Overall, Slaymaker said Texas Instruments' orders have trended up from very weak levels seen in the fourth quarter. But he cautioned that the uptick, and China-related demand, do not translate into a chip industry rebound.

"We have not seen the kind of broad based strengthening that would normally be associated with the end of an inventory depletion cycle," he said.

He also said that TI expects end demand to continue to decline, which will impact the company's chip business.

Revenue in the global chip market is expected to drop 22 percent in 2009, compared to last year, according to IDC. The market researcher said the chip market won't recover until 2010.