Semiconductor

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. solidified its position as the world’s No. 2 handset vendor in the second quarter, with less than half the volume of Nokia Corp. but nearly twice the volume of closest rival LG Electronics Co. Ltd.Handsets proved …

As analysts and pundits scoured the tea leaves in the wake of Apple Inc.’s 3G iPhone launch, a few issues emerged.Who, besides Apple, will get a boost from iPhone mania? Who gets hurt? Will a rising iPhone-tide lift all boats …

Nokia Corp. will acquire total ownership of Symbian Ltd., buying out current partners in a deal valued at about $411 million, the company said today.Nokia said it would combine its own S60 platform with the Symbian platform and provide the …

The following list includes venture capital and other investments into wireless companies announced during the past week. The value of the investment is included when available. —Beeco: RTI International and Intersouth Partners co-led a $5 million Series A funding round …

Samsung has diversified its suppliers of UMTS baseband chips to include Infineon Technologies AG, leaving the world’s second-largest handset vendor less dependent on Qualcomm Inc., Samsung confirmed.“This is no surprise,” said Will Strauss, principal at Forward Concepts, which tracks the …

As Motorola Inc.’s growth sharply contracted between 2006 and 2007, four Chinese handset vendors were among the fastest growing in the business, although at markedly lower volumes.The finding is one of many disparate conclusions drawn in a new study from …

Pesky Wall Street.No matter how well you perform, the stock market – understandably, because it reflects investors’ view of future prospects – is all about “what’s next”?Qualcomm Inc., riding a wave of global demand for W-CDMA-enabled handsets – and strong …

Apple Inc. reported revenue of $7.5 billion and net profit over $1 billion in its second fiscal quarter, with revenue beating expectations. That’s up from revenue of $5.3 billion and net profit of $770 million in the year-ago quarter.The company’s …

NXP Semiconductors and STMicroelectronics will combine their wireless businesses to compete in a cutthroat environment for chip makers. The two companies said in a statement they would aim to complete the move by the third quarter, subject to regulatory review …

The following list includes venture capital and other investments into wireless companies announced during the past week. The value of the investment is included when available. Aperto: Quicksilver Ventures led a $20 million equity round of funding into Aperto Networks, …

Add another voice to the growing chorus of conservative growth forecasts for global handset sales this year. IMS Research last week forecast less than 6% growth, near the low-end of recent estimates by various parties and in contrast to the …

When Texas Instruments Inc. lowered its revenue guidance last week for the quarter about to end, citing weakness in 3G sales to a large customer, analysts were quick to speculate on forecasts for global handset sales this year. That’s because …

The following list includes venture capital and other investments into wireless companies announced during the past week. The value of the investment is included when available. —Altierre: The Galleon Group led a $22 million Series C funding round into San …

If you think you’re seeing Bluetooth headset advertisements everywhere, offering a bewildering array of styles and functionality from innumerable companies, you’re spot on. The growth of mobile multimedia – driven in part by a shift in emphasis by network operators’ …

Mobile phone design efforts over the past two years appear to have taken the handset as far as it will go, for now, if the handsets coming out of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, are any indication.The forefront …

WHAT TYPES OF DEVICES might ride on the 700 MHz frequency licenses now up for bid in the United States?The question is as open and varied as the 214 qualified spectrum bidders and their disparate strategies, analysts said.“We don’t know …

Although the global market for mobile handset baseband semiconductors will continue to expand in 2008, business conditions for suppliers of such solutions will become more challenging due to the shrinking top-tier customer base and more complex requirements from these companies, …

The market for WiMAX chipsets will reach almost $500 million by 2012, driven mainly by embedded mobile WiMAX in mobile personal computers, according to new research from high-tech research firm In-Stat.The market will also benefit from demand for WiMAX customer …

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. said today that its telecom division is booming, shoring up weakness in its semiconductor division. Fourth-quarter handset shipments reached 46.3 million units, up a healthy 41% year-on-year, while operating margins for 2007 increased by 1% year-on-year …

An informal survey of four analysts on the mobile devices on display at the International Consumer Electronics show this week in Las Vegas quickly took different directions with a common theme. Mobile, handheld devices on offer were “evolutionary,” not “revolutionary” …

Padmasree Warrior has been named Cisco Inc.’s CTO just a day after her departure from Motorola Inc. Cisco, based in San Jose, Calif., is one of the world’s biggest networking companies. Warrior, who had been Motorola’s chief technology officer since …

The departure of Padmasree Warrior, Motorola Inc.’s CTO, effective yesterday, came on the heels of CEO Ed Zander’s recent announcement that he will leave his CEO post at month’s end-and caps a year in which the executive faces at Motorola …

A group of industry heavyweights-headed by Google Inc., T-Mobile, HTC Corp., Qualcomm Inc., and Motorola Inc.-announced a new software platform for cellphones that includes an operating system, middleware, user interface and applications. The alliance said the first phones based on …

You’re hearing a dizzying stream of promises and jargon aimed at convincing businesses to “go mobile.”But you’d like to hear unvarnished advice from folks who have done the heavy lifting. Case studies, from the horse’s mouth. Ya shoulda been at …

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. reported $2.39 billion in earnings for the third quarter, an increase of 1% from the same period last year, due largely to growth in its cellphone and chip-making businesses.The world’s No. 2 handset manufacturer brought in …