“Apple acquired PA Semi in April, 2008 for $278 million. It never said what it planned to do with the chip design firm, which featured star chip designers including Dan Dobberpuhl and Jim Keller. But we’ve learned that PA Semi’s team was split into two parts, one designing portable ARM-based processors for iPhones and iPods, and another designing a processor for the tablet device,” Takahashi reports.
MacDailyNews Note: Apple CEO Jobs: ‘PA Semi is going to do system-on-chips for iPhones and iPods’ – June 11, 2008
Takahashi continues, “Our source noted that Apple acquired some incredible design talent with the PA Semi team, which was behind the original Digital Equipment Corp. Alpha processor and the StrongArm processor… But no one really knew what the chip team was doing. It makes sense that Apple would divide the multi-talented team into an effort focused on the mobile space and something else focused on more substantial designs for tablet computers or netbooks.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Not a big stretch; this is more common knowledge than hot rumor. Next up from Dean: “Jonathan Ive to have a hand in Apple ‘tablet’ design.”
