WHEN A BEHEMOTH SHAKES ITS TAIL, some rise, some fall. The behemoth benefits.That appears to be the upshot of Nokia Corp.'s announcement last week that it had selected four main chipset suppliers for future business. The move boosted some fortunes and cast off others,...
High-tech giants seeking a new avenue for wireless Internet access suffered at least a temporary setback as a result of government tests that found prototype, Wi-Fi-like devices had trouble detecting TV signals and caused interference to broadcasters and wireless microphones. The tests studied operations...
Two U.S. carriers have unveiled converged Wi-Fi/cellular products that use Unlicensed Mobile Access technology and offer customers the chance to stretch their wireless minutes and improve in-home coverage by relying on Wi-Fi for voice calls. Regional telco Cincinnati Bell was the first to come...
A broad-based mix of high-tech, consumer, civil rights, educational and Hispanic interests urged Congress to ensure that vacant TV airwaves are freed up for unlicensed wireless broadband as soon as possible."Allocating the TV white spaces for unlicensed use will stimulate the development of innovative...
High-tech and electronic giants last week gave the Federal Communications Commission a Wi-Fi device to test that they said can operate in vacant television frequencies without disrupting high definition TV signals. Thus, the product could ratchet up the stakes in a battle between Silicon...
A group of high-tech and electronic companies is set to deliver to the Federal Communications Commission a Wi-Fi device it says can operate in vacant broadcast frequencies without disrupting high-definition TV reception. The device is not intended for commercial sale; instead, it stands as...
Private-equity buyout companies are the darlings of Wall Street, snapping up companies left and right and flush with the cash to do so. According to Thomson Financial, buyouts by private-equity companies accounted for more than 25 percent of the total merger-and-acquisition activity in the...
Intertrust Technologies Corp. unveiled a licensing program in an effort to bridge the longstanding gap between the wireless industry and Open Mobile Alliance-supported digital rights management technology.The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based developer announced a patent licensing initiative for all patents from Intertrust, Philips Royal Electronics and...
Big opportunities come with big risks, particularly in chasing the future of the cellphone business.One opportunity, pursued by the market's two giants and their challengers, is to deliver ultra low-cost handsets into the hands of low-income subscribers in developing markets. The upside to this...
Big opportunities come with big risks, particularly in chasing the future of the mobile handset business.One opportunity, pursued by the market's two giants and their challengers, is to deliver ultra low-cost handsets into the hands of low-income subscribers in developing markets. The upside to...
IN THE BLEAK WORLD of digital rights management, wireless service providers may actually serve as a beacon out of the darkness.But don't count on it.Anti-piracy software may be nearing a crossroads. A handful of record labels are beginning to experiment with DRM-free music, releasing...
The digital rights management playing field got a little more crowded as four of the world's biggest consumer electronics companies released services for a new anti-piracy solution.The Marlin Trust Management Organization-comprising Panasonic, Royal Philips Electronics, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and Sony Corp.-released its DRM...
A mobile phone runs on the chips inside it, if an over-generalization may be permitted for simplicity's sake. And the basic functions of a basic phone rely on four types of chips: the power amplifier, the RF transceiver, the analog baseband and the digital...
Representatives from the former Flextronics Software Services business are making the media rounds, clamoring for attention, now that the company is about to announce its new identity-fully six months after being weaned from its Fortune Global 500 parent last spring. Six months is a...
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands—Royal Philips Electronics is set to transfer its remaining mobile-phone business to China Electronics Corp. by the end of 2006. Philips said its mobile-phones unit produced around $501 million annually and employs about 240 people, mainly in Asia Pacific and Eastern Europe.In the...
One of the worst-kept secrets in the wireless industry today is T-Mobile USA Inc.'s much-discussed-by everyone but them, that is-plan to launch services that allow subscribers with dual-mode handsets to move seamlessly between cellular and Wi-Fi networks. U.S. trials of the technology by T-Mobile...
WASHINGTON--Freescale Semiconductor Inc. confirmed last week it is talking with parties relating to a possible transaction characterized by a New York Times story as a bidding war between two private equity firms to acquire the chipmaker for $16 billion. The Times, citing sources involved...
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands-Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. launched a handset equipped with Unlicensed Mobile Access technology in Italy. Samsung's SGH-P200 phone runs on the Nexperia chip from Royal Philips' Philips Semiconductor division. Philips' Nexperia offering uses the company's low-power wireless local area network system-in-package that integrates...
It may seem like you've been hearing about the concept of a "wireless wallet" for decades, but in North America, at least, m-commerce is very much in its infancy. Mobile money seems to be getting legs in Japan, where credit-card companies have teamed with...
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands—Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. launched a handset equipped with Unlicensed Mobile Access technology in Italy. Samsung’s SGH-P200 phone runs on the Nexperia chip from Royal Philips’ Philips Semiconductor division. Philips’ Nexperia offering uses the company’s low-power wireless local area network system-in-package that integrates...
The advent of contactless payment technology in mobile handsets ushers in big possibilities for credit-card companies, network operators, and handset and chip vendors-if all parties can agree on an equitable business model. For consumers, new technologies such as near field communication, or NFC, offer...
Amid intensified airport security, U.S. passports outfitted with RFID technology rolled off the government's presses as the U.S. State Department began issuing electronic passports to the public. The State Department said e-passports are being produced at its Colorado Passport Agency in Denver and will...
Look out, Texas Instruments Inc. and Infineon Technologies AG. Your closest competitor in EDGE baseband chips and W-CDMA RF transceivers, respectively-Philips Semiconductor-has a new, ambitious owner anxious to position its acquisition to eat your lunch. Or at least grow Philips Semiconductor by feeding on...
AMSTERDAM—Royal Philips Electronics announced plans to sell a majority stake in its semiconductor business as the company transitions away from cyclical activities to focus on developing itself into a healthcare- and lifestyle-focused company. Philips is selling an 80.1-percent stake in its semiconductor business, which...
