What is sigmatel?

SigmaTel (SGTL) is an electronics company located in Austin, TX, which designs mixed audio signal processors, and controller chips for multifunction peripherals. Its line of audio chips has been found Dell laptops, several new Dell desktops, the iPod Shuffle-1st generation, the Sony Vaio notebook, and numerous other audio playback devices. Sigmatel sold its computer audio business in mid 2006 to Integrated Device Technology, Inc. for approximately $80 million and so no longer derives revenue from sales of these chips.
At one point, SigmaTel chips were found in over 70% of all MP3 devices sold on the market. However, Sigmatel has lost its last iPod socket in 2006 when it was not found in the next generation iPod Shuffle. PortalPlayer was their largest competitor, but were bought by Nvidia (NVDA) after PortalPlayer's chips lost their socket in the iPod. SigmaTel was voted "Best Place to Work in Austin 2005" by the Austin Chronicle.