Around the Net

Apple Buys "Zippy" Mobile Chip Maker

Apple has acquired a small chip maker named Intrinsity, which is "known for making zippy versions of a computer chip often found in mobile devices," reports The New York Times. The deal is part of a larger effort by Apple to make sure it has the fastest chips for its mobile devices. Not content to rest on its successes, the acquisition also "shows the company continuing to try to gain an edge in the mobile device market," notes The Times.

This marks the second time in two years that Apple has purchased a small chip company to gain technology for making faster processors, which rely on less energy. "This adds another arrow to their quiver," Tom Halfhill, a well-known chip analyst for Microprocessor Report, tells The Times. Citing an unnamed source, Halfhill put the cost of Intrinsity at $121 million. "The purchase price is like pocket change to Apple, and they get a lot of benefit."

Read the whole story at New York Times »

Next story loading loading..