Qualcomm pushing for acquisition of NXP
As Qualcomm continues its bid to acquire Dutch silicon firm NXP, the two major global companies this week in Taipei, Taiwan, for the annual Computex event, made big product and partner announcements that highlight the reach, in terms of both devices and end-users, the combined company would have.
The network edge is a hot topic at the moment, particularly in terms of enabling latency-sensitive applications that take full advantage of what 5G will deliver. Part of this push to the edge is a need for interoperability between the variety of edge appliances and IoT devices that will need to communicate despite potentially using an array of software stacks. Another key push is the need for artificial intelligence and machine learning at the edge—not all data will need to be transported back to a cloud for analysis; decision-making at the edge will be crucial to cutting transport costs and meeting the demands of new types of services and applications.
An eye on the edge, NXP announced EdgeScale, a portfolio of devices and cloud-based services meant to streamline deployment and management of IoT for carriers, enterprises and industrial interests. EdgeScale is compatible with open-source software platforms including Docker and Kubernetes, which work with cloud platforms from AWS, Google, Microsoft and Alibaba among others.
NXP listed OEMs and ODMs Accton, DNI, IMAGO, NEXCOM, Scalys and Senao as launch partners.
Snapdragon 850 brings LTE to PCs
Also during Computex, Qualcomm announced device-maker Samsung would use its Snapdragon 850 Mobile Compute Platform in a future device. In December last year, Qualcomm, in cooperation with OEM partners, announced its Snapdragon 835 would bring LTE connectivity to “always-on” personal computers. HP and Asus were launch partners for PCs based on that iteration of the mobile platform.
The Snapdragon 850, which has a built-in AI engine, allows a PC to alternatively connect to an LTE network or a Wi-Fi network. According to Qualcomm, the platform can support 1.2 Gbps LTE downlink speeds and can be used continuously for 25 hours.
Qualcomm’s Alex Katouzian, SVP and GM, Mobile Business Unit, said partnering with Samsung will “help offer consumers true mobility combined with the productivity and entertainment features of Windows 10. To truly expand this category, our work with mobile leaders like Samsung is important to help us deliver the next generation of always on, always connected PCs.”
Also during the show, the chipmaker announced a partnership with U.S. carrier Sprint to allow customers using autopay to get free unlimited data on PCs from Asus, HP and Lenovo. Sprint VP of Product Development and Engineering Ryan Sullivan said, “These PCs are changing the way we work and play—they demand a great network experience and Sprint delivers on that.”
