news from TI

How about this! Just received via e-mail from TI:

Dear valued customer,

I am excited to let you know that TI has signed a definitive agreement to purchase National Semiconductor, uniting two industry leaders that have a common commitment to solving your analog needs. I want to reinforce TI's commitment to you, our customer, as we merge our two companies.

This acquisition will allow us to address your analog needs with a product portfolio of unmatched breadth and depth. National's 12,000 products plus TI's 30,000 means more performance, power and packaging options when selecting the right ICs for your application. And we'll provide a common set of best-in-class online tools to make the selection and design process easier.

Our combined sales and applications team of 2,500 will be larger than any in the industry so we can provide more customers with greater face-to-face support than ever before.

Our manufacturing operations will offer more capacity to support your growth. TI's fabs and National's available capacity can enable higher production levels.

While both companies will operate independently pending the close, our goal thereafter is to make the integration process as seamless as possible. No requalification of products will be necessary since National's manufacturing sites will continue to be utilized. Part numbers from both companies will remain the same. There will be no obsolescence of products.

I'm excited about what the integration of our two companies will mean for you: an unmatched portfolio to meet your analog needs, an extensive sales and applications network to ease the design process, and manufacturing capacity to support your growth.

You can learn more about the acquisition at Applications | TI.com, including answers to frequently asked questions and video messages from TI leaders regarding the acquisition.

Thank you for choosing TI. I look forward to a great future together.

Best regards,

Rich Templeton
Chairman, President and CEO
Texas Instruments

Now if they would only get their ordering and shipping issues for small developers fixed (I am referencing last year's example of their microcontroller kit that people ordered early and didn't receive until many months had past); National at one time was pretty responsive to hobbyists (not sure about recent times) - I remember ordering in the 1990s samples of some ADC chip (like 5 pieces) over the phone, and it worked out smoothly and quickly. Not sure what TI would be like, but if the past is any indicator...

TI has lots of different "arms" that work independently. Their microcontroller kit sampling may be bad but their component sampling is excellent. Next-day early AM delivery of just about anything you ask for (except mature components that aren't worth sampling).

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The Aussie Shield: breakout all 28 pins to quick-connect terminals

Just got that email too, wonder how long the merger's been in the works?
I agree with RuggedCircuits. Free overnight shipping on component samples certainly makes my life easier...They are a great place to source basic ICs for small projects in a pinch. Its certainly easier than going to radioshack (not that they ever carry anything useful).

I've actually had more issues getting samples from national than I have from TI, so hopefully this merger will make that better.
TI's estore is a completely different story though. Last year, it took me weeks just to order a radio module. Its like they don't want our money! I heard they redesigned it but i havent used it since. Is it any better?

It's kind of sad to see National Semiconductor go away.