Semiconductor companies are bullish about 2008. But first, they'll have to contend with loads of challenges this coming year Semiconductor companies may be looking forward to a boom year in 2008, but first they'll need to struggle through 2007—which is shaping up as anything but great.
The beginning of January typically signals a seasonal slowdown in demand for chips used in PCs, digital cameras, wireless phones, and other popular consumer-electronics gadgets. And it usually takes two quarters for that demand to heat up again in anticipation of another tech-crazy holiday season.
But as with every year in semiconductor industry history, there are always a few unusual factors that knock the cycles off a tidy, predictable course. This year, two unusual factors stand out: the demand for flash memory and Microsoft's (MSFT) new operating system, Windows Vista. In the case of flash, chip makers can't keep up with demand, but prices aren't growing fast enough to keep manufacturers very content.
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