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Olddog, what do you read into the '2' at the end of the case description, if anything? Do we know of a '1'?
ARBITRATION AWARD 2
For some reason seems like a real battle today to keep the price at or below 45.
Institutional Ownership up to: 71.24%, waiting for a few stragglers to report
Nokia Taps Alston Lobbyists to Help with Trade Agency
Nokia Inc. has called on a former U.S. senator and three of her colleagues at Alston & Bird in Washington to help it with the U.S. International Trade Commission, according to lobbying registration paperwork filed with Congress on Monday.
The Finnish cellphone maker has enlisted former Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), a special policy adviser at Alston, along with senior policy adviser Robert Holifield, counsel William Anaya and partner Robert Jones. Anaya is a co-leader of Alston's political law practice. Jones is the head of the firm's legislative and public policy group.
They are lobbying on unspecified policy matters concerning intellectual property rights cases before the ITC. The federal agency can order U.S. Customs and Border Protection to block infringing products from entering the United States.
Anaya declined to comment.
The ITC is familiar turf for Nokia, the manufacturer of Lumia smartphones. The agency currently is investigating a patent complaint InterDigital Communications Inc. filed in January against Nokia and other telecommunications companies. InterDigital alleges that Nokia, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., ZTE Corp. and Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. imported into the United States 3G and 4G wireless devices that infringe on as many as seven of its patents.
Nokia hasn't submitted to Congress a report on lobbying it may have done so far this year, according to congressional records. But the cellphone maker spent $570,000 on federal lobbying done by its own staffers last year. The company hasn't used outside lobbyists since Clark & Weinstock stopped advocating for it in 2008.
Sony expects smartphone sales to jump to 42M units this fiscal year
By Phil Goldstein
Sony swung to an annual profit for the first time in five years and said it expects smartphone sales to jump by more than a quarter to 42 million units this fiscal year, as the once-venerable electronics maker leans more on its mobile business to help revive its fortunes.
Sony reported that it booked a net profit of $435 million in the financial year that ended in March, its first profit since 2008. The Japanese company, which took control of its mobile operations last year after ending a joint venture with Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC), said its electronics operation will turn an operating profit of about $1.07 billion this fiscal year, compared with a loss of $1.3 billion a year earlier, Sony CFO Masaru Kato said, according to Bloomberg.
Importantly, the company forecast growing smartphone sales--Sony Mobile Communications is expected to ship 42 million units in the fiscal year to April 1, 2014, up from 33 million units in the last fiscal year. "Smartphones are going to start making contributions to profit this year," Kato said. "Xperia Z has been getting great response from customers."
Indeed, the Xperia Z, which went on sale in February to strong reviews, has been a bright spot for Sony's Xperia brand of Android smartphones, which has struggled to gain traction in certain markets, especially the United States. Still, the forecasted sales increase was welcomed as a positive sign by analysts.
"It (42 million) does not seem a lot," Mtsushige Akino, chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi Asset Management, told Reuters. "Its smartphones are high-spec and production costs should be hefty, so the company has to sell a lot to be profitable in the business."
The high-end Xperia Z is Sony's flagship model for 2013 and features a 5-inch HD 1080p Reality Display, Qualcomm's (NASDAQ:QCOM) Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor, a 13-megapixel camera and technology that makes it waterproof. However, the device has yet to be picked up by a U.S. carrier, though there have been rumors that T-Mobile US (NYSE:TMUS) will carry it. For now, the device is on sale unlocked for $630 at Sony's online U.S. store.
Sony Mobile CEO Kunimasa Suzuki said the company hopes to become the world's third largest smartphone maker behind Samsung Electronics and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), an aspiration shared by a number of companies, including HTC, Huawei and LG Electronics. Sony was the 10th largest handset maker in the world in the fourth quarter, according to ABI Research.
"The Xperia range is selling well where available, but Sony's limited retail presence in major markets like the U.S. and China is restricting its growth," Strategy Analytics analyst Neil Mawston told Reuters. "Sony captured less than 1 percent of the valuable U.S. market in 2012."
HTC expects revenues to grow nearly 64% on quarter in 2Q13
Irene Chen, Taipei; Steve Shen, DIGITIMES [Thursday 2 May 2013]
HTC expects its revenues to grow 63.6% sequentially to NT$70 billion (US$2.37 billion) in the second quarter of 2013 and its gross margin to improve to 22-24% from 20.3% during the same period, according to the company.
Additionally, its operating margin will also rise to 1-3% in the second quarter compared to 0.1% in the previous quarter.
For the first quarter of 2013, HTC posted net profits of NT$85 million (US$2.88 million) or an EPS of NT$0.10, which was the company's lowest quarterly EPS ever.
Huawei not giving up on U.S. smartphone market despite infrastructure difficulties.
Even though Huawei has been frustrated in getting access to the U.S. network infrastructure market because of persistent concerns that it poses a national security threat, the company is not giving up on its smartphone business in the United States according to Fierce Wireless.
And the 18% interest should lead to a quick resolution - for a change!
We moved to enforce that award which is carrying 18% interest...
Huawei ‘not interested in the US any more’
By Kathrin Hille in Shenzhen and Paul Taylor in New York
©Bloomberg
Huawei has given up its quest to conquer the market for telecom network equipment in the US, where the Chinese company’s sales efforts have been repeatedly blocked by security fears.
“We are not interested in the US market any more,” Eric Xu, executive vice-president, said at the company’s annual analyst summit on Tuesday. The world’s second-largest supplier of network gear by revenue has shifted the focus of expansion away from the US over the past year.
Huawei’s decision ends an aggressive push for business in the world’s largest economy. US security officials and politicians have repeatedly identified Huawei as a threat to US national security – an allegation the Chinese company has consistently denied.
Although Huawei has done business with 45 of the world’s top carriers, it failed to get contracts from any leading operators in the US. Last month, Sprint Nextel, the third largest US mobile network operator, and its Japanese suitor, Softbank, both gave assurances to the House intelligence committee that they would not use Huawei equipment.
In October, a US congressional report officially branded Huawei and ZTE, its smaller Chinese peer, a threat to national security. At the time, Representative Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, called on the US government and private sector companies to shun Huawei and ZTE.
Despite its success in other markets, including the UK, Huawei has struggled in the US for years because of concerns among politicians and security officials about the military background of its founder Ren Zhengfei, a former People’s Liberation Army officer.
In 2008, Huawei retracted a bid for 3Com, a US technology company, after it emerged that the proposed deal would not gain regulatory approval in Washington. Two years later, Huawei bid for a multibillion-dollar contract to supply network infrastructure to Sprint Nextel, one of the top US operators, but lost after the US government intervened. It also failed to win bids for other US telecom assets and, in 2011, was forced to unwind a $2m deal to buy patents from a US company.
In response to these setbacks, Huawei launched a major US lobbying campaign. It hired a number of senior executives from ailing rivals such as Nortel and Motorola, in an effort to build a big research and development presence.
Ken Hu, a senior Huawei executive, also wrote a passionate open letter calling on the US government to launch a formal investigation, which he believed would clear his company.
But October’s congressional report made it even more difficult for the company to do business in the US, Huawei executives say. As a result, it has halted its expansion there. While Huawei still employs 1,400 people in the US, its R&D headcount has dropped from 800 to 500, and the sales team has shrunk too.
Executives at the company’s consumer and enterprise business-groups said they no longer consider the US to be a strategic market.
Huawei on Tuesday also revised downwards the long-term outlook for its enterprise business, its youngest but fastest-growing division. William Xu, the unit’s chief executive, said its goal of generating $15bn in revenues from the business by 2017 – a target set just last year – was “too optimistic”. The company is now aiming for just US$10bn. But Mr Xu still expects the unit’s revenues to grow 45 per cent this year, up from 25 per cent growth in 2012.
ZTE Signs Smartphone Patent-Licensing Deal With Microsoft
By Susan Decker - Apr 23, 2013 7:31 PM PT
ZTE Corp. (763), China’s second-biggest maker of mobile-phone equipment, signed a patent-licensing agreement with Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) for technology used in smartphones and tablet computers.
Financial terms weren’t disclosed, Microsoft said in a blog posting announcing the deal. The agreement gives Shenzhen, China-based ZTE access to Microsoft technology for use in its phones, tablets, computers and other devices that run on Google Inc. (GOOG)’s Android and Chrome OS operating systems.
Enlarge image
An employee photographs herself with a ZTE Corp. Grand Memo smartphone at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. ZTE had 4.4 percent of the global smartphone market in the fourth quarter of 2012, making it the fourth-biggest manufacturer of smartphones, just behind Huawei. Technologies Inc. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg
With ZTE and other licensees, Microsoft gets royalties from 80 percent of the Android smartphones sold in the U.S. and more than half of those sold worldwide, Horacio Gutierrez, deputy general counsel at Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft, said in the blog posting. Google’s Motorola Mobility and ZTE’s crosstown competitor Huawei Technologies Inc. are the two largest holdouts.
“There’s no one that can build a great product these days without using the ideas of other companies,” David Kaefer, general manager of Microsoft’s intellectual property licensing, said in an interview. “ZTE and Huawei look at each other as competitors. Having ZTE licensed only convinces others there is good value there.”
Microsoft has been embroiled in patent litigation with Motorola Mobility for more than two years. It won a ruling that limited U.S. imports of Motorola Mobility phones that have a feature for syncing schedules between phones and personal computers, and is awaiting a final decision in a case that targets the Xbox video-gaming system.
Smartphone Market
ZTE and Huawei have their own fight going on, with patent- infringement suits against each other in Europe.
ZTE had 4.4 percent of the global smartphone market in the fourth quarter of 2012, making it the fourth-biggest manufacturer of smartphones, just behind Huawei. The field is dominated by Cupertino, California-based Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Samsung Electronics Co. (005930), based in Suwon, South Korea, which together made half the smartphones sold in the world during the last three months of the year, according to Bloomberg Industries data from researcher IDC.
Last week, Microsoft announced it had reached a similar licensing agreement with Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. (2317), the world’s largest contract manufacturer of electronics, and its Foxconn unit. Microsoft also has agreements with LG Electronics Inc. and Samsung.
Great find and I'll bet he is in violation of his Non Disclosure Agreement and will be forced to remove that shortly!
Cisco Is Buying Ubiquisys For $310M For A Big Move Into Mobile Coverage With Femtocells And Small Cells
Cisco has just announced that it is buying UK-based Ubiquisys for $310 million to beef up its business in femtocells and small cells, technologies that help improve connectivity on mobile data networks indoors and short-range outdoor spaces. The deal is one of the biggest exits in European tech in the last several years.
Cisco says the $310 million figure is a combination of cash and employee retention incentives. The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2013.
The news follows on from Cisco’s acquisition in January 2013 of Intucell for $475 million, and of BroadHop in the same month, both of which also expand the company’s holdings in mobile infrastructure.
Specifically, Ubiquisys specialises in what’s called small-cell technologies, which help patch together coverage for 3G and LTE, as well as WiFi networks, for carriers, large enterprises and even private users in places where traditionally they have been patchy. This possibly most often used for indoor coverage, but also in outdoor areas where network connections may not be as strong, and mobile operators link up with broadband networks to improve coverage.
This is a business that Ubiquisys has built up over the years. It has some 70 carrier customers and others on its books, including T-Mobile, Google, SFR and Softbank.
Daryl Schoolar, an analyst at Ovum, notes that the acquisition will be particularly useful for Cisco’s strategy to extend into cellular services on 3G and LTE.
“Cisco is no stranger to small cells, but that has been primarily through its carrier Wi-Fi efforts,” he writes. “In the licensed spectrum small cell space Cisco has basically been reliant on its femtocell relationship with AT&T. Outside of its work with AT&T, Cisco’s licensed small cell experience has been hard to find…Ubiquisys’ small cell experience greatly bolsters Cisco’s small cell position.”
He also adds that this will help it reduce reliance on third parties for small-cell expertise, and fills out its product suite in targeting the carrier market.
“Cisco will also benefit by having greater control over Ubiquisys’ product development cycle, freeing Cisco from having to rely on the development cycle of third-party partners like IP access,” he notes, adding that now in the area of licensed small cells, Cisco can also offer things like data analytics and evolved packet core needed to build a mobile network. “This isn’t something all of Cisco’s competitors can claim.”
The move comes at a time when we are seeing two other things happening: attention shifting to improving indoor coverage and services overall. Just last week, Apple acquired WifiSLAM for $20 million. WifiSLAM specialises in technology that lets applications pinpoint indoor location more accurately. It’s not clear whether this is something that Apple intends to offer to developers, integrating it into its SDK, or whether it’s something that will make its way to its iOS devices themselves. Perhaps both.
At the same time, more moves from the large enterprise titans to build out their products targeting mobile carriers. Oracle’s acquisition of Tekelec last week also fits into this trend.
Ubiquisys has been around since 2004 and has raised some $81 million in funding from backers that include Advent Venture Partners, Accel, Atlas Venture Partners and Yasuda Enterprise Development. The most recent round was in August 2012, when the company raised a venture round of $19 million from investors led by 5CCG / Sallfort Privatbank and including Mobile Internet Capital, the venture arm of NTT DoCoMo.
Ubiquisys has existing equipment partnerships with BroadCom, Texas Instruments and Intel. As those three already have existing relationships with Cisco, that could be a sign that all of that will remain intact.
In the meantime, Cisco says that it will be forming part of its Small Cell Technology group led by Partho Mishra.
Two words:Day Traders.
Who would buy the Panasonic handset business unit?
Daniel Shen, Taipei; Jackie Chang, DIGITIMES [Wednesday 20 March 2013]
Japan-based Panasonic reportedly plans to sell its handset business unit. Industry observers believe China-based firms might be interested, but the chances of the Japan vendor reaching a deal to sell the unit are low.
Japan's handsets require advanced technologies and firms have been investing heavily into R&D teams. However, most firms have been focused mainly on the domestic market and the lack of economies of scale has been causing many firms to see continuous net losses.
In addition, Japan-based telecom carriers have introduced international brands such as Apple, Samsung Electronics and HTC, creating competition with domestic firms.
Japan-based handset makers have been going through consolidations such as the handset business unit merger between Fujitsu and Toshiba, and Kyocera and Sanyo. Furthermore, the handset business units of NEC, Casio and Hitachi also merged into one.
Panasonic, one of the few Japan-based brands that still has its own handset business unit, is reportedly selling the unit and firms such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and HTC are reportedly among the list of potential buyers.
Handset makers noted that the possibility for TSMC to procure Panasonic's handset division is close to zero. HTC may increase market share in Japan by acquiring the business unit from Panasonic, but with the firm's current financial condition and past procurement record, it is unlikely HTC will buy another handset brand.
Handset makers added that China-based firms might have interest in buying the business unit. However, handset makers added, the procurement of a large number of staff and assets to increase a small percentage of market share in Japan does not seem profitable.
Industry sources believe Panasonic should hold on to the handset brand and cooperate with Taiwan- or China-based ODM firms in product R&D and production. This type of cooperation is also likely to give Panasonic's handset business a chance to expand into the international market.
It's just option's Friday.
Acer to ship 10 million tablets in 2013, say sources
Aaron Lee, Taipei; Joseph Tsai, DIGITIMES [Monday 25 February 2013]
Acer may be able to ship 10 million tablets in 2013, up more than 400% on year, due to strong demand for entry-level tablets, according to sources from the upstream supply chain.
Acer currently ships 200,000-300,000 Iconia B1-A71 tablets, a 7-inch sub-US$150 entry-level model, every month, and is set to launch an 8-inch model and another 10-inch one for the entry-level segment in the near future, the sources noted.
Of the projected shipments, Android-based models are expected to account for seven million units and Windows-based models for three million units, the sources said.
After Acer releasing its 8- and 10-inch entry-level tablets, the sources expect the company to lower the price for its 7-inch model below US$130 and to price the 8-inch and the 10-inch models below US$150 and US$200, respectively.
Acer's Iconia B1-A71 tablet is manufactured by Compal Electronics and the vendor has outsourced its 8-inch model to Wistron with mass production to start in April, the sources said, adding that Compal and Wistron are currently competiting for the manufacturing orders for the 10-inch model.
InterDigital, Mindspeed and Radisys Collaborate to Deliver Integrated Small Cell with Wi-Fi Solution
Integrated System Can Cut Carrier TCO in Half Compared to Traditional Architecture
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
InterDigital (IDCC), Mindspeed Technologies, Inc. (MSPD), and Radisys® (RSYS) announced today that they will be demonstrating an integrated Wi-Fi and LTE small cell solution at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona later this month. The solution combines InterDigital’s Converged Gateway, a licensed and unlicensed bandwidth management software with carrier-proven Radisys TOTALeNodeB™ complete small cell software, all running on Mindspeed®’s Transcede® dual-mode processor. The Transcede system-on-chip (SoC) is a dual-mode device with designated headroom available for value-added software, which fully supports both 3G/HSPA, 4G/LTE and Wi-Fi applications from Radisys. This enables OEMs to efficiently develop small cell solutions that combine HSPA, LTE and Wi-Fi in one access point.
Network operators are increasingly embracing cellular and Wi-Fi as complementary technologies in delivering the ever-growing volume of data through offloading cellular users onto Wi-Fi. As such, many operators are deploying carrier Wi-Fi in significant volume today. But critically, for urban deployments with metrocells, the total cost of ownership (TCO) is driven by the number of nodes, as each requires power, backhaul, installation and site acquisition. Having separate carrier Wi-Fi installations and small cell installations to serve the same area doubles TCO compared to an integrated unit that shares power, backhaul and installation.
InterDigital’s Converged Gateway software delivers a novel offloading and traffic management solution by intelligently managing application data flows across multiple physical transports or networks, and simultaneously enhances the overall user experience. This enables synergies between cellular and Wi-Fi by using advanced operator-controlled policies to combine, split or hand over data streams based on contextual parameters, such as channel conditions, content, user preferences, subscription plans, etc. This is fully compatible with both 3GPP and 802.11 standards, and embodies the Small Cell Forum ISW (Integrated Small Cell Wi-Fi) reference architecture.
“InterDigital’s innovation and technology leadership in the wireless industry is contributing bandwidth management solutions for the HetNet, and helping solve the bandwidth crunch for carriers while ensuring QoE for users,” said Allen A. Proithis, Executive Vice President of InterDigital Solutions. “We are pleased to partner with Radisys, an industry leader in the small cell protocol stack and platform software, and Mindspeed, a leader in SoC, in delivering a reliable industry solution that can address TCO issues for carriers in such a compelling way.”
“Small cells represent one of the most exciting segments in wireless today, and we are proud of our market-leading position,” said Dr. Naser Adas, Sr. Vice President and General Manager of the wireless infrastructure business unit at Mindspeed. “We are the only small cell SoC company commercially shipping both 3G and LTE. Through this initiative with InterDigital and Radisys, our dual-mode SoC enables a complete, triple mode ISW access point, delivering the benefits of Small Cells and Wi-Fi in one system.”
“Radisys is pleased to be part of the next leap of HetNet innovation,” said Todd Mersch, senior director product line management, Software and Solutions, Radisys. “Efficient and cost effective deployment of multi-mode technologies is key for operators for both capex and opex expenses. Radisys’ field deployed 3G and LTE multi-mode small cell software solution turns the HetNet concept into the deployment reality for operators. In 2013, as multi-mode deployments proliferate, operators will need policy driven control on their access assets and we are pleased to be at the forefront of solving the HetNet deployment challenge.”
The ISW software from InterDigital controls both Wi-Fi chipset and the Mindspeed Transcede platform, integrating 802.11 b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi with LTE and HSPA. It will work with all of Mindspeed’s small cell SoC products, scaling from cost-effective residential systems to high-performance “metro cells” for public access and dense urban deployment.
Recently, the Small Cell Forum and Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) announced that they will work together to intelligently integrate small cells and Wi-Fi to improve quality of service, lower costs and simplify deployment. The Forum is developing a reference architecture for ISW, building on the work in other standards bodies to help operators define and deploy such integrated products.
By 2017, nearly 21 exabytes of mobile data traffic will be offloaded each month to fixed networks by means of Wi-Fi devices and femtocells according to predictions in the Cisco Visual Networking Index: Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update, 2012–2017.
InterDigital to Participate in Telecom Council’s Entrepreneur Forum on White Spaces
WILMINGTON, Del.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
InterDigital, Inc. (IDCC), a wireless research and development company, today announced that James J. Nolan, Executive Vice President, Research and Development, and head of the company’s Innovation Labs, will be participating as an expert panelist in the Telecom Council’s Entrepreneur Forum on Opportunities in White Spaces.
The event, organized by the Telecom Council of Silicon Valley and being held on February 14 in Mountain View, California, will explore the opportunities that unlicensed spectrum holds and the progress that has been made thus far to make better use of White Spaces. Mr. Nolan will be joined by executives from Adaptrum, Blue Field Strategies, Carlson Wireless, Google and Neul Ltd.
Spectrum management technologies are being recognized as key players in the future of wireless infrastructure, especially with the continued growth of small cells, M2M communications and mobile backhaul. InterDigital is a pioneer and innovator of advanced wireless solutions in using, managing and aggregating unlicensed spectrum as part of an overall connectivity solution. The company held the world’s first live, over-the-air public demonstration of its Dynamic Spectrum Management (DSM) technology platform in October 2012, a significant moment for InterDigital in the development of TV White Space technology.
About the Telecom Council
The Telecom Council of Silicon Valley is Where Telecom Meets Innovation. We connect the companies who are building communication networks, with the people and ideas that are creating it – by putting those companies, research, ideas, capital, and human expertise from across the globe together in the same room. Last year, The Telecom Council connected over 2,000 executives from 750 telecom companies and 25 fixed and wireless carriers across 40 meeting topics. By joining, speaking, sponsoring, or simply participating in a meeting, there are many ways telecom companies of any size take advantage of Telecom Council network. For more information or to join our invitation list, visit www.telecomcouncil.com.
Unrivalled suite of mobile IP on display includes software-based Wi-Fi 802.11ac; software-based image enhancement & computer vision; advanced audio post-processing, voice pre-processing and voice activation. Visit CEVA at Stand 7i70, Hall 7
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Feb. 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ – CEVA, Inc. (NASDAQ:CEVA), the leading licensor of silicon intellectual property (SIP) platform solutions and DSP cores, today announced that it will demonstrate its industry leadership in platform IP for advanced mobile applications at Mobile World Congress 2013. CEVA will also showcase a wide range of LTE smartphones & tablets, low cost smartphones and other mobile computing devices from the world’s leading OEMs, all powered by CEVA DSPs. Illustrating the company’s position as the world’s #1 DSP architecture deployed in mobile devices, CEVA DSPs power 46%^ of the world’s cellular basebands today, and have shipped in more than three billion handsets to date.
Technologies on display at CEVA’s stand will include:
Image Enhancement & Computer Vision – CEVA and its partners will demonstrate the widest range of advanced imaging and vision applications running on CEVA’s silicon-proven, third generation platform, the CEVA-MM3101. Demonstrations include dynamic range compression, color enhancement, video stabilization, face recognition, gesture recognition and touch free user interface.
Audio, Voice & Speech – CEVA and its partners will demonstrate a comprehensive range of advanced audio and voice applications, including voice activation, voice pre-processing (echo cancellation, beam forming, multi-mic noise reduction and more) and audio post-processing (surround virtualization, volume equalization, speaker correction and more). These demonstrations leverage the latest generation DSPs based on the CEVA-TeakLite DSP architecture which has powered more than two billion audio/voice chips to date.
Communications & Connectivity – CEVA and its partners will demonstrate the industry’s only software-based Wi-Fi 802.11ac and satellite navigation (GNSS) technologies. These demonstrations are powered by the CEVA-XC DSP, the industry’s most successful DSP for advanced communications (LTE, LTE-Advanced and Wi-Fi), with more than 20 design wins to date.
In addition, more than fifty CEVA customers, partners and OEMs will display a wide range of CEVA-powered products and devices at the show, including Acer, Broadcom, Coolpad, Haier, HTC, Huawei, Intel, InterDigital, Konka, Lenovo, LG, Mindspeed, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, SIMCom, ST-Ericsson, Telit, u-Blox, ZTE, and many more.
Mobile World Congress 2013 takes place in Barcelona, Spain from February 25th to 28th. CEVA will be located at stand 7i70 in Hall 7. To request a meeting with CEVA please email events@ceva-dsp.com or contact your local CEVA sales office.
Shearman & Sterling Advises Sony on Joint Venture with InterDigital to Create Convida Wireless
3 Jan 2013
Samuel A. Waxman, Michael B. Shulman, Alykhan Kurji, Derrick Lott
Shearman & Sterling is advising Sony Corporation of America on its planned joint venture with InterDigital, Inc. that will combine Sony’s consumer electronics expertise with InterDigital’s pioneering wireless machine-to-machine (M2M) and bandwidth management research. The joint venture, called Convida Wireless, will focus on driving new research in the growing field of M2M wireless communications and other connectivity areas.
Convida Wireless represents a new collaboration between Sony, a longtime technology leader, and InterDigital Solutions, a unit announced in October by InterDigital that explores new engagement models with industry players. Based on the terms of the agreement, the parties will contribute funding and resources for additional M2M research and platform development, which will be carried out by InterDigital Solutions. The agreement also includes a patent license from InterDigital for Sony’s 3G and 4G products.
InterDigital develops fundamental wireless technologies that are at the core of mobile devices, networks, and services worldwide. InterDigital solves many of the industry's most critical and complex technical challenges, inventing solutions for more efficient broadband networks and a richer multimedia experience years ahead of market deployment. InterDigital has licenses and strategic relationships with many of the world's leading wireless companies.
Sony Corporation of America, based in New York, NY, is the US subsidiary of Sony Corporation, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Sony Corporation is a leading manufacturer of audio, video, communications, and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets.
The Shearman & Sterling team included partners Samuel Waxman (New York-Mergers & Acquisitions/Intellectual Property Transactions) and Michael Shulman (Washington, DC-Tax) and associates Alykhan Kurji (New York-Intellectual Property Transactions) and Derrick Lott (New York-Mergers & Acquisitions).
January 31, 2013
News Release 13-015
Inv. No. 337-TA-868
Contact: Peg O'Laughlin, 202-205-1819
USITC INSTITUTES SECTION 337 INVESTIGATION OF CERTAIN WIRELESS DEVICES WITH 3G AND/OR 4G CAPABILITIES AND COMPONENTS THEREOF
The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) has voted to institute an investigation of certain wireless devices with 3G and/or 4G capabilities and components thereof. The products at issue in this investigation are cellular mobile telephones including smartphones, cellular PC cards, cellular USB dongles or sticks, personal computers such as laptops, notebooks, netbooks, tablets and other mobile internet devices with cellular capabilities, cellular access points or "hotspots" and cellular modems.
The investigation is based on a complaint filed by InterDigital Communications, Inc., of King of Prussia, PA; InterDigital Technology Corporation of Wilmington, DE; IPR Licensing, Inc., of Wilmington, DE; and InterDigital Holdings, Inc., of Wilmington, DE; January 2, 2013. The complaint alleges violations of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 in the importation into the United States and sale of certain wireless devices with 3G and/or 4G capabilities and components thereof that infringe patents asserted by the complainants. The complainants request that the USITC issue an exclusion order and cease and desist orders.
The USITC has identified the following as respondents in this investigation:
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., of Suwon-city, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea;
Samsung Electronics America, Inc., of Ridgefield Park, NJ;
Samsung Telecommunications America, LLC, of Richardson, TX;
Nokia Corporation of Espoo, Finland;
Nokia Inc. of White Plains, NY;
ZTE Corporation of Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China;
ZTE (USA) Inc. of Richardson, TX;
Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., of Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China;
Huawei Device USA, Inc., of Plano, TX; and
FutureWei Technologies, Inc., d/b/a Huawei Technologies (USA) of Plano, TX.
By instituting this investigation (337-TA-868), the USITC has not yet made any decision on the merits of the case. The USITC's Chief Administrative Law Judge will assign the case to one of the USITC's six administrative law judges (ALJ), who will schedule and hold an evidentiary hearing. The ALJ will make an initial determination as to whether there is a violation of section 337; that initial determination is subject to review by the Commission.
The USITC will make a final determination in the investigation at the earliest practicable time. Within 45 days after institution of the investigation, the USITC will set a target date for completing the investigation. USITC remedial orders in section 337 cases are effective when issued and become final 60 days after issuance unless disapproved for policy reasons by the U.S. Trade Representative within that 60-day period.
Wild guess about a potential partner/licensee:
Google Creating Wireless Network, But For What?
By Amir Efrati and Anton Troianovski
Google is trying to create an experimental wireless network covering its Mountain View, Calif., headquarters, a move that some analysts say could portend the creation of dense and superfast Google wireless networks in other locations that would allow people to connect to the Web using their mobile devices.
First, the facts: Google last week submitted an application to the Federal Communications Commission, asking for an experimental license to create an “experimental radio service” with a two-mile radius covering its headquarters.
However, Google’s small-scale wireless network would use frequencies that wouldn’t be compatible with nearly any of the consumer mobile devices that exist today, such as Apple’s iPad or iPhone or most devices powered by Google’s Android operating system. The network would only provide coverage for devices built to access certain frequencies, from 2524 to 2625 megahertz.
Those frequencies, which could work well in densely populated areas, could be important in the future because mobile operators in China, Brazil and Japan already are building wireless networks using them, meaning that compatible devices eventually will be manufactured, said Walter Piecyk, a wireless-industry analyst at research firm BTIG.
A Google spokeswoman on Wednesday declined to comment on the purpose of the application, saying the company regularly experiments with new things.
Much of Google’s application is confidential, but it does say that the first “deployment” of the experimental network will occur inside a specific building on Google’s campus. That building houses the Google Fiber team, which is part of the Google Access unit that has introduced high-speed wired Internet and video in Kansas City, Kan., with plans to expand to Kansas City, Mo., and other cities in the future.
Google Access also is rolling out free Wi-Fi service for New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood, and Google also maintains a free Wi-Fi service for the city of Mountain View.
According to the application, first spotted by wireless engineer Steven Crowley, Google said it would be using wireless frequencies that are controlled by Clearwire Corp., a wireless broadband provider. That means the frequencies are part of what’s called “licensed spectrum” and can be more reliable than Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi is unlicensed, meaning it can be used by anyone.
Google currently doesn’t have control of licensed spectrum.
“The only reason to use these frequencies is if you have business designs on some mobile service,” Crowley said.
It’s unclear whether Google would build such a service for internal use only or as part of a potential offering for consumers, and very few devices on the market today are compatible with the frequencies.
Clearwire on Wednesday declined to say whether it was working with Google on the trial. Companies testing technology on Clearwire’s spectrum typically coordinate with Clearwire when doing so, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Piecyk of BTIG said Google’s experimental network could mean that it plans to introduce a wireless service to customers of its Google Fiber product. In other words, people in Kansas City who sign up for high-speed Internet would be able to receive wireless service anywhere in the city for future tablets or other devices that would be compatible with the network. Google could have its Motorola hardware unit build devices that work on the Clearwire-controlled frequencies, he said.
That would be an extension of a business model currently being developed by cable companies such as Time Warner Cable Inc., which are setting up Wi-Fi hotspots in the cities they serve and offering free wireless access to their customers.
Google’s creation of a small-scale wireless network comes on the heels of discussions it had last year with Dish, the satellite-TV provider, to partner on a broad wireless service.
Wild guess about a potential partner/licensee:
Google Creating Wireless Network, But For What?
By Amir Efrati and Anton Troianovski
Google is trying to create an experimental wireless network covering its Mountain View, Calif., headquarters, a move that some analysts say could portend the creation of dense and superfast Google wireless networks in other locations that would allow people to connect to the Web using their mobile devices.
First, the facts: Google last week submitted an application to the Federal Communications Commission, asking for an experimental license to create an “experimental radio service” with a two-mile radius covering its headquarters.
However, Google’s small-scale wireless network would use frequencies that wouldn’t be compatible with nearly any of the consumer mobile devices that exist today, such as Apple’s iPad or iPhone or most devices powered by Google’s Android operating system. The network would only provide coverage for devices built to access certain frequencies, from 2524 to 2625 megahertz.
Those frequencies, which could work well in densely populated areas, could be important in the future because mobile operators in China, Brazil and Japan already are building wireless networks using them, meaning that compatible devices eventually will be manufactured, said Walter Piecyk, a wireless-industry analyst at research firm BTIG.
A Google spokeswoman on Wednesday declined to comment on the purpose of the application, saying the company regularly experiments with new things.
Much of Google’s application is confidential, but it does say that the first “deployment” of the experimental network will occur inside a specific building on Google’s campus. That building houses the Google Fiber team, which is part of the Google Access unit that has introduced high-speed wired Internet and video in Kansas City, Kan., with plans to expand to Kansas City, Mo., and other cities in the future.
Google Access also is rolling out free Wi-Fi service for New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood, and Google also maintains a free Wi-Fi service for the city of Mountain View.
According to the application, first spotted by wireless engineer Steven Crowley, Google said it would be using wireless frequencies that are controlled by Clearwire Corp., a wireless broadband provider. That means the frequencies are part of what’s called “licensed spectrum” and can be more reliable than Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi is unlicensed, meaning it can be used by anyone.
Google currently doesn’t have control of licensed spectrum.
“The only reason to use these frequencies is if you have business designs on some mobile service,” Crowley said.
It’s unclear whether Google would build such a service for internal use only or as part of a potential offering for consumers, and very few devices on the market today are compatible with the frequencies.
Clearwire on Wednesday declined to say whether it was working with Google on the trial. Companies testing technology on Clearwire’s spectrum typically coordinate with Clearwire when doing so, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Piecyk of BTIG said Google’s experimental network could mean that it plans to introduce a wireless service to customers of its Google Fiber product. In other words, people in Kansas City who sign up for high-speed Internet would be able to receive wireless service anywhere in the city for future tablets or other devices that would be compatible with the network. Google could have its Motorola hardware unit build devices that work on the Clearwire-controlled frequencies, he said.
That would be an extension of a business model currently being developed by cable companies such as Time Warner Cable Inc., which are setting up Wi-Fi hotspots in the cities they serve and offering free wireless access to their customers.
Google’s creation of a small-scale wireless network comes on the heels of discussions it had last year with Dish, the satellite-TV provider, to partner on a broad wireless service.
ALJ Shaw rules on discovery motion in Certain Wireless Devices with 3G Capabilities
By way of background, this investigation is based on a complaint filed on behalf of InterDigital Communications, LLC, InterDigital Technology Corporation, and IPR Licensing (collectively, “InterDigital”) alleging violation of Section 337 by Respondents Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., FutureWei Technologies, Inc. d/b/a Huawei Technologies (USA), ZTE Corp., ZTE (USA) Inc., and Nokia (collectively, the “Respondents”) in the importation into the U.S. and sale of certain wireless devices with 3G capabilities and components thereof that infringe one or more claims of U.S. Patent Nos. 7,349,540; 7,502,406; 7,536,013; 7,616,970; 7,706,332; 7,706,830; and 7,970,127. See our August 29, 2011 post for more details about this investigation.
According to Order No. 78, non-parties Research In Motion Limited and Research in Motion Corporation (collectively, “RIM”) filed a motion for an order prohibiting Respondents Nokia Corporation and Nokia Inc. (collectively, “Nokia”) from producing documents relating to prior licensing negotiations between Nokia and RIM. Specifically, RIM sought to prevent Nokia from producing these documents in response to Order No. 70 (not yet publicly available), which ordered Nokia to produce discovery relating to Nokia’s licensing practices and FRAND affirmative defense. InterDigital filed an opposition to RIM’s motion.
In support of its motion, RIM argued that Nokia’s imminent production of the licensing documents to InterDigital “would result in serious and irreparable harm to RIM” and that production “would allow RIM’s competitors to use RIM’s highly confidential licensing information in licensing negotiations adverse to RIM.” RIM also argued that the ITC protective order “would not prevent this harm to RIM, because it does not bar counsel for RIM’s competitors from advising their clients in negotiations adverse to RIM.” RIM also noted that Nokia already produced the final Nokia-RIM license and allowing production of additional licensing documents would permit RIM’s competitors to “use the Nokia-RIM licensing documents in their own licensing negotiations with Nokia to obtain terms more favorable than those afforded to RIM.” InterDigital opposed the motion and argued that the documents should be produced because “they are relevant to defenses raised by Respondents and are clearly subject for discovery and production.” InterDigital further noted that Nokia “sought the same types of material from InterDigital, thus recognizing that these materials are relevant and responsive.”
According to the Order, ALJ Shaw was “not persuaded that production of the Nokia-RIM licensing materials in this investigation as Confidential Business Information under the terms of the Protective Order would necessarily result in ‘serious and irreparable harm’ to RIM, or that the terms of the Protective Order that prohibit use of Confidential Business Information outside of this investigation are inadequate.” ALJ Shaw further determined that the “licensing materials are relevant at least to the issue of Nokia’s FRAND defense, and RIM has not shown that an order prohibiting their production is warranted.” Accordingly, ALJ Shaw denied RIM’s motion.
Data,
While post-Apple we all have cause to doubt management, the press release says the license is for Sony product, not the joint venture:
The agreement also includes a patent license from InterDigital for Sony’s 3G and 4G products.
Paulson's funds have faced very heavy redemptions. I suspect he will be scaling back across most of his holdings.
HTC November sales up more than 20%
Jessie Shen, DIGITIMES, Taipei [Thursday 6 December 2012]
Having declined for four consecutive months, HTC's revenues rebounded to a sequential growth track in November 2012.
HTC has announced November revenues of NT$21.2 billion (US$730 million), a 23.3% increase from NT$17.2 billion in the prior month. Compared to the NT$30.9 billion reported for November 2011, the sales figure showed a 31.4% decrease.
HTC's cumulative 2012 revenues through November totaled NT$267.5 billion, slipping about 39% from a year earlier.
HTC estimated fourth-quarter revenues at about NT$60 billion, down from NT$70.2 billion in the prior quarter.
PC vendors recommended to target niche smartphone market to avoid direct competition
Daniel Shen, Taipei; Steve Shen, DIGITIMES [Wednesday 3 October 2012]
Branded PC vendors including Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Asustek Computer, which plan to reignite their smartphone businesses, are recommended to offer models with strong application platforms, sleek product design and integrated cloud computing capabilities targeting niche markets, while avoiding direct competition with smartphone vendors, according to sources at Taiwan's handset supply chain.
Among the leading brands, HP, Dell and Asustek have not launched new handsets for some time, while Acer has made little progress in the sector although it has continued rolling out new phones, indicated the sources.
Lenovo's performance has been exceptional, taking the second-ranked title in China's smartphone market by optimizing an array of entry-level models priced at around CNY1,000 (US$158).
The reason major branded PC vendors are considering a comeback to the smartphone market hinges on emerging business opportunities that are anticipated to come along with the launch of Windows 8. They are hoping that sales of Windows 8-based PCs will help promote the sale of Windows Phone 8 smartphones as well.
Even so, prospects are still slim for PC brands to make a strong presence in the smartphone market, given that Apple and Samsung Electronics are currently the top-2 vendors dominating the segment, while other smartphone brands including Nokia, RIM, Sony Mobile Communications, Motorola Mobility are lagging behind with heavy losses, the sources commented.
InterDigital CEO Says Apple-Samsung Case Providing Boost
By Sarah Frier - Aug 29, 2012 1:40 PM PT
InterDigital Inc. (IDCC) Chief Executive Officer Bill Merritt said Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s legal victory over Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) demonstrated the value of patents, helping spur demand for his company’s own intellectual property.
Samsung was ordered to pay Apple about $1 billion on Aug. 24 for infringing intellectual property -- a verdict that validated businesses that rely on innovation, Merritt said today in an interview. InterDigital, a developer of wireless technology, has been trying to sell batches of its patents after abandoning a plan to sell the whole company last year.
“We’re encouraged by the value being placed on patents, and there’s strong opportunity in the market,” Merritt said at Bloomberg’s headquarters in New York. “As with any market that’s strong, you want to move quick.”
The company already agreed to sell about 1,700 patents, about 8 percent of its portfolio, to Intel Corp. (INTC) for $375 million in June. InterDigital, based in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, said in its annual report that it received royalties from more than half of all 3G mobile devices sold last year, including ones from Samsung, Apple, Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM) and HTC Corp. (2498)
InterDigital, which has about 20,000 patents in total, said in July 2011 that it had hired Evercore Partners Inc. and Barclays Plc (JNK) to explore a possible sale of the company, seeking to capitalize on a boom in demand for patent portfolios. The company later found that buyers were more interested in portions of the portfolio worth less than $1 billion, Merritt said.
InterDigital shares rose 0.8 percent to $34.45 today in New York. The stock has declined 21 percent this year.
A jury in San Jose, California, found that Samsung infringed six of seven Apple patents at stake in the trial. The jury also determined that all of Apple’s patents at stake were valid. Apple won findings that Samsung devices diluted the value of its so-called trade dress, or how a product looks.
Google’s Motorola gambit clouded by Apple
Unclear if patent arsenal is strong enough after Apple’s big court win
By Benjamin Pimentel, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Apple Inc.’s victory over Samsung has turned the spotlight on Google Inc.’s decision to buy Motorola Mobility, which was widely seen as a major gamble by the Internet giant to boost its intellectual property defenses to its growing wireless business.
Following a major win by Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) on Friday in a Northern California courtroom in its legal dispute with Samsung, there is now debate on whether the $12.5 billion acquisition announced last summer gave Google enough IP muscle in the face of an aggressive bid by Apple to defend its innovations. Read more about Apple's win over Samsung.
Apple Inc.’s triumph signals serious hurdles, if not a potential dead-end, for Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) aggressive bid to defend dominant position in the mobility market with its Android operating system, analysts say. Shares of Google were trading down 1.3% to $670.33 on Monday afternoon.
Google is expected to strike back, using the patent arsenal it acquired by buying Motorola Mobility, a longtime player in the mobile market, to mount a counter-offensive and perhaps strike a patent peace with Apple. But some questions remain as to how relevant those patents might be in the current war over smartphone platforms.
“I think the wild card here is whether Motorola’s patents somehow pre-date Apple’s early wireless development,” Silicon Valley patent attorney Dennis Fernandez said. Such patents, he argued, “could force Apple into a cross-license if Apple’s iPhone and iPad wireless techniques fall within Motorola’s claims.”
In fact, there are raging legal battles between Apple, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Google’s Motorola unit before the U.S. International Trade Commission and a district court in Delaware over Motorola’s patent claims.
Although Apple’s legal offensive was not aimed squarely at Google, it’s widely seen as an attempt to blunt the momentum of Android in the rapidly-growing mobile market. In of the second quarter, Android was the No. 1 operating system in the smartphone market used in 68% of 154 million units sold in the period, according to IDC. Apple’s iOS was at No. 2 with 17% of the market.
Google said early on that it bought Motorola Mobility to beef up its patent portfolio, though the company has also been talking enthusiastically of late about getting into the device business.
Baird analyst Colin Sebastian said the verdict “provides further justification for the Motorola acquisition given a rich patent portfolio and Google’s role now as a hardware manufacturer.” Motorola builds smartphones exclusively for the Android platform.
“If Samsung or other Android manufacturers ultimately suffer as a result of patent rulings, then Google has effectively hedged itself in the mobile market by owning Motorola, and building its own devices,” he wrote in a note to clients on Monday.
Google has recently rolled out its own branded devices, including its recently-introduced Nexus 7 tablet that was built in partnership with Asus.
But in terms of protecting Android’s turf, Google’s Motorola gambit may not be a slam dunk success, some analysts argue.
For one thing, there’s debate on whether some of Motorola’s patents may be considered part of industry standards, an issue highlighted by Microsoft’s legal challenge to Motorola’s license terms for patents related to video streaming and Wi-Fi.
Fernandez underscored this point, saying one potential problem for Google is “it’s not just a matter of owning a cool patent on ‘rubber-banding’ but rather whether the essential patents that cover certain standards are subject to industry-wide licensing.”
He added that “it’s likely that Motorola’s early wireless developments, and patents therefrom, may have been tainted by industry-standard activities touched by Motorola early on, which often would require the member companies to contribute essential patents under standard licensing terms.”
J.P. Morgan’s Doug Anmuth argued in a note Monday that Apple’s victory “may also call into question the patents Google acquired from Motorola and their ability to help protect the Android ecosystem going forward.”
Rob Enderle of the Enderle Group echoed this view, arguing that “if the Motorola patents were any good, they would have used them more strongly in the trial.”
In any case, the Apple ruling “highlights significance of having strong IP in both design and utility,” adding that manufacturers “will increasingly consider the strength of an operating system partner’s intellectual property portfolio,” wrote Jefferies analyst Peter Misek.
Complicating Google’s dilemma is the fact that its rivals have also been beefing up their intellectual property defenses. Roger Kay of Endpoint Technologies Associates cited last year’s move by a consortium that included Apple and Microsoft to buy the patents held by Nortel Networks.
“The Moto purchase was not enough to gain Google a seat at the main table with Apple, Microsoft, and a handful of others with big portfolios of intellectual property,” Kay said.
The Nortel patents, he said, “were keystone patents that could have blocked the others in mobile communications. Moto, not so much.”
The patent battles highlight a problem in Google’s business model, he added. The company gives away its operating system to partners such as Samsung, and makes money from the advertising generated by network traffic.
“Google gives away its software and makes money on the back end through eyeballs,” Kay said. “Microsoft sells software. Apple makes its money on hardware sales. They’re all different business models,” he said, adding that Google has not indemnified its customers and does not collect royalties from them.
“Google needs to grow up and become a real business,” he added. “Just because it makes some software and gives it away doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have to clear the intellectual property rights. Microsoft has chosen to play a licensee fee game, but Apple wants only blood.”
And the victory over Samsung clearly gives Apple a strong upper hand.
In the end, Fernandez argued that cutting a deal with Apple may be the best path forward for Google, saying “If I were Google’s board and management at this time, I’d seriously consider negotiating a reasonable truce with Apple sooner than later.”
If that’s not possible, Kay suggested Google could consider playing the anti-competition card.
“Google can make the case that Apple’s patents are overly broad and should be invalidated,” he said. “They can say Apple is trying to patent the blue of the sky and the warmth of the sun. It’s not right. They can’t claim to have invented ’roundness’ or ‘black.’”
Google’s reaction suggests that may be part of its strategy. In a statement, a company spokesman noted that the court of appeals “will review both infringement and the validity of the patent claims.”
“Most of these don’t relate to the core Android operating system, and several are being re-examined by the US Patent Office,” the spokesman said. “The mobile industry is moving fast and all players — including newcomers — are building upon ideas that have been around for decades. We work with our partners to give consumers innovative and affordable products, and we don’t want anything to limit that.”
Intel reports after the close today.
Maybe they will shine some light on the arbitration and/or settlement.
Interesting Samsung Purchase
Samsung buys CSR’s mobile business
By Simon Mundy in Seoul and Maija Palmer in London
Samsung Electronics is buying the mobile technology development business of CSR, the struggling UK chipmaker, in a $310m deal that marks the latest salvo in the smartphone industry's patent war.
Samsung and Apple have been locked in a series of courtroom battles around the world over intellectual property rights, with each seeking to block sales of the other’s products over alleged patent infringements.
Samsung’s deal with CSR gives the South Korean company more arrows in its quiver for the fight, particularly in areas of WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, where CSR was one of the pioneers of the technology.
CSR will transfer 21 US chip patents to Samsung, and will give it a perpetual, royalty-free licence to all CSR’s patents used in handset connectivity and location services.
The move also reflects Samsung’s focus on strengthening its components business, a month after Kwon Oh-hyun, who headed that division, was appointed as the company's chief executive. The division’s profits fell by half in the first quarter even as the company's overall pre-tax earnings rose 87 per cent.
Samsung will pay $310m in cash for CSR's mobile business, the companies announced on Tuesday. This will give Samsung control of the UK group’s development operations in WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity components, as well as in chips giving access to satellite positioning systems. The South Korean group will take on 310 of CSR’s employees.
Samsung will also pay $34.4m for new ordinary shares, giving it a stake of 4.9 per cent in CSR, which will continue to make chips for other devices such as televisions and audio devices.
CSR suffered a widening loss of $16.6m in the first quarter of this year, and its shares have lost nearly half their value since the beginning of last year, leaving it with a market capitalisation of £434m ($680m).
The UK company’s $484m takeover of US chipmaker Zoran last year met with widespread shareholder opposition, and it has been hurt by the declining fortunes of key customers including BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion and Nokia.
CSR is the latest in a series of chip companies struggling to keep up with the high costs and fast pace of research and development in the mobile phone market. “We can now move our attention to areas where we have a strong market position,” said Joep van Beurden, chief executive of CSR. “We felt we didn't have the scale to compete alongside the likes of Qualcomm and Intel in that space [handset chips].”
CSR shares were up 30 per cent at 284.1p in afternoon trading in London on Tuesday after news of the deal.
Acer Cuts 2012 Shipment Growth Forecast; Weak Global Economy Weighs
By Lorraine Luk
TAIPEI--Taiwanese personal computer maker Acer Inc. (2353.TW) said Friday it revised down its 2012 growth forecast for total shipments including notebooks, tablets and smartphones as the euro-zone debt crisis and global economic uncertainties weigh on consumer demand.
The revised guidance mirrors the poor outlook in the broader PC industry. Global shipments for PCs fell 0.1% in the second quarter, Gartner Inc. (IT) and International Data Corp. said earlier this week, despite heavy marketing by Intel Corp. (INTC) and PC hardware makers to push for a new breed of sleek notebook computers called Ultrabooks. The results were a seventh consecutive quarter of flat or single-digit growth for the industry, Gartner added, underscoring weak demand amid economic uncertainties.
To compound the woes of PC makers, stiff competition from Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) iPad and other tablets has resulted in many consumers switching to such devices for Internet browsing and computing.
Acer said it now expects full-year shipment growth to be between flat and up to 5%, compared to its previous forecast of up to 10%.
The world's fourth-largest PC maker by shipments also said it expects third-quarter shipment growth to be between flat and up to 5% from the second quarter, without giving more details.
Acer's smaller rival, Asustek Computer Inc. (2357.TW), revised down its second-quarter revenue guidance last month as the euro-zone crisis continues to hurt its business in a region that accounts for about one-third of its revenue.
Analysts say the uncertainties over demand are set to persist in the second half given the weakening global economic outlook and overcrowded product launch schedule for the holiday season.
Acer's fundamentals could worsen and it may incur losses due to "razor-thin" operating margins, Credit Suisse analyst Thompson Wu said in a report Friday.
Mr. Wu trimmed Acer's price target to NT$25.00 from NT$28.00 after revising down its 2012-13 earnings per share forecast by 9%-42% to factor in weak demand and changes in pricing and product mix.
Here is the site, but his 3/31/12 holdings are not up yet:
http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/idcc/institutional-holdings
Paulson RAISED to 4Million shares. Clearly forgot to read this Board.
Data, best guess, why no bid from a third party given the current valuation?
double top breakout today w/ price target $61
Is this covered by current Apple Deal?
Apple Readies iPad With Quad-Core Chip, LTE, Says Bloomberg
Posted by Tiernan Ray
Bloomberg’s Tim Culpan, Peter Burrows and Adam Satariano this afternoon write that Apple (AAPL) is getting ready to debut an “iPad 3,” which will have a quad-core chip, and will use higher-speed 4G wireless access based on the “Long Term Evolution,” or LTE, standard, citing three anonymous sources.
The authors state Apple is expected to reach full production next month, for sale of the device in March. The screen is expected to have a sharper resolution — perhaps along the lines of the “retina display” on the iPhone, I would imagine — and the larger battery of the iPad compared to the iPhone is said by sources to allow for more uptime on energy-hungry LTE connections than do most smartphones, which tend to drain quickly under the pressure of 4G
IPad 3 Said to Have High-Def Screen, LTE
By Tim Culpan, Peter Burrows and Adam Satariano - Jan 13, 2012
Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s next iPad, expected to go on sale in March, will sport a high-definition screen, run a faster processor and work with next-generation wireless networks, according to three people familiar with the product.
The company’s manufacturing partners in Asia started ramping up production of the iPad 3 this month and plan to reach full volumes by February, said one of the people, who asked not to be named because the details aren’t public. The tablet will use a quad-core chip, an enhancement that lets users jump more quickly between applications, two of the people said.
Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook is counting on the new model to ward off mounting competition in a market that Apple pioneered two years ago. After its debut in 2010, the iPad emerged as the company’s second-biggest source of revenue -- after the iPhone -- and inspired rival products from Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) and Samsung (005930) Electronics Co. Apple has sold more than 40 million iPads, generating at least $25.3 billion in sales.
Natalie Kerris, a spokeswoman for Apple, said the company doesn’t comment on rumor and speculation.
The Cupertino, California-based company has been working on making the iPad compatible with a wireless standard called long- term evolution, or LTE, said one of the people. Carriers such as Verizon Wireless (VZ) and ATT Inc. (T) are rolling out LTE networks to give users faster access to data.
LTE Networks
Smartphone makers, including Samsung, Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. (MMI) and Nokia Oyj (NOKIA), have already introduced smartphones that work on the faster networks. Apple is bringing LTE to the iPad before the iPhone because the tablet has a bigger battery and can better support the power requirements of the newer technology, said one of the people.
The new display is capable of greater resolution than the current iPad, with more pixels on its screen than some high- definition televisions, the person said. The pixels are small enough to make the images look like printed material, according to the person. Videos begin playing almost instantly because of the additional graphics processing, the person said.
The new iPad is being assembled by Apple’s main manufacturing partner, Foxconn Technology Group. Like most technology companies, Apple contracts with companies in Asia for labor to assemble its devices. Foxconn, which also builds the iPhone and other Apple products, gets about 22 percent of its sales from Apple, according to supply-chain data compiled by Bloomberg.
Boosting Production
Mass production began at the start of this month, with factories running 24 hours a day in China, one of the people said. Manufacturing will halt over China’s Lunar New Year holiday this month and then ramp back up to a peak in February, the person said.
The introduction of the new iPad will be Apple’s first major hardware release since the death of company co-founder Steve Jobs in October. The company is hosting an education event focused on electronic textbooks next week that won’t include any hardware introductions, said a person familiar with the matter.
Apple, the world’s largest technology company by market value, was little changed yesterday in U.S. trading at $419.81. The stock rose 26 percent in 2011, marking its third straight year of gains.
Handset makers form alliance to counter possible patent infringement lawsuits
Erica Yen, Taipei; Steve Shen, DIGITIMES [Friday 30 December 2011]
A number of handset makers in China, including Lenovo, ZTE, TCL, Coolpad and Konka, has formed an alliance in preparation to counter possible patent infringement lawsuits to bring upon by international players, according to industry sources in Taiwan.
According to data compiled by Strategy Analytics, shipments of smartphones in the China market totaled 24 million units in the third quarter of 2011, making China to outperform the US, for the first time, to become as the world's largest smartphone market.
Viewing the growing market in China, international players such as Apple, Nokia and Microsoft are expected to strengthen the protection of their patents in the market, said the sources, noting that Microsoft has asked companies such as Huawei Device to pay royalties and Nokia has filed patent lawsuits against some makers.
However, the sources pointed out that China-based handset makers are not completely unable to defend themselves, given that Huawei and ZTE have secured a number of patents for wireless communications technologies and many makers are able to develop localized interfaces and even operation systems.
Additionally, China-based telecom carriers and operators of social networking websites have been eagerly launching own-branded smartphone models targeting market segments other than those dominated by international branded players.