Apple is racing to hire former Texas Instruments employees in Israel in an effort to staff a planned R&D center. Not wanting to be outdone, Intel has decided to ramp up their efforts to hire the same former Texas Instruments employees before Apple can grab them first.
A new report claims that Intel is offering the employees “healthy compensation packages” above the standard salary rates in an effort to keep the employees from slipping into Apple’s hands.
Intel wants to be friends with Apple — or more specifically, Apple’s hoard of cash. As the PC industry craters and mobile devices seem to be the future, the chipmaker wants the tech giant to buy its Medfield design. Although Intel if talking, is Apple listening?
Apple has confirmed its rumored $500 million acquisition of Israeli flash memory firm Anobit. Reports started circulating last month that the Cupertino company was interested in purchasing Anobit for its flash storage prowess. It was concluded that Apple was looking to become a major player in the flash storage industry.
The rumor is now official: Apple, the world’s largest consumer of flash memory, has paid $500 million for consumer-grade flash memory maker Anobit. The move solidifies Apple’s supply of solid-state memory used by the iPhone, iPad, iPod and MacBook Air. The half-billion dollar price tag tops the inflation-adjusted $472 million acquisition of NeXT back in 1997.
Yesterday we reported that Apple was in the process of using its cash hoard to buy Anobit, an Israeli flash memory maker. But what’s so special about Anobit anyway, and why would Apple buy another maker of flash memory when they’ve already got deals in place with some of the world’s best flash manufacturers?
The answer: Anobit is making truly magical technology, and Apple wants that magic for itself.
For only the second time in recent memory, Apple has used its pile of cash to buy a hardware company and threaten survival of another tech industry. Reports say Apple is ready to spend up to $500 million to acquire Anobit, an Israel-based flash memory maker already used in the iPhone, iPad and MacBook Air. It probably didn’t hurt that the purchase could free Apple’s reliance on its courtroom buddy Samsung.
![Apple Has Officially Purchased Flash Memory Firm Anobit [Report]](http://cdn.cultofmac.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Screen-Shot-2012-01-10-at-11.15.24-PM.jpg "Screen Shot 2012-01-10 at 11.15.24 PM")
