Marvell Technology Inc (MRVL)

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Marvell recruits staff from BenQ to strengthen its 3G platform
http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20070717PD214.html

Daniel Shen, Taipei; Joseph Tsai, DIGITIMES [Wednesday 18 July 2007]

Marvell, which purchased Intel's handheld chipset business last year, recently recruited 20 technicians from BenQ's handheld team with the goal being to improve Marvell's position in the 3G chipset market, according to sources at handset makers.

Since purchasing Intel's handheld unit, Marvell has thrown a lot of resources into developing the business and has successfully partnered with Taiwan handset makers including HTC, Inventec Appliances, Arima Communications, Gigabyte Communications, Compal Communications and Asustek Computer.

However, Asustek is Marvell's only Taiwan handset partner for 3G handset chipsets and that partnership has not always proceeded as smoothly as had been hoped, industry sources noted. By strengthening its 3G chipset support team, Marvell is now looking to expand its customer base in the 3G segment.

Marvell faces an uphill battle in the 3G market among Taiwan handset makers though, the sources at handheld makers pointed out. Most Taiwan-based handset makers have already signed 3G patent contracts with Qualcomm and Ericsson Mobile Platforms (EMP) and it is unlikely they will adopt another platform in the short term, the sources explained, while adding that makers are still evaluating Marvell's solution.