More About Aptina and Competitors

Micron generated a string of news this week. EETimes article touches image sensor bisiness situation, while mainly discussing Micron's recent memory alliance with Nanya:

1. Aptina will be free to seek manufacturing alliances with outside foundries.
   
   
2. Bob Gove, president of Aptina, hints on the possibility of outside partnership, sort of.
   
   
3. As for whether Micron might spin out the division, Gove said the company is weighing "all sorts of options" but would not elaborate.
   
   
4. Aptina employs 650 to 700 people and represented some 11 percent of Micron's total net sales in the first quarter of fiscal 2008.
   
   
5. In 2007 Omnivision became the world's largest CMOS image sensor vendor in terms of sales, displacing perennial leader Micron, according to a new report from Gartner.
   
   
6. Gartner analyst Jon Erensen said Micron's sensor unit took a hit last year when Motorola's handset unit, which reportedly uses a Micron image sensor in its Razr phones, suffered its own market-share losses. As Micron lost share in 2007, its main rivals gained ground, despite flat market conditions, Erensen said. "Omnivision did really well, particularly with ODMs in China. Samsung continues to do well. Toshiba had a good year."