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Cheap phones to drag on TI’s revenues

DALLAS-A slowdown in wireless chip sales forced Texas Instruments Inc. to trim its fourth-quarter revenue outlook from between $3.46 billion and $3.75 billion to between $3.35 billion and $3.5 billion The company said semiconductor revenues are expected in the range of $3.28 billion and...

Metalink launches second-generation .11n chipset into expanding market

YAKUM, Israel-Silicon developer Metalink Ltd. unveiled its updated draft-compliant 802.11n dual-band chipset for wireless home entertainment networks.The company said its WLANPlus chip features Multiple-Input, Multiple-Output technology and operates in both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. The chipset enables multi-room networking of multiple high-definition...

Nortel’s WiMAX solution scores contracts across globe

Nortel Networks Ltd. landed a mobile WiMAX network supply deal in Taiwan, a trial in Japan, and a chip contract in Israel. The company-which launched its WiMAX portfolio in October at the WiMAX World trade show and was hawking its new offering as 4G mobile...

Qualcomm adds to IPR stable with Airgo buy

First OFDMA and now MIMO. Qualcomm Inc.'s acquisition of Airgo Networks and its Multiple-Input, Multiple-Out technology, as well as the company's previous purchase of Flarion Technologies Inc., position Qualcomm to play big in future wireless broadband.The behemoth San Diego-based chipmaker last week announced it...

Qualcomm pursues consumer electronics with Bluetooth acquisition

Qualcomm Inc. plans to profit from in-house Bluetooth intellectual property to drive down the cost, power consumption and footprint of chip-based functionality in mobile handsets and consumer electronic devices, the company said last week in the wake of its acquisition of much of RF...

Finding magic, money with VC

Wireless entrepreneurs looking to scrape up venture capital would do well to recall a college radio hit from a few years ago: it's all about chemistry.There's been no shortage of investment cash in wireless lately. More than 40 mobile players raked in a total...

Airgo uncovers new 802.11n chip

SAN DIEGO-Now that Qualcomm Inc.'s acquisition of Airgo Networks Inc. is out of the bag, the companies announced the availability of an 802.11n Draft 2.0 Wi-Fi chipset featuring Airgo's TrueMIMO Gen-N Technology.The companies said the AGN400 is Airgo's fourth-generation 802.11n-compliant chipset and noted that...

Qualcomm snares RF Micro’s Bluetooth assets

SAN DIEGO-Qualcomm Inc. reported plans to acquire RF Micro Devices Inc.'s Bluetooth-related assets for $39 million in cash. Qualcomm said that the acquisition, which focuses on Greensboro, N.C.-based RF Micro Device's Bluetooth-related intellectual property and team in San Diego, would enhance its ability to...

Qualcomm wades deeper into MIMO with Airgo purchase

SAN DIEGO-Qualcomm Inc. apparently couldn't resist adding Multiple-Input, Multiple-Output technology to its already huge portfolio of wireless technology. The behemoth chipmaker announced it is buying MIMO creator Airgo Networks Inc. for an undisclosed amount to extend its mobile broadband offering by integrating Airgo's 802.11a/b/g...

LSI snaps up Agere for around $4B

MILPITAS, Calif.-Chipmaker LSI Logic Corp. jumped into the wireless arena by scooping up Agere Systems Inc., a mobile phone chip producer. LSI develops chips for hard drives and DVD recorders, while Agere competes in the communications chip market against powerhouses such as Texas Instruments...

NOKIA’S WORLD: Data is the future

AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands-To understand Nokia Corp.'s outlook, one must leave the United States behind. This is somewhat akin to jumping from one fish bowl to another. The view from inside the U.S. fish bowl provides only a fun-house reflection of one's own image. The...

Sequans lands Motorola $$, Alcatel deal

French chipmaker Sequans Communications further established its standing in the WiMAX ecosystem, announcing an investment from Motorola Inc. along with an agreement with Alcatel Inc. to supply the vendor with WiMAX chips for customer premise equipment in India and other emerging markets. Though Sequans...

Sony, NXP, GSM Association push mobile payments

AMSTERDAM-Sony Corp. and NXP Semiconductors announced a joint venture to develop a secure chip that uses near-field communications for financial transactions. The goal is to produce a chip that can process different protocols and operating systems for contactless payment. The two companies will include...

Jacobs: Qualcomm becoming ‘very much of a law firm’

WASHINGTON-Qualcomm Inc. Chairman Irwin Jacobs said he believes the San Diego-based CDMA technology firm is entering a new phase of heightened regulatory and antitrust scrutiny around the world.Jacobs, speaking at a conference at George Mason University Law School, said Qualcomm has overcome major challenges...

Japan’s Fair Trade Commission may investigate Qualcomm

SAN DIEGO—Japanese authorities may be the next to look into Qualcomm Inc.’s business practices. The chipmaker said it has been notified by the Japan Fair Trade Commission that the agency may investigate its licensing and chip business practices in Japan. The JFTC didn’t disclose...

Sizing up the semiconductor beast

Trying to form a sense of the sprawling chip market for mobile phones is akin to getting a tape measure around an elephant's waist. With dozens of players and product types, the chip industry that enables the fantastic functions of today's mobile phones is...

What is a chip?

Silica is a chemical that, in its manufactured, crystalline form, is ideally suited for use as a semiconductor. A semiconductor, a device made of silica, partly conducts and partly insulates-thus its name-and is ideal for conveying electronic signals in a controllable manner. It is...

A glance inside the handset: keeping it simple

A mobile phone runs on the chips inside it, if an over-generalization may be permitted for simplicity's sake. And the basic functions of a basic phone rely on four types of chips: the power amplifier, the RF transceiver, the analog baseband and the digital...

MasterCard, Nokia again team for NFC payment tests

DALLAS—Another trial of near field communication for contactless payment is underway in Dallas. The trial will include up to 500 participants and will last six months, according to participants MasterCard, Nokia and 7-Eleven. This is the latest mobile payment trial for MasterCard and Nokia. Indeed,...

Qualcomm to diversify chip fabrication

SAN DIEGO-Qualcomm Inc. is making its fabless approach to its semiconductor business leaner and meaner by signing on with the chip fabrication alliance of IBM Corp., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd., also known as the Common Platform initiative. Qualcomm's move...

Forecast for Q4 season: warm but cooling: Attention to music could spur sales

The fourth quarter-a seasonally hot quarter for handset sales-is well underway. Time for the crystal ball and a word from a couple of gazers. The outlook remains positive for fourth-quarter shipment volumes, based largely on historical trends and the remarkable volumes of handsets shipped...

TI forecast, Infineon job cuts leave Q4 chip questions

In Hollywood's movie industry, as in New York's publishing industry, the cutting question is, "Yes, but what have you done lately?" Add the semiconductor industry to that list. When Texas Instruments Inc. reported that its third-quarter revenue rose 13 percent to $3.76 billion and...

Worst of the Week: Please Change the Channel

Hello! And welcome to our Thursday column, Worst of the Week. There's a lot of nutty stuff that goes on in this industry, so this column is a chance for us at RCR Wireless News to rant and rave about whatever rubs us the...

Qualcomm to diversify chip fabrication

SAN DIEGO—Qualcomm Inc. is making its fabless approach to its semiconductor business leaner and meaner by signing on with the chip fabrication alliance of IBM Corp., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd., also known as the Common Platform initiative. Qualcomm’s move...