Ericsson
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Microsoft reportedly selling its MediaRoom IPTV unit to Ericsson
It's not been a great few years for Ericsson, but the company is looking to cheer itself up by bidding for one of Microsoft's cast-offs. According to Bloomberg's usual cabal of persons familiar with the matter, the beleaguered networking giant is gunning for Redmond's MediaRoom IPTV Unit. As Microsoft's home entertainment ambitions now center around the Xbox, MediaRoom, which powers AT&T's U-Verse, is deemed surplus to requirements. Spokespeople for both companies declined to comment, but we're left wondering whatever happened to Microsoft's grand plans for Project Orapa (sic).
ST-Ericsson CEO steps down without a named successor
ST-Ericsson was already in some tumult after the ST half of the partnership said it was exiting the venture late last year. As we're discovering, there was a little more drama in store for 2013. CEO Didier Lamouche has resigned from the company for a tempting job prospect elsewhere, and there's no named replacement for him so far -- a slight problem when Lamouche will be out by March 31st. He's leaving ST-Ericsson in a better state than he found it, as the company is scoring key deals for phones like the Galaxy S III Mini while getting its LTE chip plans on track. Nonetheless, we suspect that remaining owner Ericsson will want that power vacuum filled quickly when there's already enough uncertainty ahead.
European Commission invests €50 million into 5G research with a 2020 target
You're still waiting to get 4G? That's old hat: the European Commission is already thinking about 5G. It's investing €50 million ($65.3 million) into research with the hope that the next-next-generation cellular technology will be a practical reality by 2020. About €16 million ($20.9 million) of that is headed toward METIS, an Ericsson-led alliance hoping to develop wireless with 10 to 100 times the capacity, a similar increase in speed and just a fifth of the lag. Like a UK parallel, though, there's only so much technology talk the Commission can offer at this stage. The funding is as much for regional pride as progress -- officials want 5G to be a Europe-led affair after Asia and North America took center stage on 4G.
Apple grabs more than 1,000 patents from Rockstar Consortium
Apple is beefing up its patent portfolio with the recent transfer of over 1,000 patents from Rockstar Consortium. The patent and patent application transfer was first reported by Yonhap News and confirmed by patent transfer records in the US Patent and Trademark Office database. Apple is a member of Rockstar Bidco, which outbid Google for a collection of 4,000 patents from Nortel. Apple along with Microsoft, Sony, Ericsson, EMC and RIM bid US$4.5 billion for the patent portfolio in July 2011. Apple provided $2.6 billion to buy the patents and patent applications. According to a report in Business Insider, Apple, Microsoft and Rockstar declined to comment on the news report. [Via Business Insider]
Switched On: Rubber brands
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. More Info Android 4.1 Jelly Bean review: a look at what's changed in Google's mobile OS Sony Xperia Tablet S hands-on Samsung Galaxy Camera One sits far atop the Android smartphone heap while the other has recently stepped up its efforts to compete more aggressively by acquiring the stake of its decade-long joint venture partner. But at the recent IFA event, electronics giants Samsung and Sony both acknowledged the importance of their smartphone sub-brands by stretching them into new product categories. For Sony, its Xperia sub-brand hopped across to its tablet while Samsung brought the Galaxy brand to a connected camera. How these companies have stretched these brands reflects their relative position both in terms of where they've moved from and where they've moved to. For Sony, the move of Xperia to another product category represents somewhat of a full circle (as does the return of the Sony brand to handsets itself). Part of the early playbook for Sony Ericsson was to bring established Sony Electronics brands -- notably Cyber-Shot and Walkman -- to phones focused on imaging and music in the heyday of the feature phone, which the joint venture clung to for too long. Xperia, in contrast, was the company's first "native" sub-brand meant to evoke "experience", of course. And while many in the line have been well-received, they never translated into a strong global market share for Sony Ericsson.
MPEG drafts twice-as-efficient H.265 video standard, sees use in phones as soon as 2013
All of that squabbling over H.264 may be rendered moot in the near future. The Motion Picture Experts Group (better known as MPEG) has just let us know that it was quietly drafting a new video standard while everyone was on summer vacation last month: H.265, also called High Efficiency Video Coding, promises to squeeze video sizes with double the efficiency of H.264. As you might imagine, this could lead either to a much smaller video footprint for bandwidth-starved mobile users or a hike to image quality with the same size as before. Imagine fast-loading HD streaming on 4G, or cable TV without all the excess compression, and you've got the idea. Ericsson Research visual technology lead Per Fröjdh anticipates H.265 coming as soon as 2013, when our smartphones and tablets are most likely to play it first. TV and other areas might have to wait, although Fröjdh is offering a consolation prize -- he's teasing a separate MPEG project that could give us glasses-free, compressed 3D video as a standard by 2014.
Mobile Miscellany: week of May 28th, 2012
Not all mobile news is destined for the front page, but if you're like us and really want to know what's going on, then you've come to the right place. This past week, we learned of another possible prepaid destination for the iPhone (hint: it's a subsidiary of Sprint), and Samsung announced a combined sales total of 50 million Galaxy S and Galaxy S II smartphones. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the "best of the rest" for this week of May 28th, 2012.
ELVIIS Volvo C30 EV charges from any standard outlet, bills the driver (hands-on)
The electric vehicle is still a fresh enough concept that the issue of redirecting the bill when filling up at a public outlet or a friend's house is of little concern. But once EVs gain more traction and the cost of electricity during that monthly dinner party starts to run upwards of 50 bucks, you'll definitely take notice. ELVIIS, a research collaboration between Ericsson and the Viktoria Institute in Sweden, may be the solution. Instead of pulling power from the grid blindly and billing the outlet's owner, the system provides driver and vehicle information to a server before charging begins, then redirects the cost for power consumed to whatever account you've registered with the vehicle, alleviating any concern about unexpected electricity bills. ELVIIS can theoretically serve other purposes, allowing you to select the least-expensive energy source, for example, or set the car to wait to charge until late-night, when rates are lower.We jumped into the passenger seat of one of five existing ELVIIS cars -- built around an all-electric Volvo C30 -- and poked around the charging interface. The project isn't fully operational just yet, and was running in demo mode so there's no way to verify that it works as described, but it definitely appears to be solid, with Ericsson providing financial and development support. Eventually, it will use the car's GPS to identify nearby power outlets -- for now, you need to enter a specific outlet ID. There's also an Android app that allows you to monitor and reschedule charging, so if you programmed your car to be completely charged by 7AM but realized that you need to leave at 6, you can make sure you're covered without getting out of bed. But you don't need to go anywhere to see it in action -- just click on past the break.
Sony finalizes divorce with Ericsson, renames itself Sony Mobile Communications
More than half of America's married couples will tell you, breaking up is hard. Hard and expensive. After living in denial, dodging rumors and eventually coming to terms with the inevitable, Sony has finally taken over Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson's 50-percent stake in the pair's former joint venture, a move that was earlier reported to have cost €1.05 billion ($1.37 billion) to complete. The now fully Sony owned Sony Ericsson will be renamed Sony Mobile Communications, though a few of the outfit's already announced children are keeping their papa's name. Hit the break for Sony's small press release.
Sony Ericsson hangs ten, launches Xperia Active Billabong Edition
Sony Ericsson is looking to start a bromance with the McTwist-loving, Double-Cork-landing, A-Frame-riding masses jonesing for a new Android device. The handset maker has announced a "global strategic alliance" with Billabong to launch the Xperia Active Billabong Edition smartphone in select markets. The handset will come preloaded with exclusive content, including Billabong screen savers, and bundle several Billabong-branded games and applications. As the two companies tell it, the Xperia ABE is the "ideal smartphone for extreme sports enthusiasts." Accordingly, Sony Ericsson hardware is about to start making appearances at various "major" Billabong events. Unfortunately, this next bit is really going to harsh your mello: the hardware is identical to that of the Xperia Active announced back in June, complete with a single-core 1GHz processor, Gingerbread, a 3-inch Reality display and a five-megapixel shooter. Even with its no-so-extreme spec sheet, we give SE a gnar-lay for effort.
Ericsson, ZTE shake hands, drop patent infringement lawsuits
Back in April, Ericsson and ZTE filed patent infringement lawsuits against each other, with each party claiming that its 4G / WCDMA / GSM technology had been illegally appropriated. Today, though, the two have apparently decided to bury the hatchet, and withdraw their lawsuits. In a statement issued yesterday, ZTE said the two firms arrived at the decision after "extensive discussion and consultation," adding that the move will bring an end to "the patent infringement lawsuits filed by Ericsson against ZTE in the U.K., Germany and Italy, as well as the patent infringement lawsuit filed by ZTE against Ericsson." The company went on to deny earlier reports that it was forced to pay €500 million (about $647 million) to Ericsson, though Ericsson has yet to offer any comment on the matter.
Sony Ericsson swallows $317 million pre-tax loss as end draws near
Sony Ericsson's tearful breakup continues with more woe as as the venture had to eat a pre-tax loss of €247 million (roughly $317 million). Bosses cited "unfavorable macro-economic conditions" and the Thai flooding as the reasons for the loss. Ericsson probably won't mind having such an unfavorable penultimate quarter with the company, given that it's set to receive €1.05 billion (around $1.9 billion) when Sony buys out its share of the joint telecoms business within the next month.
Sony Ericsson to become Sony in mid-2012
Sony and Ericsson's decade-long partnership may have humbled Kim Kardashian, but dwindling market share and an over-reliance on feature phones signaled the end of the affair. Ericsson will have until "mid 2012" to clear its things from the spare room before the electronics giant begins a new solo venture. The revitalized enterprise will leverage its parent company's brand strength, R&D and content (since it owns a massive chunk of the entertainment industry) and in comments made to Times of India, company Vice President Kristian Tear said there would be a "fierce" advertising push to restore the company's reputation as a major player worldwide -- before taking a Pilates class to try and fit back into its bachelor pad.
Ericsson-sponsored 'On The Brink' mini-film puts connectivity in perspective
Every so often, a film (or short) like this crops up. Be it from AT&T in 1993, or Microsoft every couple of years, there's just something amazing about dreaming of the future. This go 'round, we've got an Ericsson-sponsored piece dubbed "On The Brink," which touches on the past, present and presumed future of connectivity. Want an informed look at what our planet might look like once ubiquitous broadband is a reality and cats are more powerful than presidents? Hop on past the break and mash play. (After you set aside 21 minutes, not including buffering.)
Sony Ericsson uses six Xperia Neos to capture a 360-degree bike ride (video)
The company currently known as Sony Ericsson's marketing arm (that'd be Xperia Studio) invites artists and scientists to demonstrate the prowess of its mobile phone stable in creative ways. This time, landscape photographer Joergen Geerds was asked to compose a unique 360-degree video. Using a 3D printer, he developed a custom mount to hold six Xperia Neo phones in a ring that was welded to a mountain bike. Cyclist Mark Sevenoff rode along the Slickrock trail in the Moab Desert, Utah as the phones recorded the action. As no software existed to stitch together different video streams, Geerds had to convert every one of the several hundred thousand frames into JPEGs, merge them as stills and then reconvert the whole thing back into video. You can watch the whole interactive film at our source link, and if you're interested in learning more about how Geerds developed the project, we've got behind the scenes video and a press release after the break.
Sony to buy out Ericsson's stake in joint venture, call it quits after ten years
We all saw it coming and, sure enough, it's finally happened. After all the rumors and opaque comments, Sony has just bought out Ericsson's share of Sony Ericsson, effectively assuming ownership of the entire venture. Ericsson confirmed the buyout this morning, adding that it will receive a cash consideration of €1.05 billion in exchange for its 50 percent stake. Sony, meanwhile, will now have the chance to integrate smartphones more tightly within its arsenal of tablets, laptops and gaming devices. The agreement also gives Sony an IP cross-licensing agreement and ownership of "five essential patent families" pertaining to wireless tech, though the breadth of this coverage remains unclear. The separation won't be finalized, however, until January 2012, pending regulatory approval. Find more details in the full PR, after the break. Update: Sony president and CEO Sir Howard Stringer has just addressed the media on the proposed buyout and confirmed that the company will indeed move away from feature phones, as previously stated. This effectively heralds the death of the Walkman line and the dawn of Sony's exclusively Android era, though Stringer's not ruling out the possibility of bringing another OS on board. When asked whether his firm would consider buying webOS, the exec said simply, "Never say never." [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
WSJ: Sony buying out Ericsson's end of mobile joint-venture
Sony's PlayStation Suite may be planned for more than just a few of Sony Ericsson's mobile devices, as the Wall Street Journal has heard from "people familiar with the matter" that Sony intends on buying out Ericsson's half of the two companies' joint cellular partnership. Sony and Ericsson came together in 2001 to create mobile devices, but Sony only got its PlayStation brand involved in the collaboration within the past year, with the launch of the Xperia Play and not-quite-launched PlayStation Suite. Apparently the deal is also quite fragile at the moment, with one source indicating "the talks are ongoing and could break apart at any time." It's still unclear how much Ericsson might net from the deal, though analysts peg Ericsson's stake at anywhere between €1 billion and €1.25 billion ($1.3 billion to $1.7 billion). The results of the purchase could be dramatic, with Sony taking full control of its mobile development wing -- a perfect pairing with Sony's PlayStation Suite. Whether the deal actually happens, however, remains to be seen.
Sony nearing deal to move cellphone operations in house, buy out Ericsson's half
Sony is getting tired of sitting idly in sixth place in the battle for cellphone supremacy. Sure, there have been a few noteworthy devices from the company's joint venture with Ericsson (i.e. the Arc), but for the most part it has struggled since its inception in 2001 to run with the alpha dogs. The Japanese manufacturer's new strategy involves buying out Ericsson's stake in the company and having its tablet, smartphone and handheld gaming units work closely together to develop future products. According to the Wall Street Journal, a deal for the Stockholm company's half of the venture is nearing completion. Some difficulties remain, such as properly valuing the company and settling on a price for Ericsson's roughly $1.3 to $1.7 billion worth of mobile technology patents, but a deal is expected to be reached sooner rather than later. And maybe, just maybe, the new found flexibility will allow Sony handsets to keep pace with the Samsungs and Apples of the world.
Sony Ericsson CEO says company 'should have taken iPhone more seriously'
Current Sony Ericsson CEO Bert Nordberg wasn't leading the company back when Apple introduced the first iPhone in 2007, but he still has some opinions about how it should have reacted to the phone's debut. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal today, Nordberg said, "it's safe to say that Sony Ericsson should have taken the iPhone more seriously when it arrived in 2007." He has nothing but praise for the company's commitment to Android, however, saying that "our Android strategy has been successful and the best choice we could have made," and that he "wouldn't feel comfortable investing in a platform that isn't as good as the one that we currently use." That last bit was in response to a question about Windows Phone, and it may sound like a complete slam if not for the fact that he went on to admit he is "quite curious" it. Exactly what that means isn't clear, but it sounds like the door still at least isn't completely shut for the OS it once toyed around with. Hit the source link below for the full interview.
Game on: Sony Ericsson Xperia Play 4G ready at AT&T for $50
Just over four months after the unique device hit Verizon stores, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play 4G has now made it past AT&T's front door and onto shelves nationwide. The unique factor on this particular version of the "PlayStation Phone" is the inclusion of 14.4Mbps HSPA+ -- with enhanced backhaul, naturally -- and will be the first PlayStation-Certified smartphone on AT&T's network. At $50, the pricing is certainly competitive since it ships with Android 2.3.3, a 1GHz single-core CPU, Adreno 205 GPU, 4-inch 854 x 480 display, and seven pre-loaded games. At a full $150 less than Big Red's launch price, the carrier may move a few units. If you're one of those that could be persuaded, head to the source link and get your shopping on.
