Toy makers welcome chip biz slowdown

Last year's components shortages hurt many toy makers who had planned to introduce a variety of IC-driven gadgets. The current slowdown in cell phone and PC sales, however, has allowed them to move ahead with a wide variety of intelligent toys. Moreover, they have learned to compete more directly with other chip buyers so it is less likely that they will be harmed by shortages in the future.

A Mattel spokesperson says, "We have accelerated our chip procurement process, centralized communications with vendors and will forecast our needs in advance and will order to longer lead times. We will also be addressing design flexibility in our products to make chips more interchangeable when possible."

The source article is at dailynews.yahoo.com.