Gadgets
Apple Buys Itself a Little Chip Company Known for Super Efficient Processors
Posted by Brian Lam at 2:32 PM on April 23, 2008
Apple's bought itself a chip company, P.A. Semi that could make chips for future iPods and iPhones. The company was founded by Dan Dobberpuhl, lead designer of Alpha chips, who last year announced a 64-bit dual core processor that is said to be about 300% more efficient than the nearest competition, using only 5 to 13 watts at 2GHz.
Products using the chips won't arrive for a year, at least, but we can assume that Apple wouldn't spend $287 million without some plans to use em soon as it made sense, and I'm sure Intel and ARM aren't stoked. The negotiations, which finished recently, took place in The Steve's home. Owning its own chip design is an interesting move. While the iPhone's had a lot of off the shelf componentry, it makes sense that working on its own internal hardware could yield better devices. Or a PowerPC repeat. [Forbes]

Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
jopari
Posted 3:19 PM 23/4/08
Awesome, 64-bit Macbooks with better battery life.
Or, dare I say, Mac Tablet?
jopari
ILikeMacsWhatAboutIT
Posted 3:14 PM 23/4/08
Apple could have the technology for lightsabers given to them by Mace Windu himself and they'd mess that up even worse than they messed up the iPhone.
Apple sucks, they'll be bankrupt in 3 years, 4 if someone, anyone, anywhere buys an iMac, what a piece of junk.
ILikeMacsWhatAboutIT
pipper
Posted 3:09 PM 23/4/08
@Kaiser-Machead:
Form P.A. Semi website:
"P.A. Semi is a fabless semiconductor company delivering the world-class PWRficientâ„¢ processors for the multibillion-dollar high-performance embedded-computing markets."
So there you go, the keyword is embedded-computing--IE handheld devices, battery operated, specialized computing appliances.
(Not saying that the same technology can be applied to Desktop use, but very unlikely)
pipper
Brian Lam
Posted 3:06 PM 23/4/08
Digg please?
Brian Lam
Brian Lam
Posted 3:03 PM 23/4/08
Digg please?
Brian Lam
Kaiser-Machead
Posted 2:59 PM 23/4/08
Boy, imagine Apple going back to chips that basically no other home system used, then we'd be right back to the old and now tired joke of that G5 Powerbook that Apple's been working on for the passed 3 years, and the Powermac that finally hits over 3GHz.
Kaiser-Machead
AqueousBeef
Posted 2:59 PM 23/4/08
Apple has money coming out the wazoo. It's ridiculous, they have billions in surplus. They should pull a Stanford and start making a bunch of useless shit. They could launch a fleet of satellites!
AqueousBeef
Kaiser-Machead
Posted 2:58 PM 23/4/08
@skittlzncombos: I prefer mattress. With the disarray I keep my undie drawers in, money is not a good thing to keep in there.
Kaiser-Machead
skittlzncombos
Posted 2:55 PM 23/4/08
And you just know he paid in cash for that company. Straight out of his stash in his underwear drawer.
skittlzncombos
Kaiser-Machead
Posted 2:51 PM 23/4/08
There's something eerie and unwholesome about this post. BLAM, you frighten me.
Anyway, I hope this turns into classics that actually make full use of the graphics of the interface.
Kaiser-Machead
--Tito--
Posted 2:50 PM 23/4/08
I thought potato chips XD!!! They would make a chip that is revolutionary. It would be in aluminum and would be as good as a lays original potato chip O.o.
--Tito--
itchytooth
Posted 3:42 PM 23/4/08
$278 million? The rumors alone are worth that!
itchytooth
Nintenboy01
Posted 3:39 PM 23/4/08
@DeadWriter: I think he really intends to confuse us all. He's evaded the Banhammer for over 50 years, much like Grand Fisher.
Nintenboy01
_badtziscool
Posted 3:30 PM 23/4/08
Could this be the start of vertical integration for Apple for personal media devices?
_badtziscool
nojo
Posted 3:29 PM 23/4/08
@Kaiser-Machead: Water-cooled iPhones! Boom!
nojo
richard8a
Posted 3:26 PM 23/4/08
*watches his company stock go green ... again*
...and Dugg...
richard8a
DeadWriter
Posted 3:25 PM 23/4/08
Diversification with in the field. I bet Apple will sell components to others, as well as licence technology. That way, when their competitors win, they also win.
@ILikeMacsWhatAboutIT: I can never tell if you are being sarcastic or really believe what you write. I've been reading it as sarcasm.
DeadWriter
Kaiser-Machead
Posted 3:21 PM 23/4/08
@ILikeMacsWhatAboutIT: I hear overused sarcasm can sometimes influence/convince the person that wields it.
Kaiser-Machead
Brian Lam
Posted 4:03 PM 23/4/08
@Nintenboy01: Yes, I'm confused when I read his comments.
Brian Lam
LittleJon
Posted 3:48 PM 23/4/08
Dan Dobberpuhl is very well known in the processor industry.
LittleJon
Ryanraven
Posted 4:31 PM 23/4/08
Obviously these chips run on either a)the smugness of apple users (fyi i have a mac [better than windows!]) or b) the power of BOOM!
Ryanraven
Brian Lam
Posted 4:22 PM 23/4/08
@danger_the_pirate: I usually can delete my posts but its not working tonight.
Brian Lam
mumin
Posted 4:21 PM 23/4/08
@ILikeMacsWhatAboutIT: i strongly doubt that Mace Windu is any good with constructing light sabers. i mean... come on! his turned out PINK!
mumin
danger_the_pirate
Posted 4:17 PM 23/4/08
@Brian Lam: @Brian Lam: its good to see that everyone unintentionally double posts every now and then.
...
danger_the_pirate
--Tito--
Posted 5:23 PM 23/4/08
@Ryanraven: BOOM!
--Tito--
DeadWriter
Posted 5:01 PM 23/4/08
The question is will Apple Corps. sue when Apple makes Apple Cores?
DeadWriter
DeadWriter
Posted 4:55 PM 23/4/08
So will Apple Corps sue when Apple makes Apple Cores ?
DeadWriter
Sleeper_Service
Posted 6:32 PM 23/4/08
Not a bad move to make.
Also like the poster even if it should have a giant Finnish hand coming down to squash the iPhone flat. :)
Sleeper_Service
strider_mt2k
Posted 7:20 PM 23/4/08
@DeadWriter: What?
strider_mt2k
ProSeven
Posted 8:19 PM 23/4/08
Any chance in the near future for the iphone to work with Garmin GPS maps and an external bluetooth GPS receiver?
ProSeven
novacthall
Posted 8:55 PM 23/4/08
@DeadWriter: Baltimore.
novacthall
brutek
Posted 10:32 PM 23/4/08
Two strong business reasons to purchase:
1. license tech to provide lower costs from chip suppliers
2. enable exclusivity with chip vendors for unique product advantage when they implement tech owned by Apple
brutek
Miranda Kali
Posted 10:28 PM 23/4/08
@mumin:
It was purple, fool! Quit with da jibber jabber!
(oh dear..I'm very sorry......it seems viral)
Miranda Kali
mumin
Posted 11:27 PM 23/4/08
@Miranda Kali: dark pink
mumin
rurena
Posted 11:04 PM 23/4/08
Wait a minute!! Don't you see what he is doing? Apple doesn't want people to notice they went to an expensive chip manufacturer to keep prices high. So they buy the cheap manufacturer and run his company to the ground. Got to keep the high price point.
rurena
flyboy
Posted 10:56 PM 23/4/08
nice graphics - shame that the Gawker Media slots ruin the page.
flyboy
Joseph
Posted 10:56 PM 23/4/08
@brutek: It also goes along with Steve Jobs thought process of owning the hardware and the software side of technological devices. He said it at AllThingsD Steve/Bill gates interview and he's said it numerous times before.
Joseph
FreshJulius
Posted 11:49 PM 23/4/08
Have we not worn out this image yet?
FreshJulius
Miranda Kali
Posted 12:07 AM 24/4/08
@mumin:
Lilac. (as pimp'n as lilac could possibly be)
Miranda Kali
yoshi
Posted 2:07 AM 24/4/08
Interesting buy...
iPods, iPhones, Apple TV????
yoshi
shawn_dude
Posted 2:50 AM 24/4/08
Simple purpose: PyStar.
Kaiser-Machead got close to this conclusion. Yes, Apple could use these chips but not as the basis for a Mac CPU. They gain too much by being able to run Windows. No, what is missing is something entirely Apple-owned that OSX must have in order to run.
A small, cheap, low power chip that cannot be emulated around is perfect. It can be inserted into iPhones or iMacs with little effort and ensure that Apple continues to own the hardware that OSX runs on.
shawn_dude
frigg
Posted 3:16 AM 24/4/08
@shawn_dude: 300 million dollars is a lot to pay for a dongle.
frigg
meropealcyone
Posted 10:28 AM 24/4/08
"No, what is missing is something entirely Apple-owned that OSX must have in order to run."
Maybe, but why do they need to own the company for that?
meropealcyone
iMouse
Posted 9:47 AM 24/4/08
"@shawn_dude: 300 million dollars is a lot to pay for a dongle."
Not when the Mac OS is a good portion of your company's intellectual property. Sure, the iPod is nearly 60% of Apple's revenue, but keep in mind that Apple is a software company. Losing the rights to keep the Mac OS on Apple hardware could cost them billions.
300 million is a shot in the bucket for Apple Inc. anyway.
iMouse
toddh
Posted 1:25 AM 24/4/08
As an embedded developer, I'm already working with the PA6T platform. There's quite a bit of interest for it in the embedded market. I will say that, compared to the PPC970 (G5), this platform has been a breeze to work with.
toddh