computers, phones, TVs and cars. For example, once the ignition is turned on, drivers expect immediate access to all features and functions of the car from the next generation digital instrument clusters to infotainment and navigation systems. It is a key part of a safe and pleasing driving experience consumers have come to expect.

NOR Flash memory is playing an important role in enabling the fastest instant-on experience. With NOR’s fast read speed, devices are booting faster than ever and coming out of deep sleep modes ready to respond to consumer’s needs.

NOR Flash is also the premier choice for providing reliable storage for operating systems and applications that electronic devices require in order to function. In fact, a new generation of NOR Flash memory from Spansion is bringing a whole new level of performance to consumer electronics and a host of other devices including automotive, networking and telecommunications.

It’s an exciting time in electronics. What change will Flash memory usher in next?