Silicon smaller-fry face mixed fortunes

THEY MAY NOT have the biggest brands and the coolest technology, but Via and Sis both do a decent chunk of business in their individual specialities. However, things are not looking good for the pair, which saw sales drop drastically in the first half of 2007, according to financial reports.

Via saw sales drop off 35 per cent, and Sis a bigger drop of 50 per cent. Both have plans to develop new chipsets and get back in the game - Via is said to be working on a DDR3 Intel chipset with integrated DX10 graphics - but Intel is being aggressive in reclaiming its dominance at the top of the silicon tree, and prospects don't look great.

Contrast this with Transmeta which, despite almost being dead in the water, now has some revenue of which to speak. The firm, which now trades almost entirely on its IP, has announced that NEC will be using its power-saving technology in a new range of mobile phones. It's not quite the Sony design win of its heyday but, still, it's better than the $142,000 the firm made selling processors in Q1 this year.

Chipzilla crusheth all. Rawr. µ