Thread: Intel News

As 2011 draws to a close, Intel Corporation leaders and tech industry futurists have taken a look into their high-tech crystal balls to anticipate what technological trends will likely stand out next year. For example, “2012 is the year when consumers’ desire to make things goes mainstream – rather than the gamefication of things, we can talk about the ‘Etsy*-ifcation’ of things. Creating, DIY, making,” Genevieve Bell, cultural anthropologist and director of interaction and experience research, Intel Corporation said. See more technology trends for 2012.



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App lovers can now go to Sprint.com and download apps from the Intel AppUpSM center. For a limited time, people who install and register with the Intel AppUp center will receive Angry Birds Rio and History Channel Trivia Challenge 2.0 for free ($9.98 value). Sprint is the first wireless provider in the U.S.  offering Intel AppUp center to their customers. Whether you’re in the mood for some home cooking, social networking or new twists on classic games, the Intel AppUp center is home to thousands of PC apps, and a perfect complement to Sprint’s 3G/4G-powered Dell Inspiron 11z.



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Intel and Micron extended their manufacturing technology lead today with the mass production of their 64-gigabit (Gb) 20 nanometer (nm) NAND flash memory and introduction of the world’s first 20nm 128Gb die, that will allow a terabit of data to be stored in a finger-tip size package. These products are ideal for tablets, smartphones, solid-state drives and other high-performance compute devices. Both announcements set new industry benchmarks and were enabled through manufacturing process innovations including a new planar cell structure and Hi-K metal gate stack, both NAND industry firsts.



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Intel Survey Finds Job Variety and Earning Power Motivate U.S. Teens to Consider Engineering as a Career

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

• A critical step to creating more American engineers is nurturing an interest in high school, or earlier, so there is a healthy pool of engineering students entering college.
• Any facts about engineering, including what engineers actually do and, specifically, how much money they earn, motivate more than half of teens to say they are more likely to consider engineering as a career.
• Programs such as robotics and science competitions offer teens the real-world, hands-on experience with engineering that improves the likelihood that they will get hooked on the subject and pursue it in college.

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Dec. 6, 2011 – Tackling the issue of graduating more American engineers may be easier than originally thought, according to a new survey of teens commissioned by Intel Corporation. The survey found that a lack of familiarity with the profession is a significant barrier to getting American teenagers to pursue engineering careers.


SANTA CLARA, Calif., Dec. 6, 2011 - Tackling the issue of graduating more American engineers may be easier than originally thought, according to a new survey of teens commissioned by Intel Corporation. The survey found that a lack of familiarity with the profession is a significant barrier to getting American teenagers to pursue engineering careers. Yet, exposure to any facts about engineering, including the breadth of what engineers actually do and, specifically, how much money they earn, leads more than half of teens to say they are more likely to consider engineering as a career.

 
Financial facts are particularly persuasive: Roughly 60 percent of teens are more likely to consider engineering after learning about the career's earning potential. The majority of teens are also influenced by understanding what engineers do, such as playing a role in rescuing the Chilean miners who were trapped in 2010, delivering clean water to poor communities in Africa, designing the protective pads worn by athletes and constructing dams and levees that keep entire cities safe.

Current trends indicate there is a real problem with American university students dropping out of engineering programs. But the majority of students who concentrate on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in college actually make that choice during high school, according to a recent study from education researchers at Indiana University and the University of Virginia.

Intel believes that nurturing an interest in engineering in high school, or earlier, is a critical step to building a healthy pool of students poised to graduate with engineering degrees and become part of a stronger American workforce. Intel conducted this survey, in collaboration with the nonprofit Change the Equation, to better understand how to get more American teens interested in engineering as a career.

"The results of this survey show the importance of providing teens with opportunities to gain knowledge about engineering," said Intel CIO Diane Bryant. "We need to offer teens real-world, hands-on engineering experience and interaction with engineers, like that found in robotics programs and science competitions, to improve the likelihood that they'll get hooked on the subject and pursue it in college."

Intel has long sponsored two of the world's largest, most prestigious annual pre-college science and engineering competitions to recognize and reward bright, young innovators and challenge other youth to engage in math and science. Intel employees also regularly volunteer with FIRST Robotics, which motivates young people to pursue opportunities in science, technology, and engineering. Additionally, in support of the Presidential Jobs Council's initiative to graduate 10,000 more engineers each year from U.S. colleges and universities, Intel has committed to double the number of engineering internships offered in 2012 and has launched a new program in which Intel executives visit college campuses across the globe and speak to students about the benefits of engineering careers.

The Survey Results:

• While the majority of teens have not considered a career in engineering, those that have are motivated by their perception that it will be interesting.
  
  • Nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of teens have never considered a career in engineering.
  • Seventy-four percent of teens that have considered engineering, have done so because they think the field would be interesting, perhaps because they are more aware of the impact engineers have on the world.
  
  
• A lack of familiarity with engineering is a significant barrier to getting teens to pursue the career.
  
  • While highly regarded on other metrics, engineering falls to the bottom half of professions with which teens are familiar.
  • Almost one-third (29 percent) of teens do not know of potential job opportunities in engineering and 13 percent do not think that majoring in engineering in college will lead to any more job opportunities than any other major.
  • Twenty percent of teens have no idea about engineering's impact on the world.
  
  
• Exposure to any facts about engineering leads more than half of teens to say they are more likely to consider engineering as a career.
  
  • Financial facts are particularly persuasive: 61 percent of teens are more likely to consider engineering after learning that engineering majors make an average annual income of $75,000; while more than 50 percent are persuaded by the fact that the unemployment rate amongst engineers is more than 4 percentage points lower than the national rate.
  • The majority of teens are also influenced by learning about the breadth of what engineers actually do: Fifty-three percent are more likely to consider engineering after learning about the role of engineers in the development of music and videogames; learning about engineering feats such as saving the Chilean miners who were trapped for 69 days motivates 52 percent to think twice about the career; while 50 percent are influenced by understanding that engineers make driving, texting and social networking possible.
  
  
• From the survey results, Intel found that there are ways parents and teachers can help teens consider a career in engineering:
  
  • Focus on helping teens understand what being an engineer is all about. Improving understanding of what engineers actually do can increase consideration, so talk about how rewarding it is to be an engineer.
  • Don't dumb down what engineers do. Try to reframe the difficulty of engineering as a positive challenge, a badge of honor to be worn proudly when successful.
  • Make engineering feel less remote and more personal. Give a face to engineers to help inspire and create a sense that "if they can do it, I can do it."
  • Up-weight the emotional appeal of engineering. The societal benefits of what engineers do, like preventing disasters or generating cleaner electricity, are particularly resonant with teens that have never considered engineering before.

This survey of U.S. teenagers was conducted online between Oct. 11 and 18, 2011 by Penn Schoen Berland on behalf of Intel. Participants included 1,004 teenagers ages 13 to 18. Demographics were aligned as closely as possible to U.S. Census data. The margin of error is +/- 3.06 percent.
Over the past decade alone, Intel has invested more than $1 billion, and its employees have donated close to 3 million hours toward improving education in more than 60 countries. To get the latest Intel education news, visit www.intel.com/newsroom/education, and join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. To join Intel's community of people sharing their stories with the hope of becoming a catalyst for action and a voice for change in global education, visit www.inspiredbyeducation.com.


About Intel
Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is a world leader in computing innovation. The company designs and builds the essential technologies that serve as the foundation for the world’s computing devices. Additional information about Intel is available at newsroom.intel.com and blogs.intel.com.

Intel is a trademark of Intel Corporation in the United States and other countries.

* Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.


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New 128Gb Device Ideal for Small Form Factor Tablets, Smartphones, SSDs and High-Performance Compute Devices

News Highlights

• The new 20nm 128Gb MLC NAND device doubles the storage capacity and performance of the companies' existing 20nm 64Gb NAND device.
• Intel and Micron continue to lead the industry with the most advanced NAND production process technology, announcing mass production of their 20nm 64Gb NAND flash.
• The industry's first monolithic 128Gb part can store 1 terabit of data in a single fingertip-size package with just eight die-a new storage benchmark that meets the ongoing demand for slim, sleek products.
• The companies' 20nm NAND is the first to use an innovative planar cell structure that overcomes the scaling constraints of standard floating gate NAND.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. and BOISE, Idaho, Dec. 6, 2011 - Intel Corporation and Micron Technology, Inc., today announced a new benchmark in NAND flash technology - the world's first 20 nanometer (nm), 128 gigabit (Gb), multilevel-cell (MLC) device. The companies also announced mass production of their 64Gb 20nm NAND, which further extends the companies' leadership in NAND process technology.

Developed through Intel and Micron's joint-development venture, IM Flash Technologies (IMFT), the new 20nm monolithic 128Gb device is the first in the industry to enable a terabit (Tb) of data storage in a fingertip-size package by using just eight die. It also provides twice the storage capacity and performance of the companies' existing 20nm 64Gb NAND device. The 128Gb device meets the high-speed ONFI 3.0 specification to achieve speeds of 333 megatransfers per second (MT/s), providing customers with a more cost-effective solid-state storage solution for today's slim, sleek product designs, including tablets, smartphones and high-capacity solid-state drives (SSDs.)

"As portable devices get smaller and sleeker, and server demands increase, our customers look to Micron for innovative new storage technologies and system solutions that meet these challenges," said Glen Hawk, vice president of Micron's NAND Solutions Group. "Our collaboration with Intel continues to deliver leading NAND technologies and expertise that are critical to building those systems."

The companies also revealed that the key to their success with 20nm process technology is due to an innovative new cell structure that enables more aggressive cell scaling than conventional architectures. Their 20nm NAND uses a planar cell structure - the first in the industry - to overcome the inherent difficulties that accompany advanced process technology, enabling performance and reliability on par with the previous generation. The planar cell structure successfully breaks the scaling constraints of the standard NAND floating gate cell by integrating the first Hi-K/metal gate stack on NAND production.

"It is gratifying to see the continued NAND leadership from the Intel-Micron joint development with yet more firsts as our manufacturing teams deliver these high-density, low-cost, compute-quality 20nm NAND devices," said Rob Crooke, Intel vice president and general manager of Intel's Non-Volatile Memory Solutions Group. "Through the utilization of planar cell structure and Hi-K/Metal gate stack, IMFT continues to advance the technological capabilities of our NAND flash memory solutions to enable exciting new products, services and form factors."

The demand for high-capacity NAND flash devices is driven by three interconnected market trends: data storage growth, the shift to the cloud and the proliferation of portable devices. As digital content continues to grow, users expect that data to be available across a multitude of devices, all synchronized via the cloud. To effectively stream data, servers require high-performance, high-capacity storage that NAND delivers, and storage in mobile devices has consistently grown with increased access to data. High-definition video is one example of an application that requires high-capacity storage, since attempting to stream this type of data can create a poor user experience. These developments create great opportunities for high-performance, small-footprint storage, both in the mobile devices that consume the content and the storage servers that deliver it.

Intel and Micron noted that the December production ramp of their 20nm 64Gb NAND flash product will enable a rapid transition to the 128Gb device in 2012. Samples of the 128Gb device will be available in January, closely followed by mass production in the first half of 2012. Achievement of this milestone will further enable greater densities and overall fab output, while also helping the companies' development teams cultivate the expertise required to design complex storage solutions and refine future technologies.

Intel-Micron Flash Technologies 20nm die -- The industry's first monolithic 128 gigabit (Gb) NAND die represents continued leadership by Intel and Micron on the world's most advanced 20 nanometer (nm) NAND production process technology. The new 20nm 128Gb device doubles the storage capacity and performance of the companies' existing 20nm 64Gb NAND device.

World's Highest-Capacity NAND flash memory die -- New 20nm NAND from Intel and Micron provides unprecedented storage density. The industry’s first monolithic 128 gigabit (Gb) part can store 1 terabit of data in a single fingertip-size package with just eight die—a new storage benchmark that meets the ongoing demand for slim, sleek products.




About Micron
Micron Technology, Inc. is one of the world's leading providers of advanced semiconductor solutions. Through its worldwide operations, Micron manufactures and markets a full range of DRAM, NAND and NOR flash memory, as well as other innovative memory technologies, packaging solutions and semiconductor systems for use in leading-edge computing, consumer, networking, embedded and mobile products. Micron's common stock is traded on the NASDAQ under the MU symbol. To learn more about Micron Technology Inc., visit www.micron.com.

About Intel
Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is a world leader in computing innovation. The company designs and builds the essential technologies that serve as the foundation for the world’s computing devices. Additional information about Intel is available at newsroom.intel.com and blogs.intel.com.

Intel is a trademark of Intel Corporation in the United States and other countries.

* Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.

©2011 Micron Technology, Inc. and Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. Information is subject to change without notice. Micron and the Micron logo are trademarks of Micron Technology, Inc. This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding the production of the 20nm, 64Gb and 128Gb NAND devices. Actual events or results may differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Please refer to the documents Micron files on a consolidated basis from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, specifically Micron's most recent Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. These documents contain and identify important factors that could cause the actual results for Micron on a consolidated basis to differ materially from those contained in our forward-looking statements (see Certain Factors). Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements.



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Intel is starting a memory research project with the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) of Taiwan to address the performance gap and to reduce the power consumption of memory. The first project under the collaboration is focused on the future of memory technologies used in computing devices such as Ultrabooks™, laptops, tablets, and handhelds.  By creating memories with much greater energy efficiency, these mobile devices will be better equipped to handle the data-intensive applications of the future. Intel’s earlier collaborative work on memory has been productive and this new collaboration will allow key researchers to develop further innovations in interconnect and memory architecture with a particular focus on mobile computing devices.



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As 2011 draws to a close, Intel achieved many milestones this year. Intel announced a significant breakthrough and historic innovation with 3-D Tri-Gate transistors. Intel’s transistors have powered not only all computers, mobile phones and consumer electronics to-date, but also the electronic controls within cars, spacecraft, household appliances, medical devices and thousands of other everyday devices for decades. New innovations will be enabled across a broad range of devices, from the smallest handhelds to powerful cloud-based servers. In the first half of 2012, 3rd Generation Intel Core processors, codenamed “Ivy Bridge,” will be built on this revolutionary design and power the next generation of Ultrabooks™ and PCs worldwide.



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LabTech Software, a managed service software provider, is taking advantage of 2nd generation Intel® Core™ vPro™ processors to improve its customers’ access to and interactivity with remote PCs. With this activation of Intel® vPro™ technology, IT professionals can remotely access powered-off PCs, schedule shutdowns and backups and troubleshoot problems that would normally require an on-site visit by using LabTech Software. The improved remote connectivity helps IT professionals lower operating costs, improve efficiency and speed the diagnosis and repair PC problems in the business. Learn more about Intel vPro technology at Intel.com.



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Planning your itinerary for holiday travels? Check out these travel apps with Intel AppUpSM center. With HolidaysHub, you can look up the top holiday destinations around the world. Once you’ve found the places you want to go, use Travelocity to find the latest flight and hotel deals. When you’re there, use Arrivalguides To Go which contains more than 400 destination guides fully packed with recommendations for restaurants, sightseeing, maps, cozy cafes, cool bars and clubs, events and much more!



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SANTA CLARA, Calif., Dec. 12, 2011 – Intel Corporation today announced that the company’s fourth-quarter results are expected to be below the company’s previous outlook due to hard disk drive supply shortages. The company now expects fourth-quarter revenue to be $13.7 billion, plus or minus $300 million, on both a GAAP and non-GAAP basis, lower than the previous expectation of $14.7 billion, plus or minus $500 million.

Sales of personal computers are expected to be up sequentially in the fourth quarter. However, the worldwide PC supply chain is reducing inventories and microprocessor purchases as a result of hard disk drive supply shortages. The company expects hard disk drive supply shortages to continue into the first quarter, followed by a rebuilding of microprocessor inventories as supplies of hard disk drives recover during the first half of 2012.

The company now expects the fourth-quarter gross margin to be 64.5 percent, plus or minus a couple of percentage points, lower than the previous expectation of 65 percent, plus or minus a couple of percentage points. The expectation for a non-GAAP gross margin is 65.5 percent, plus or minus a couple of percentage points, lower than the previous expectation of 66 percent, plus or minus a couple of percentage points.

All other expectations are unchanged.

Intel will hold a public webcast at 8 a.m. PST today on its Investor Relations website at www.intc.com. A webcast replay and MP3 download will also be made available on the site.

Status of Business Outlook
Intel’s Business Outlook is posted on intc.com and may be reiterated in public or private meetings with investors and others. The Business Outlook will be effective through the close of business Dec. 16 unless earlier updated; except that the Business Outlook for amortization of acquisition-related intangibles, impact of equity investments and interest and other, and tax rate, was no longer effective as of the close of business on Oct. 25. Intel’s Quiet Period will start from the close of business on Dec. 16 until publication of the company’s fourth-quarter earnings release, scheduled for Jan. 19, 2012. During the Quiet Period, all of the Business Outlook and other forward-looking statements disclosed in the company’s news releases and filings with the SEC should be considered as historical, speaking as of prior to the Quiet Period only and not subject to an update by the company.


Risk Factors
The above statements and any others in this document that refer to plans and expectations for the fourth quarter, the year and the future are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Words such as “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “may,” “will,” “should” and their variations identify forward-looking statements. Statements that refer to or are based on projections, uncertain events or assumptions also identify forward-looking statements. Many factors could affect Intel’s actual results, and variances from Intel’s current expectations regarding such factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements. Intel presently considers the following to be the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the company’s expectations.

• Demand could be different from Intel's expectations due to factors including changes in business and economic conditions, including supply constraints and other disruptions affecting customers; customer acceptance of Intel’s and competitors’ products; changes in customer order patterns including order cancellations; and changes in the level of inventory at customers. Uncertainty in global economic and financial conditions poses a risk that consumers and businesses may defer purchases in response to negative financial events, which could negatively affect product demand and other related matters.
• Intel operates in intensely competitive industries that are characterized by a high percentage of costs that are fixed or difficult to reduce in the short term and product demand that is highly variable and difficult to forecast. Revenue and the gross margin percentage are affected by the timing of Intel product introductions and the demand for and market acceptance of Intel's products; actions taken by Intel's competitors, including product offerings and introductions, marketing programs and pricing pressures and Intel’s response to such actions; and Intel’s ability to respond quickly to technological developments and to incorporate new features into its products.
• Intel is in the process of transitioning to its next generation of products on 22nm process technology, and there could be execution and timing issues associated with these changes, including products defects and errata and lower than anticipated manufacturing yields.
• The gross margin percentage could vary significantly from expectations based on capacity utilization; variations in inventory valuation, including variations related to the timing of qualifying products for sale; changes in revenue levels; product mix and pricing; the timing and execution of the manufacturing ramp and associated costs; start-up costs; excess or obsolete inventory; changes in unit costs; defects or disruptions in the supply of materials or resources; product manufacturing quality/yields; and impairments of long-lived assets, including manufacturing, assembly/test and intangible assets.
• Expenses, particularly certain marketing and compensation expenses, as well as restructuring and asset impairment charges, vary depending on the level of demand for Intel's products and the level of revenue and profits.
• Intel's results could be affected by adverse economic, social, political and physical/infrastructure conditions in countries where Intel, its customers or its suppliers operate, including military conflict and other security risks, natural disasters, infrastructure disruptions, health concerns and fluctuations in currency exchange rates.
• Intel’s results could be affected by the timing of closing of acquisitions and divestitures.
• Intel's results could be affected by adverse effects associated with product defects and errata (deviations from published specifications), and by litigation or regulatory matters involving intellectual property, stockholder, consumer, antitrust and other issues, such as the litigation and regulatory matters described in Intel's SEC reports. An unfavorable ruling could include monetary damages or an injunction prohibiting us from manufacturing or selling one or more products, precluding particular business practices, impacting Intel’s ability to design its products, or requiring other remedies such as compulsory licensing of intellectual property.

A detailed discussion of these and other factors that could affect Intel’s results is included in Intel’s SEC filings, including the report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended Oct. 1, 2011.
Earnings Webcast
Intel plans to report its earnings for the fourth quarter of 2011 on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012.  Immediately following the earnings report, the company plans to publish a commentary by Stacy J. Smith, vice president and chief financial officer, at www.intc.com/results.cfm. A public webcast of Intel’s earnings conference call will follow at 2:30 p.m. PST at www.intc.com.

About Intel
Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is a world leader in computing innovation. The company designs and builds the essential technologies that serve as the foundation for the world’s computing devices. Additional information about Intel is available at newsroom.intel.com and blogs.intel.com.

Intel and the Intel logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the United States and other countries.

* Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.


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