Intel CEO Paul Otellini has announced plans to construct a new factory in Arizona, a move that is expected to cost the company over $5 billion in investment. The expansion strategy, which was divulged during Obama's tour of Intel's research and manufacturing facilities in Portland, will be part of a larger plan that also involves adding 4,000 new employees this year.
In light of Apple's iPhone supply problems in New York, new evidence suggests that the issue is of a larger scale than initially thought. Gene Munster, senior analyst for Piper Jaffray recently called 20 Apple retail stores to confirm stock, and was met with the response that future shipments are uncertain. Munster estimates that the most likely reason for the shortage is the impending, but as of yet unconfirmed, upgrade to a 3G-based iPhone, with a slim chance of a manufacturing issue being a secondary explanation.
Representatives from Apple recently visited Brazil in attempts to gauge the feasibility of an iPhone introduction in the country, reports indicate. A number of hurdles to introduction exist, including a high smuggling rate (90% of iPods sold in the country are imported illegally), steep taxes and more. Portal Exame reports that in December, Apple sent its senior-manager of governmental affairs for Latin America, Susan Cronin, directly to Brasilia. According to sources, Apple plans to introduce the iPhone in Brazil and, given high-enough demand, start manufacturing devices there at a later date.
Day one of CES 2008 draws to a close; earlier in the day, Intel formally announced its 45-nanometer Core 2 platform, based on the previously-announced Penryn architecture. The new chips offer a host of new features, such as SSE4, and up to 6MB of Level 2 Cache. Intel will release the new mobile-centric processors by the end of January, and will be available from a number of different PC vendors, such as Gateway and Sony. Intel's booth presence at CES 2008 is large, with several different areas dedicated to the manufacturing process, mobile applications, home theatre integration, and plenty of hands-on activity.
