Last month I wrote about how my colleagues and I believe that embedded processor vendors will need to become more involved in developing or acquiring proprietary algorithms to stay competitive in the coming decade.  This month, I’ll discuss another long-term trend that we expect to see in processor-based chips: the dramatically expanded use of multi-die packaging (also called “system-in-package”).

Earlier this year my colleagues and I did some crystal ball analysis and identified a number of key trends that we expect to shape the embedded processor market over the next decade. One of these is that we expect embedded processor companies to be increasingly differentiated by their ownership of proprietary algorithms.

Unless you’re announcing a laptop that runs off body heat or similar epochal breakthrough, it’s hard for technology companies to get media attention.  And when a product does get editorial coverage, it’s even harder to distinguish what’s true from the infomercials.  With every announcement claiming “better,” “new,” and “breakthrough,” what will grab legitimate attention?  One ingredient of a successful announcement, PR professionals agree, is compelling data.

An attractive attribute of licensable processor cores is the flexibility chip designers have to adapt these cores to their chosen fabrication process, cell library, tool flow, logic synthesis goals and other conditions.  In other words, chip designers can tune the core to the needs of a particular application and to their preferred chip design methodology.  An unfortunate side effect of this flexibility is that it can be extremely difficult to make apples-to-apples comparisons between licensable cores.

You see them at trade shows, in seminars, in airports—sometimes even in your own office building.  They pace a room’s perimeter and scan its walls, eyes perpetually roving from floor to midline. They sneak behind counters and crawl under tables and thrust their hands into dark and cobwebby corners.  Who are these people?  And what do they want?

They are the Laptop Power Nomads, and they are searching for the elusive wall outlet.