We may have got our handson the new Apple iPad , but analysts have yet to break one open and see what’s inside.
However, guesses can already be made as to the winner and losers among component makers.
Intel seems a clear loser although it may claim it was never in the race to supply the microprocessor powering the iPad.
Its latest low-power Atom chips made it a possible candidate and the company already supplies the processors for Apple’s Mac computers.
But a processor based on the designs of the UK’s ARM from another manufacturer like Samsung would also have been a strong contender, given the ARM chips in the iPhone and iPod touch.
Apple instead has gone for its own in-house design for the first time . The A4 processor appears to be the first fruit of its acquisition ofPA Semi, the Silicon Valley chip startup , in 2008.
PA Semi’s engineers were working on low-power chips based on the Power PC architecture, which used to power Apple computers. But compatibility with iPhone software suggests the A4 is probably ARM-based.
Analysts at Cazenove muse that Apple may also be using a separate graphics processor from the UK’s Imagination Technologies , given its 9 per cent stake in the company. This jibes with what an Apple employee at yesterday’s event told me.
He said a graphics processor was included on the A4 chip, which would be quite an achievement for the Apple’s first effort in this area, and again suggests that ARM expertise is involved, making the UK chip designer a clear winner.
Cazenove also said in its note that Broadcom was the probable victor in supplying the iPad’s Bluetooth/wireless chip, given its presence in the iPhone, and was a challenger to the incumbent Infineon in supplying the GPS chip.
On audio, it said Wolfson had probably not managed to win back Apple’s business, with Cirrus supplying the audio chip.
The screen of the iPad differs from that of the iPhone in having In-Plane Switching (IPS) technology. This allows a wider viewing angle and emphasises that Apple wants the iPad experience to be more of a shared one.
It also means that LG Display and Innolux are the two most likely suppliers of this technology, given their expertise, according to the iSuppli research firm.
Finally, the arsenic-free display glass will have come from Corning, according to DisplaySearch analysts .
UPDATE: Barclays Capital Research, in a report out of Japan, gives a fairly detailed list of the component winners for the iPad. It names Samsung and Toshiba as supplying flash memory, Samsung and Hynix – DRAM, Hon Hai – assembly, Broadcom – touch panel controller, Bluetooth, plus Wi-Fi with Marvell, Linear – battery power management, NXP – system power management, Coretronic – backlight, Novatek – LCD driver, LG Display and Seiko Epson – LCD Panel, Samsung SDI, Tianjin Lishen Battery – lithium-ion battery, TPK - Touch Panel Module, Wintek and Innolux – Touch Panel Sensor and Infineon – GPS and RF chips.
