According to Appleinsider, the dual source decision was made so that the company would not be "constrained by a single-source assembler." Pegatron, an Asustek subsidiary, is said to have landed the manufacturing contract for a new UMTS/CDMA hybrid iPhone due in the third quarter of 2010.



The new phone is said to be compatible with both UMTS 3G as well as CDMA2000 network, which is to be achieved using the newly developed hybrid chip from Qualcomm.

Chip giant goes soft
Intel references design for software apps to run Atom processor-based notebooks, and in the next 12 months it is the success of the Atom Developer Program Software Development Kit which will support Windows and Moblin (Linux) operating systems developers. 

Netbooks are seen as the next big battleground for Intel as it comes to terms with a PC market which is going mobile with Intel, making a strong start in the netbook market against its rival ARM. 

The netbook kit, should help software companies and, Apple apps-store style, individuals design and submit apps for Intel-based netbooks which foreshadows the microprocessor market controlled by software, or more specifically the volume of software apps which can be downloaded and run on your processor.

Soft is safety power
If anyone doubts the importance software they just have to look at Toyota changing the regenerative braking system software in January. The issue involves a "disconnect" in the anti-lock brake system that causes a slight lag, less than one second, but enough for a car to travel 90 extra feet at 60mph before the brakes grab.

Perhaps second sourcing software would have have a payoff too!