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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 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...
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,...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
MUNICH, Germany—The insolvency of BenQ-Siemens’ German handset business has begun to reverberate throughout the industry, as German chip-maker Infineon Technologies—Europe’s second-largest chip maker—announced it will take a charge of about $101 million against earnings for 2006 due to the firm’s problems. BenQ’s business accounted...
The math is simple: mobile devices are requiring more power at a rate greater than improvements in current battery output and longevity can provide it. There's nothing earth-shattering about the essential proposition, of course-mention the topic of battery life in handsets and colleagues eagerly...
Telegent Systems Inc. will join the mobile TV bandwagon with a first-generation, single-chip solution for handset manufacturers in Asia. The fabless semiconductor firm-the company contracts out to manufacturers to produce the chipsets-this week plans to introduce a hybrid chip designed to support a wide...
IRVINE, Calif.—Chip-maker Broadcom Corp. is crowing that its W-CDMA baseband chip is shipping in Panasonic’s new 3G handset for Japanese operator SoftBank Mobile Corp. Broadcom has already secured W-CDMA chip business with Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., the third-largest handset vendor worldwide. Broadcom was careful...
BOSTON-Rapid product development among semiconductor players could pave the way for nearly 50 million ultra low cost handset shipments by the end of next year, according to a new report from research firm Strategy Analytics Inc. "In addition to Texas Instruments and Infineon, other...
NEW YORK—Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. increased its shipment volume in the third quarter to 30.7 million, a 17-percent increase from the previous, disappointing quarter, according to CIBC World Markets. The South Korean vendor’s shipments beat its own guidance and CIBC’s earlier estimates of 28.8...
BOSTON—Rapid product development among semiconductor players could pave the way for nearly 50 million ultra low cost handset shipments by the end of next year, according to a new report from research firm Strategy Analytics. "In addition to Texas Instruments and Infineon, other chipmakers,...
BOSTON—Several vendors are launching WiMAX strategies and products as they prepare to take the stage at the WiMAX World USA 2006 trade show, running tomorrow and Wednesday in Boston. Among the announcements that coincide with the show: Andrew Corp.’s Comsearch subsidiary announced that it...
