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William Blair resumed coverage of InterDigital with a rating of Outperform
B of A Securities Upgrades InterDigital to Buy, Raises Price Target to $105
Today 7:10 AM ET (Benzinga)Print
B of A Securities analyst Tal Liani upgrades InterDigital (NASDAQ:IDCC) from Underperform to Buy and raises the price target from $55 to $105.
No price target - just the out perform.
William Blair initiates coverage of IDCC with a rating of Outperform
And with Universal Display.
Lenovo loses bid to access royalty reports in FRAND dispute
26-01-2021Muireann Bolger
In a blow for Lenovo, the English High court has ruled that it will not be able to force US research and development firm InterDigital to disclose royalty reports in an ongoing licensing dispute.
Justice Colin Birss handed down the decision on January 19, in which he also denied InterDigital’s request for a schedule of licences to which Lenovo is a party.
In September 2019, InterDigital began patent infringement proceedings against the Chinese company. The US company also filed proceedings for an injunction based on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms at the English High Court.
Justice Birss said that the key issues in the dispute between the two companies related to whether the terms in InterDigital’s licence offer made in January 2020 are FRAND, and whether a top-down approach can be applied to determine whether terms in that licence offer are FRAND.
Unwired Planet
Justice Birss highlighted, however, that this case was unlike the Unwired Planet v Huawei (2017) because “there are licences available which licence the very portfolio in issue in the case”, whereas in Unwired Planet, Unwired Planet's portfolio was a subset of Ericsson's portfolio and most of the licences that were available in that case were Ericsson licences rather than Unwired Planet licences.
Lenovo wanted InterDigital to disclose full royalty reports for 23 licences in issue backdated to approximately 2012.
InterDigital countered that making information publicly available about the nature of the markets, and the particular market shares and prices and goods sold by the various companies, will “allow one to unpack the licences to a degree sufficient to deal with in this case”.
It added that it was “disproportionate” to require the royalty reports to be disclosed because they involve third-party confidential information.
“At least one licensee within the 23 has already indicated to InterDigital that it will strongly resist disclosure of this information if it is sought,” noted Justice Birss.
InterDigital further argued that the royalty reports would not disclose the right information.
Justice Birss sided with InterDigital, noting, “it is perfectly apparent that to a very large degree, [that] unpacking of licences can be done using public information”.
He said: “Given that there already will be evidence from which to infer the value of the licensed portfolio, which may be based on unpacking individual licences using publicly available information, the royalty reports will not turn that value from what one could call a ‘mere’ estimate into a ‘true’ or ‘precise’ statement of the value.”
Unpacking using royalty reports will still use a set of data points, with varying degrees of consistency, controversy and imperfections, from which to make an assessment of the portfolio’s value, noted Justice Birss.
‘Open justice’ element
While Justice Birss accepted that royalty reports are likely to lead to estimates which could be described as being better than the estimates produced from publicly available information, he remained unpersuaded that the improvement would be significantly better.
He also expressed concern about the confidential content of the reports is “unquestionably information which third parties would have an interest in”.
While Lenovo argued that this information would be held in these proceedings under a confidentiality arrangement in the tightest confidentiality ring, Justice Birss held that there was “a significant value in terms of open justice in producing a decision in this case based on information which is publicly available”.
Lenovo argued that the data produced publicly cannot answer certain questions, but Interdigital held that the publicly available information did cover cellular-enabled PCs and laptops, an argument accepted by Justice Birss.
“It may not cover everything that Lenovo say they want, but it is not clear to me that sensible estimates cannot be made, even based on that information, and other data, to produce numbers of some value,” he said.
Justice Birss also denied InterDigital’s request for a schedule of licences to which Lenovo is a party.
There is nothing in the rates aspect of the disagreements on FRAND that justifies disclosure of Lenovo licences, said Justice Birss.
InterDigital Wireless initiated by Oppenheimer Holdings Inc. at outperform. No PT given.
B. Riley Reiterates to Buy : PT $90.00, sees path to over $200
17:55:33 $ 85.30 256,520 shares
Which 4 Techs May Match Apple's Gains?
Several chip-related tech names that do business with Apple are hitting new highs and emerging as potential stock market leaders in the U.S. (Chung/IBD)
DAVID SAITO-CHUNG2:30 PM ET
The Dow Jones industrial average continued to reaffirm that "Dow 20,000" is just another signpost in its Trump Bump of solid advances since the Nov. 8 elections.
The 30-stock collection of large and megacap blue chip stocks led the major indexes with a gain of 0.8% to 20,434. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.6%.
Meanwhile, Apple (AAPL) continued to show why it could be the top dog of the Dow in 2017 as the iPhone, iPad and iTunes media giant added more than 1%, to 133.69, hoisting its overall gain from a Sept. 14 breakout to 21%, out of a bottoming base pattern at 110.33.
A number of Apple supplier plays continued to show fortitude.
Lumentum (LITE), which reportedly may have a big components supply deal with Apple's future iPhone 8 model, surged for a fifth straight session, rising more than 4% on Monday to 49.60.
The optical communications parts maker is well extended past a 44.80 buy point in an eight-week cup pattern that stands right next to an earlier cup base. An alternative entry is at 45.35.
InterDigital (IDCC), the mobile technology patent holder that in December signed new licensing deals with Apple, rose more than 2% to 99.20, rolling past a 98.10 flat-base entry in heavy turnover. Earlier in the session, InterDigital got as high as 102.05, 4% above the proper entry point.
InterDigital's 50-day average volume is 353,000 shares, which sounds low, but its dollar volume is ample at more than $35 million. Watch to see if it can close above the 98.10 proper entry, and how the final volume fares.
Broadcom (AVGO) and Skyworks Solutions (SWKS), fellow chipmakers who also supply products to Apple, continued to act well following their moves past buy points of 179.52 and 82.37, respectively. Skyworks also has crafted a three-weeks-tight pattern with a 94.59 follow-on entry.
Skyworks is up 0.5% to 92.64 in light turnover. In a strong market uptrend, use the 3-weeks-tight pattern as an opportunity to add a small amount of shares to a winning position. Wait for the stock to burst past that buy point, ideally in heavy volume.
IBD's Stock Market Today column on Sept. 14 of last year covered Apple's breakout from the cup with handle on the day of that significant game-changing move for the megacap tech, which is now valued by the market at $701 billion.
Going back to the Dow Jones industrials, after much media hype, the popular benchmark eclipsed the 20,000 barrier on Jan. 25, then quickly got yanked back below the psychologically significant price level.
However, the decline below 20,000 was brief and shallow. The Dow fell to as low as 19,784 by Jan. 31, a drop of just 1%, before settling down and resuming its rally.
Notice on a daily chart how the Dow continues to trade above its rising 50-day moving average (currently 18,616), a sign of strength.
Elsewhere in the stock market today, Nvidia (NVDA) triggered a short-sale entry by falling more than 7% below a recent later-stage cup without handle at 120.03. Shares dropped more than 4% to 108.43, more than 8% below that 120.03 entry.
Volume has hit 24 million shares, already 27% above its 50-day moving average of 18.8 million shares.
However, notice how the stock is still well above its 50-day moving average (currently near 108.41), making it a risky short sale. Why?
IBD's studies of former big winners show that a stock that is breaking down after a huge run-up tends to cross below the 50-day moving average in big volume, then show further declines. (Read more about how to identify the right time to sell broken market leaders short by going to the Short Selling section within "Research" at the home page of Investors.com.)
InterDigital Announces Date for Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2016 Results
GlobeNewswire•January 30, 2017
WILMINGTON, Del., Jan. 30, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- InterDigital, Inc. (IDCC), a mobile technology research and development company, today announced that the company will release its fourth quarter and full year 2016 financial results before market open on Thursday, February 23, 2017. InterDigital executives will host a conference call that same day at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss the company's financial performance and other company matters.
InterDigital Announces Acquisition of Sensor Processing Technology Pioneer Hillcrest Labs
2016-12-20 14:15:01.923 GMT
InterDigital Announces Acquisition of Sensor Processing Technology Pioneer
Hillcrest Labs
Rockville, MD company’s technology found in Smart TVs, gaming systems,
smartphones, virtual reality systems, consumer robots and many more devices
WILMINGTON, Del. and ROCKVILLE, Md., Dec. 20, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
InterDigital, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDCC), a mobile technology research and development
company, today announced the acquisition of Hillcrest Labs, a pioneer in
sensor processing technology. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Hillcrest Labs was founded in 2001 by Dan Simpkins, a technology entrepreneur
with a proven track record of success. The company has innovated in the area
of Smart TV, and their Freespace® sensor processing technology has broadened
to encompass virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) systems, gaming
systems, wearable devices, smartphones, robotics and other categories.
Hillcrest Labs has won significant industry recognition, including multiple
CES Innovations Honoree awards and inclusion in PC World’s 100 Best Products.
“Hillcrest Labs is driving some of the foundational innovation in sensors and
sensor fusion, a technology that is already important today, and poised to
become pervasive in a broad range of consumer electronic products including
smartphones, AR and VR systems, wearables, and service robots, among others,”
said William J. Merritt, President and CEO of InterDigital. “Their customer
base features some of the top electronics companies worldwide, and adding them
to the InterDigital team broadens our offering for mobile devices and
accelerates our technology footprint in markets that are adjacent to our
existing position.”
“InterDigital is an excellent partner for Hillcrest Labs, providing us with
the resources and scale necessary to drive our market penetration in our
existing markets while also enhancing our ability to pursue exciting new
segments where our technology can add value,” said Dan Simpkins, Founder,
Chairman and CEO of Hillcrest Labs. “For more than a decade, Hillcrest Labs
has been a technology pioneer and market leader and today’s announcement is
the culmination of years of innovation and dedication from our remarkable
team. InterDigital’s own track record as an innovator on the global technology
stage is closely aligned with our vision and we look forward to working
together.”
Hillcrest Labs’ customers have included electronics giants like LG, Lenovo,
ZTE, Coolpad, LeEco, Sony and others. The company has also developed an
intellectual property portfolio of more than 235 granted patents and pending
applications. The Hillcrest Labs team of approximately 40 employees will
remain based in Rockville, MD as part of the InterDigital team.
sidoti went to neutral with a 12 month price target of $86.
BN 09/08 12:30 *INTERDIGITAL SEES 3Q REV. $80M TO $85M, EST. $73.9M (2 ESTS)
BN 09/08 12:30 *INTERDIGITAL ISSUES REV GUIDANCE FOR 3Q 2016
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
InterDigital Issues Revenue Guidance for Third Quarter 2016
2016-09-08 12:30:00.728 GMT
InterDigital Issues Revenue Guidance for Third Quarter 2016
WILMINGTON, Del., Sept. 08, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- InterDigital, Inc.
(NASDAQ:IDCC), a mobile technology research and development company, today
announced that it expects its total third quarter 2016 revenue to be between
$200 million and $225 million.
“We expect third quarter recurring revenues to be in the range of $80 million
to $85 million and past sales to be between roughly $120 million and $140
million,” noted Richard J. Brezski, Chief Financial Officer, InterDigital.
“This revenue guidance reflects sequentially lower per-unit royalties from
certain Taiwanese licensees driven by the timing of anticipated new product
introductions, offset by a higher fixed-fee royalty component based on the
estimated impact of patent license agreements signed during the quarter.”
The guidance is based on preliminary accounting results that are subject to
review and finalization. In addition, this revenue guidance is based primarily
on royalty reports received to date, and does not include the potential impact
of any other new patent license, technology solutions or patent sale
agreements that may be signed, or any arbitration or dispute resolutions that
may occur, during the balance of third quarter 2016.
Xiaomi Phone Shipments Fall 38% in China as Huawei Takes Lead
Peter Elstrom August 15, 2016
Xiaomi Corp., the once-hot Chinese smartphone maker, saw shipments tumble 38 percent in China in the second quarter as Huawei Technologies Co. took over the top spot in the world’s largest market.
Xiaomi shipped 10.5 million smartphones in the quarter, down from 17.1 million in the same period a year earlier, according to research from International Data Corp. That made the company the fourth-largest competitor in the market behind Huawei, OPPO and Vivo. Xiaomi was once valued at $46 billion, according to CB Insights.
The Chinese market has grown increasingly competitive as domestic manufacturers have improved their quality, design and marketing, putting pressure on global leaders Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Apple saw shipments in China drop 32 percent in the second quarter and the iPhone maker fell to fifth in the market, according to IDC.
The research firm said that Huawei and OPPO gained ground by concentrating on one or two key attributes in their marketing messages. Huawei emphasized the Leica lens now available on its phones, while OPPO pitched fast-charging technology.
Apple’s global shipments are set to decline in 2016 as it continues to lose ground in its largest overseas market, Canalys said in a separate report.
“The iPhones lack features such as waterproofing and wireless charging. Apple needs to catch up with the competition if it wants to compete,” Canalys research analyst Jessie Ding wrote.
Apple Turns to Fangda Partners to Protect Its iPhone in China
Anna Zhang, The Asian Lawyer
June 27, 2016
Fangda Partners, a large China-based law firm headquartered in Shanghai with a strong intellectual property disputes practice, is representing Apple in its fight to reverse a recent ruling that threatens to ban sales of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in Beijing.
In May, a Beijing court found that the two iPhone models infringed a design patent owned by Chinese phone maker Shenzhen Baili Marketing Service Co. That decision prompted the Beijing Intellectual Property Bureau—the local office of the State Intellectual Property Office, or SIPO—to order Apple and its distributors to stop selling both models in the Chinese capital. Represented by Fangda, Apple appealed. Now, the order has been stayed pending review by the Beijing intellectual property court, and the phones are still available for sale, according to the company.
Apple has been a longtime client of Fangda. The firm also has represented other multinational corporations, including InterDigital Communications Inc., San Jose-based chipmaker Power Integrations Inc., French cosmetics giant L’Oreal S.A., Finnish machinery company Cargotec Oy and petrochemicals maker Ineos USA.
Huawei looks to pass Samsung, Apple as No.1 smartphone maker
By Juro Osawa
Published: June 2, 2016 10:57 p.m. ET
Chinese tech giant eyes global growth
AFP/Getty Images
Richard Yu, Huawei CEO of consumer business, introduces the Huawei P9 smartphone in London in April.
China’s Huawei Technologies Co. aims to overtake Samsung Electronics Co. and Apple Inc. within the next five years to become the world’s biggest smartphone maker with a market share of over 25%, a senior executive said.
“We want to be the number-one smartphone maker in the world. It’s a long distance race, and we have the patience,” said Huawei director Richard Yu, who heads the company’s consumer electronics business, at the Converge technology conference hosted by The Wall Street Journal and f.ounders in Hong Kong.
Shenzhen-based Huawei 002502, +0.13% , along with Sweden’s Ericsson, is one of the world’s largest suppliers of telecom networking gear. Over the past few years, the Chinese company has also been growing rapidly as a handset maker.
Yu’s latest comments come as Huawei is narrowing the gap with Samsung 005930, +0.44% and Apple AAPL, -0.75% in the global smartphone market, where overall growth has been slowing. In the first quarter, Huawei’s smartphone sales volume increased 59% from a year earlier, while Samsung’s sales remained almost flat and Apple’s sales declined 14%, according to research firm Gartner Inc. Huawei’s market share in the quarter rose to 8.3%, behind Samsung’s 23% and Apple’s 15%.
huge spike in volume
...and this is options week.
Intel has finally admitted that it failed miserably in the mobile market
Things are rough over at Intel. In addition to a huge 12,000-person layoff, Intel has finally thrown in the towel in the smartphone and tablet markets, too.
On Saturday, Intel confirmed that it was canceling its upcoming Atom chip, known as "Braxton" for smartphones and tablets, and that it was also ditching a few other related smartphone chips, the company told Ian Cutress and Ryan Smith at the AnandTech news site.
There had been some speculation for the past week among Wall Street analysts that Intel was thinking of severely changing its mobile plans as part of the restructuring, when Intel told them that it was rethinking some projects in the Client Computing Group (CCG), Wells Fargo's David Wong reported.
But with this confirmation, Intel is officially crying uncle and admitting failure after spending billions of dollars investing in smartphone/tablet chips.
It's hard to say exactly how much money Intel lost trying to get some skin in the mobile game, the biggest revolution in the computer industry since the PC — and the cause of Intel's ongoing PC business woes.
Intel reported mobile-product financials for only two years before folding it into a bigger "Client Computing Division." But in those two years, 2013 and 2014, the unit showed losses of $3.1 billion and $4.2 billion, respectively, or $7.3 billion for both years, AnandTech reports.
So if it racked up similar losses in 2015, Intel could be down by maybe $10 billion in three years. And given that Intel's competitor, ARM, has won the market anyway, the white flag seems like the only option left.
The AnandTech report notes that it's possible Intel could try to reenter the market with a different chip or strategy. But for now, Intel appears to be out of the game.
Qualcomm and LG Electronics Resolve Arbitration Dispute Over Licensing Terms
SAN DIEGO and SEOUL, South Korea, April 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Qualcomm Incorporated (QCOM) and LG Electronics, Inc. (LGE) today announced that the companies have resolved through good faith negotiations an arbitration dispute over certain terms in their license agreement under Qualcomm's leading portfolio of patents covering 3G WCDMA and CDMA2000 and 4G LTE wireless technologies as well as numerous other technologies implemented in wireless devices. Under this resolution, LGE will continue to benefit from access to Qualcomm's broad portfolio of patented technologies that enable LGE to deliver innovative devices to its customers globally.
"We are pleased to have resolved our dispute with Qualcomm through good faith negotiation and mutual respect," said Skott Ahn, Ph.D. President and CTO of LG Electronics, Inc. "LGE and Qualcomm have worked closely together for many years and we greatly value our partnership with Qualcomm, which has played a central role in the mobile revolution and brought unprecedented value to the industry, as well as to consumers. As the owner of a significant portfolio of patented technologies, LGE, like Qualcomm, recognizes the importance of patent rights and standardized technologies, which we believe have fostered a highly competitive industry and steady increase in the value delivered to consumers, in Korea and globally."
"Qualcomm invests billions of dollars every year in R&D that has driven fundamental breakthroughs in wireless systems technology across multiple generations – including 2G, 3G, 4G and now 5G –and we are pleased that the licensing of these advanced technologies have helped to drive enormous value across the entire mobile ecosystem," said Derek Aberle, president of Qualcomm Incorporated. "We have been a longstanding and close partner of LGE, as well as with the entire Korean wireless ecosystem, and we are pleased that this resolution will position both companies to continue to deliver value to our customers and consumers globally."
Qualcomm results beat estimates, licensing dispute with LG resolved
igolgi to Showcase Innovative StreamZoom Feature for Video Streaming at NAB 2016
ROCKY HILL, N.J., April 13, 2016 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- igolgi Inc., a video streaming platform provider, will be demonstrating StreamZoom, a unique and innovative Next Generation Video Streaming solution that enables an interactive viewing experience with real-time zooming and panning at NAB 2016, the industry's premier North American conference, from April 16-20, 2016 in Las Vegas, NV.
StreamZoom leverages advances in video capture technology and content production – higher resolution (4K/6K/8K), higher frame rates (up to 240 fps) and higher dynamic range (up to 16 bits) – to create a personalized, differentiated, and interactive viewing experience for the end consumer. With StreamZoom, broadcasters can enable video streaming customers to access personalized experiences such as focusing on a single element of content (for example, a specific player in a sports event) in full HD, with zoom/pan functionality and other enhancements. The technology was developed through a collaboration between InterDigital's Innovation Partners Group and igolgi, Inc.
"Interactive viewing, especially with the advent of online video, is set to be a significant disruptor to the broadcast marketplace. For the longest time, we have wondered why limitations in distribution technology should gate a consumer experience of professionally produced video. With StreamZoom, we can now exploit the high quality of content capture and put it in the hands of the consumer to enjoy their own personal, highest quality experience", said Kumar Ramaswamy, igolgi Inc.
"Content customization and delivery have enormous potential as areas of market growth. Our collaboration with igolgi has enabled us to participate in the development of a solution with tremendous capabilities, and is perfectly in line with Innovation Partners' mission," said Samian Kaur, Senior Manager of Strategic Partner Development, InterDigital.
A real-time demonstration of the StreamZoom technology will be showcased, by appointment only, at NAB in Suite # SL1399MR in the South Lower Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center. For further details or to schedule an appointment, please stop by at booth SU13002 or contact Jeff Cooper at 609-651-6141 or at jeff.cooper@igolgi.com.
InterDigital Must Face Microsoft Antitrust Case, Judge Says
2016-04-13
Microsoft’s allegations that IDCC engaged in
anticompetitive conduct are “sufficient” for the case to
proceed, U.S. District Judge Richard Andrews said today.
* IDCC’s request to dismiss antitrust suit was denied
* MSFT claims IDCC made false promises that it would license
its 3G and 4G patents on fair and reasonable terms
* MSFT claims IDCC got its technology included in industry
standard then made excessive royalty demands and used
litigation to coerce settlements
* IDCC said Microsoft made allegations after buying Nokia’s
handset business, other courts have rejected similar claims
* IDCC said Microsoft just doesn’t want to pay any royalties
Huawei Technologies aims to ship 140 million smartphones in 2016
Irene Chen, Taipei; Joseph Tsai, DIGITIMES [Wednesday 13 April 2016]
Huawei Technologies aims to ship 140 million smartphones worldwide in 2016, 44% of which will be mid-range and high-end models. The company aims at revenues of US$30 billion in 2016 for its Consumer Business Group consisting of smartphones, tablets and consumer networking/communication devices.
The company expects revenues from the business group to reach US$40 billion in 2018.
Huawei's future plan is to cross into the high-end sector and will form more cooperation with brand vendors from other industries. The company will also improve its quality and enhance consumer experiences.
For emerging markets, Huawei will focus on providing more product lines and plans to establish several sales centers to provide customer support. As for mature markets such as the US, the company will push mainly its mid-range to high-end smartphones and will continue to tighten its partnerships with local operators.
Huawei, Oppo To Dominate China Phones, Says JP Morgan; Xiaomi at a Crossroads
By Tiernan Ray
Half of the Chinese smartphone market, and 20% of the global smartphone market, is controlled by four Chinese handset makers, writes analyst Michael Fan of JP Morgan in a note to clients today: privately held Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo.
The Big Four, as he calls them, are likely to continue to gain share in coming years, thinks Fan, and that’s a problem for South Korea’s LG Electronics (066570KS) and Taiwan’s HTC (2498TW), as the Chinese represent “a structural headwind to global second tier brands” like LG and HTC.
They won’t hurt Apple (AAPL) too much, he thinks:
We believe Apple’s premium brand image remains intact and Chinese brands are unlikely to shake Apple’s leadership in high-end segment and feature innovation. Apple’s further growth is more subject to the global economy, consumer purchasing power as well as its ability to constantly deliver innovation.
But the Four could prove some trouble for Samsung Electronics (005930KS):
We acknowledge the rise of Chinese brands could threaten Samsung’s global leadership in smartphone volumes, as we’ve witnessed its share decline in the China market. Accordingly, Samsung management has set a clear target to maintain profitability (via product mix improvement) over pursuing volume growth. We believe Samsung can maintain a 10%+ OPM for its handsets business with brand premium in the high-end and hardware differentiation (curved display, etc.).
The Big Four are all growing faster than the overall smartphone market:
All of the big 4 outpaced the global market in both units and dollar terms (please see more details in Appendix: Charts and tables). We note that the Big 4 collectively took 19%/18% market share in unit terms in 4Q15/2015, respectively, narrowing the gap with Samsung, which took a 20%/22% share in the corresponding periods.
And, they’ve been taking share in China at the expense of Lenovo Group (0992HK) and China’s ZTE (0763) and Coolpad.
Cisco Systems CSCO, said Wednesday it intends to acquire Silicon Valley Internet of Things startup Jasper Technologies Inc. for $1.4 billion in cash. Jasper allows companies to manage connected objects through cellular networks with a cloud-based software program, and was valued at $1.4 billion in its most recent round of venture funding, according to The Wall Street Journal. "I am excited about the opportunity for Cisco and Jasper to accelerate how customers recognize the value of the Internet of Things," Cisco Chief Executive Chuck Robbins said in the announcement. Jasper CEO Jahangir Mohammed will helm a new Cisco business unit focused on IoT software, reporting to senior vice president Rowan Trollope. The deal, which also includes assumed equity awards and retention-based incentives, is expected to close in the current fiscal quarter, Cisco said.
Xiaomi’s Bin Lin Says Chinese Smartphone Maker May Enter the U.S.
China’s fast-growing smartphone maker may enter the United States.
Xiaomi President Bin Lin said the company is “considering” selling its Mi Note and Mi Note Pro phones in the U.S., in remarks Wednesday at the Wall Street Journal’s WSJDLive conference at The Montage in Laguna Beach, Calif.
Speculation that Xiaomi would attempt to crack a mature market like the United States has been growing since this summer, when former Google executive Hugo Barra raised the possibility at the Code conference, though he offered no timeframe.
The company will need to strengthen its patent portfolio before it gets here.
When Xiaomi entered the India market last year, it was greeted by a suit from Ericsson AB, which alleged the smartphone maker hadn’t licensed inventions by Ericsson that enable wireless devices to connect to networks. The U.S. market is no less litigious, especially for a device that bears a strong resemblance to Apple’s iPhone.
Lin didn’t dwell on his U.S. ambitions. Instead, he used the conference stage to show video of the newly introduced self-balancing scooter and the company’s new 60-inch television, the Mi TV 3.
Xiaomi has been expanding beyond its smartphone roots to a growing array of consumer electronics products that its Mi phones control — TVs, an air purifier and home routers. Lin said the company doesn’t think of itself as a device maker, but rather an Internet company that sells services.
“We are really focusing on smartphones at the center of all the devices that we launch,” Lin said. “Consumers will enjoy all the services we provide through the phone.”
Bloomberg reports loss
Apple, Huawei buck slowing smartphone sales trend
BY PATRICK SEITZ
02:09 PM ET
The global smartphone industry posted its slowest growth rate in six years in the second quarter. But Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Huawei bucked the trend and grew rapidly to gain market share.
Smartphone shipments grew just 15% annually in the second quarter, reaching 339.5 million units, research firm Strategy Analytics said Thursday. It was the slowest growth since Q3 2009, on the heels of the recession.
"Smartphone growth is slowing due to increasing penetration maturity in major markets of the U.S., Europe and China," Strategy Analytics analyst Linda Sui said in a statement. "Smartphones will need a design transformation to revitalize growth in the future, such as foldable or rollable displays."
South Korea-based Samsung remained the top vendor worldwide, but its market share fell to 21.2% in Q2 from 25.3% a year earlier. Its smartphone shipments fell 3% year over year to 71.9 million units.
Samsung faced intense competition from Chinese brands in the low-end smartphone market. In the high end of the market, Samsung underestimated demand for its popular Galaxy S6 Edge model, Strategy Analytics said.
Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple took second place with 14% market share, up from 11.9% a year earlier. It shipped 47.5 million iPhones, up 35% from a year ago. Its larger-screen iPhone 6 and 6 Plus models remained wildly popular in China and the rest of the world, Strategy Analytics said.
China-based Huawei grabbed third place with 9% market share, up from 6.8% in Q2 2014. It shipped 30.5 million smartphones in Q2, up 52% year over year.
"Huawei is expanding rapidly across Asia, Europe and North America, putting competitive pressure on key rivals such as Samsung, Xiaomi, Lenovo, LG, Sony (NYSE:SNE) and Alcatel," Strategy Analytics analyst Woody Oh said in a statement.
China-based Xiaomi nabbed fourth place with 5.8% global market, up from 5.1% a year earlier. It shipped 19.8 million smartphones in Q2, up 31% year over year.
"Xiaomi has good distribution channels and competitive pricing in its large home market of China, enabling it to stay in front of Lenovo-Motorola, (which) is struggling with the transition from 3G to 4G smartphones in China and the U.S.," Oh said.
Smartphones accounted for 78% of mobile phone shipments worldwide in Q2, according to Strategy Analytics. The remainder are simple feature phones.
Another research firm, Juniper Research, estimated Thursday that global smartphone shipments rose 16% year over year to 338 million units in Q2.
Report: Huawei on track to hit 100M smartphone sales in 2015, as first-half revenue booms
By Phil Goldstein
Huawei is ahead of schedule on reaching its goal of 100 million smartphone shipments in 2015, according to an internal memo reviewed by Reuters. The report comes as the Chinese smartphone and network equipment vendor posted first-half results that showed the strongest sales growth in five years.
Huawei has had monthly global smartphone shipments of more than 10 million units every month since May, the head of the company's consumer business, Richard Yu, wrote to staff in a memo sent on Monday, according to a Reuters report. A Huawei spokeswoman declined to comment beyond the company's statement on its first-half results.
If Huawei hits the goal of 100 million smartphone shipments in 2015, it would be significant because the company has a history of failing to meet its own smartphone shipment projections. For 2014, the company had said it would ship 80 million smartphones, and wound up shipping 75 million. In 2013 the company said it expected 60 million smartphone shipments, and ended up shipping 52 million. In 2012, Huawei had forecast it would ship 50-60 million smartphone units but wound up shipping 32 million.
According to research firm Gartner, Huawei was the No. 4 smartphone player in the world in the first quarter with 18.1 million smartphone shipments and 5.4 percent market share, behind Samsung Electronics, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Lenovo.
Huawei executives have said the firm doesn't want to sacrifice profitability for the sake of volume growth in smartphones. Huawei aims to expand its business beyond Asia and Europe and truly crack the U.S. smartphone market this year. Zhiqiang Xu, president of Huawei Device USA, said in April that the company aims to eventually be the No 3 smartphone player in the U.S.
Meanwhile, Huawei posted a 30 percent year-over-year jump in first-half revenue to $28.3 billion (175.9 billion yuan) and said it would achieve "effective growth" in 2015. According to the Financial Times, the 30 percent growth rate is the highest recorded rate of expansion for the period since Huawei started reporting half-year revenue figures in 2011. The last time Huawei posted a comparable growth was in 2008, when annual sales revenues rose by one-third year-over-year.
"Huawei achieved stable and healthy growth in all of its three business segments," Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou said in a statement, referring to the company's telecom, consumer device and enterprise business segments. "We are confident that we will maintain effective growth and steady and healthy development in all business segments in 2015."
"Huawei's mid-range and high-end smartphones, Mate7 and P8 in particular, as well as Honor-branded phones, have made solid progress, helping us guarantee quality and sustainable growth in the consumer business," Meng added in the statement.
Interesting that Ericsson claims to be driving the bus, and no mention of IDCC:
Ericsson takes on coordinator role for new METIS-II EU 5G project
July 13, 2015 | By Monica Alleven
Everyone has a role to play in the 5G standards process, and for Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC), that means spearheading 5G system development as coordinator of the new METIS-II EU project as it sets out to develop the overall 5G radio system design and roadmap recommendations.
The project will play a key coordinating role within the 5G Infrastructure Public Private Partnership (5G-PPP) projects and bring key players together to advance 5G system architecture.
Ericsson also is taking the lead as technical coordinator of the Millimeter-Wave Based Mobile Radio Access Network for Fifth-Generation Integrated Communications (mmMAGIC) project targeting the 6-100 GHz range.
The METIS-II project is co-funded in the European Union H2020 research program and has a budget of nearly $9 million. As the main driver and coordinator of the METIS-II project together with a global consortium, Ericsson says it will integrate technologies into a radio access design and provide a platform for concerted actions aimed at regulatory and standards bodies. The METIS II project will leverage the success of METIS, the first integrated 5G project also coordinated by Ericsson, which completed its final deliverables in April.
Building consensus will be key as all the different vendors compete to get their ideas and concepts into the standards-setting process and ultimately a standard. Ericsson says the METIS-II project centers on a strong international consortium, consisting of 23 partners from all regions with strong 5G R&D initiatives (China, the EU, Japan, South Korea and the U.S.) and involving most of the major international vendors, major operators and key researchers.
Both the METIS-II and mmMAGIC projects will provide the different consortia with an opportunity to discuss and evaluate various research ideas before bringing them to the 3GPP. The 3GPP will meet in Phoenix, Ariz., in September to discuss 5G initiatives.
Last week, Peter Merz, head of Radio Systems Research for Nokia Networks (NYSE:NOK), told FierceWirelessTech that 2015 marks a tipping point of sorts as the industry moves from the research into the standardization phase. The standards process is expected to last into 2018-2019.
Earlier this month, the 5G-PPP announced the formation of the 5G Novel Radio Multiservice adaptive network Architecture (5G NORMA) group with the goal of delivering proposals for an end-to-end architecture covering 5G RAN and core networks by the end of 2017. Nokia is part of that effort as well, along with Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) and other European telecom industry leaders.
The Next Generation Mobile Networks (NGMN) Alliance recently announced the launch of a "comprehensive work-programme" that the group said will cover 5G business principles, technical architecture (including security), spectrum frequency ranges and bands and intellectual property. And 4G Americas recently published a report detailing the 3GPP's work on its Release 12 and Release 13 standards, which the group described as setting "the foundation for 5G."
Bizarrely early:
InterDigital Announces Date for Second Quarter 2015 Financial Results
Company to Host Conference Call on July 30, 2015
InterDigital, Inc.
4 minutes ago
GlobeNewswire
????
WILMINGTON, Del., June 23, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- InterDigital, Inc. (IDCC), a mobile technology research and development company, today announced that the company will release its second quarter 2015 financial results before market open on Thursday, July 30, 2015. InterDigital executives will host a conference call that same day at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss the company's financial performance and other company matters.
Nokia CEO says the company will design and license phones again
by Billy Steele | @wmsteele | 12 hours ago
When a deal with Microsoft allows it to do so in 2016, Nokia plans to design and license phones again. In what comes as no surprise, the company's CEO told Manager Magazin that it would look for interested parties to release the devices when the time comes. "We will look for suitable partners," said CEO Rajeev Suri in an interview. "We would simply design them and then make the brand name available to license." Nokia sold its devices and services business to Microsoft last year, but it can begin to license mobile gadgets to other companies next year. If you'll recall, it already released the familiar-looking N1 tablet in China post-acquisition. Of course, Nokia still owns its Here mapping tech, which has reportedly drawn interest from automakers and transportation companies like Uber. While the devices may carry Nokia's aesthetics, keep in mind that the Lumia, Asha and X brands all belong to Microsoft. A company would pay Nokia for the design work and rights to use the name, but those recognizable labels are off limits.
From Taiwan:
Arima Communications settles licensing dispute with InterDigital
MOPS, June 11; Steve Shen, DIGITIMES [Thursday 11 June 2015]
Arima Communications has signed a settlement agreement and release of claims with the US-based InterDigital Group to end the licensing royalty disputes between the two companies, according to Arima's filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE).
The settlement and the appropriation of licensing royalties will have no significant impact on the company's financial operations in 2015, Arima said in the filing.
Meanwhile, Arima has reported that it posted revenues of NT$1.16 billion (US$37.48 million) for May, decreasing 39.2% from a year earlier. Revenues for the first five months of 2015 amounted to NT$7.36 billion, down 33.6% on year.
The company also said it shipped 470,000 smartphones in May.
On May 26, 2015, a panel convened by the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (the "ICC") delivered a confidential partial award in the arbitration proceeding initiated jointly by InterDigital and Huawei to determine the FRAND royalty and other terms and conditions of a binding worldwide patent license agreement. InterDigital expects that the ICC will issue its final arbitral award later this year.
From the presentation:
After we signed Samsung in 2014, we communicated that we viewed our recurring revenue base to be roughly $300 million; during our first quarter 2015 earnings conference call, we estimated it to have grown to $350 million.
• We now estimate our recurring revenue base to be roughly $400 million, reflecting the strong progress in our overall licensing program.
It's worth remembering that last Monday just as the ITC announced the IDCC win, the CFO for MSFT said that MSFT would take a write down in the second quarter for the Nokia acquisition. I am confident that current management there will want to wash their hands of Balmer's buy by settling before the end of June and making the settlement part of the write off.
(Bloomberg) -- InterDigital Inc. won the latest round in
its almost eight-year odyssey to obtain royalties on phones once
made by Nokia Oyj and now Microsoft Corp.
Nokia phones infringe two InterDigital patents, U.S.
International Trade Commission Judge Theodore Essex said in a
notice posted on the agency’s website. The judge’s findings are
subject to review by the full commission, which has the power to
block U.S. imports of products that violate U.S. patents.
Bloomberg - Interdigital Wins Latest Round in 2007 Patent Spat With Nokia