The weekly WrapUp - 09 Dec 12

Here we are again with a new WrapUp.

• Facebook might be interested in Whatsapp. According to the latest rumors Zuck could buy himself a new messaging app with a very big user base to expand the company efforts in the mobile space. Starting to be concerned about the privacy of your Whatsapp messages? If the deal is real, you should!

The weekly WrapUp - 02 Dec 12

After a short hiatus (sorry, work keeps me very busy!) we are back for a new edition of WrapUp. Here's the most interesting news of the week:

• Rumors of a cheap iPhone are here... again! According to the analysts Apple could create a cheap model exclusive to the emerging market, where they failed to gain a big market share due to the premium price of the device. As you know Cupertino strategy and low prices don't match but we are talking of a 3 billion people market: it could be worth some thought.. 

[Updated] Should Apple really ditch chipzilla?

In the latest Bloomberg news Apple is said to be exploring the possibility to ditch Intel processors. This is not the first time such a rumor appears and it could happen.. eventually.

Let's start by considering the "why?" part of the equation. All could come down to the well known control freak nature of people in Cupertino but the decision would really be too big to be guided just by that. Some other things Apple is quite fond of are design and consistency and both may take advantage of a switch to ARM.

Dream of a do-it-all piece of silicon

Monday's calendar is getting more crowded by the minute: Android, Windows Phone and now an AMD press conference! The announcement should be about HSA strategy and so the inclusion of third party designs in AMD chips. I don't know about you but the inclusion of an ARM core in a x86 design gets my tech imagination running...

The main issue with the current CPU/GPU/APU market is that different pieces of silicon are for different tasks: high preformance x86 for servers and desktop, low power x86 for the laptop, ultra low power ARM for tablets and smartphones. To that add graphics: high power discrete for the desktop, low power discrete for the upper laptop segment, integrated for the lower one and than ARM to the tablets and phones. 

Even if some of the choices are taken by the hardware producer the consumer still ends up with a quite wide range of choices to make. Do I want a powerful laptop or a laptop I can take with me all day without a charger? The chip giants know that and are making a move in different ways: ARM from the bottom is enhancing performance mantaining low power, Intel and AMD from the top are reducing power and integrating graphics. I will leave for now the confrontation between Intel and AMD approach to the problem but the direction is the same: a do-it-all piece of silicon.