JointVenture
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Sony, NXP get official with Moversa joint venture
Chances are, you had forgotten all about Sony and NXP's little initiative to cooperate on a NFC (near-field communications) standard, but the two seem to have finally worked out all the kinks and are ready to move forward. The joint venture, dubbed Moversa, will seek to "drive global adoption of contactless smart card applications in mobile phones," and it's already planning to develop, produce and market a Universal Secure Access Module (U-SAM) that "incorporates both MIFARE and FeliCa operating systems and applications." Essentially, the duo is hoping to accelerate the adoption of integrated contactless support, which would enable users to make payments (among other things) easily via their handset. If you're curious about availability, we're hearing that samples should be shipped out in mid-2008, but commercial deployments aren't scheduled to happen until the end of next year.[Via Yahoo / Reuters]
IBM and MediaTek team up on uber-fast chipsets for HD streaming
IBM ain't the first big fish to dabble in the wireless HD chipset realm, and while we'd heard that the outfit was looking into the matter a year ago, things are seemingly now moving forward. Big Blue has joined hands with MediaTek in a "joint initiative to develop ultra fast chipsets that can wirelessly transmit a full-length high definition movie to and from a home PC, handheld device, retail kiosk or television set nearly as fast as a viewer can push their remote control." Apparently, the happy couple will both utilize their knowledge of millimeter wave (mmWave) radio technology in order to construct chipsets that allow end users to fling a 10GB file to its destination in just "five seconds" -- all without wires, of course. Visions of uncompressed HD streaming, syncing entire music libraries in seconds and giant bonfires fueled entirely by cabling (we kid, we kid) immediately come to mind.[Via Slashdot]
Sony and Qimonda form joint venture to design DRAM chips
Barely a fortnight after Sony disclaimed reports that it was pondering the sale of its PS3 chip production facilities, the firm has decided to partner up with Qimonda in a 50-50 venture "to design DRAM chips for consumer and graphics applications." The new entity will be dubbed Qreatic Design, will be based in Tokyo and is scheduled to start operating by the end of 2007. Of note, financial terms of the deal weren't released, but Qimonda's chief executive did state that the agreement would "support its future product design and solutions development and would further pave the way for product diversification in non-PC applications." [Warning: read link requires subscription]
Seiko Epson, Murata team up on contactless quick charger
Not even a week after startup WiPower boasted about its breakthrough in wireless power, Murata and Seiko Epson have announced plans to "jointly development a non-contact quick charging system." Reportedly, the technology "leverages electromagnetic induction," and both the charging stand and a given mobile device would be "respectively equipped with coils that generate power." As for the production, it sounds like Seiko Epson will hone in on the "transmitting side, or primary side," while Murata "will be involved in the production of the rechargeable Li-ion." The overriding goal is to recharge a handset "in about 10 to 15 minutes in a non-contact manner," which would purportedly push power transmission efficiency from current levels of 30- to 50-percent to nearly 70-percent. Oh, and we've already been assured that these "will not generate heat."
Pioneer and Sharp team up on Blu-ray, other products
Hot on the heels of Mitsubishi and Pioneer teaming up on LTH BD-Rs, along comes Sharp to give Pioneer yet another ally. According to a recent announcement, Sharp and Pioneer have "entered into a business and capital alliance agreement" that will utilize resources of both firms to potentially benefit the pair. Interestingly, the partnership describes a number of key areas in which collaboration will take place, and aside from network-related gizmos, in-car electronics and the development of new "audio-visual products," the only area left is the "next-generation DVD field." Reportedly, the two are hoping to "develop new next-generation DVD related products" by utilizing Sharp's blue-violet laser diode and Pioneer's optical disk technology. Of course, only time will tell what impact this will (or won't) have. [Warning: PDF read link][Via TWICE]
SK Telecom handing over $270 million (more) to Helio
As if receiving $200 million from SK Telecom and EarthLink back in July wasn't enough, Helio is now set to accept (up to) a $270 million check from SK Telecom. According to EarthLink, SK Telecom will "invest up to $270 million in Helio," and as expected, EarthLink was "very pleased" with the decision -- you know, considering that it won't be forced to cough up any more dough at the moment while still maintaining "substantial ownership interest in Helio's future." Most interesting, however, is the tidbit that mentions the parents' plans, as EarthLink and SK Telecom are reportedly "in discussions to amend their existing agreements to reflect the additional investment by SK Telecom and their future governance of Helio." Gotta pay to play, we suppose.
Sprint bows out of wireless spectrum joint venture
Sprint sure has been backing out of and sashaying into quite a few deals of late, and the schizophrenic trend is continuing as it opts out of SpectrumCo, one of two joint ventures with cable operators Comcast, Time Warner Cable (parent company of AOL, which owns Engadget), Cox Communications, and Brighthouse (Advance/Newhouse). Reportedly, the firm is still remaining a part of the Sprint/Cable venture (now known as Pivot) as it focuses on "integrating wireline and wireless services offered by the cable partners with itself." We're led to believe that Sprint simply had different plans for investing its capital, but it apparently sees value in hanging in there with the whole Pivot endeavor. Interestingly, when TWC's CEO was questioned over SpectrumCo's possible involvement in the forthcoming wireless auction, he casually proclaimed that "it would be inappropriate for him to make any comment on it one way or the other," but if you'll recall, it most certainly picked up a few licenses the last go 'round.
Altair Nanotechnologies, AES collaborate on energy storage products
After sinking $3 million into a company, what better to do than utilize the synergies and compliments between the two and crank out new products to better our lives? AES is apparently digging said mantra and looking to profit on its strategic investment in Altair Nanotechnologies by announcing a "joint development and equipment purchase agreement." Essentially, the two will reportedly work together to jointly "develop a suite of energy storage solutions," some of which are expected to deliver over 1MW of power and 500KWh of energy. Unsurprisingly, Altairnano is supposedly working with AES to apply these products and systems at "strategic points within the electrical grid to more efficiently deal with congestion, peak energy consumption, and real-time fluctuations in electricity demand." Interestingly, little is being said thus far about the actual design of the unit, but a prototype is slated to be completed by the year's end.[Via CNET]
SK Telecom, EarthLink dump $200 million on Helio
As Amp'd scrambles for life and limb and Palm sees its once tight grip on the market slipping away, Helio is being rewarded with a pair of checks worth $100 million apiece. Reportedly, SK Telecom and EarthLink are set to inject a substantial amount of cash into the MVNO, as it has supposedly burned through the initial $440 million initially put forth. Recent financial results from Helio have been less than encouraging, but obviously someone up the ladder thinks it's wise to forge ahead through treacherous waters. Of course, just about anything can survive with enough funding to back it, but unless things get turned around real quick like, Helio isn't likely breathe new life into the oft neglected MVNO universe.
Sprint explores options for WiMAX, ponders Clearwire deal
Looks like Sprint's feverish approach to WiMAX just swallowed a chill pill, as the firm is reportedly "exploring new options for financing its ambitious plan." In a presumed effort to "soothe investor concerns about the cost of the WiMAX plan," the company is actually investigating a partnership or joint venture with Clearwire in order to simultaneously remove a potential competitor and gain access to the critical Clearwire markets in the southeastern US. Of course, Clearwire isn't one to shy away from high stakes partnerships, and the FCC nod for a WiMAX-class laptop card that it garnered just last month could fit in quite well here. Still, Clearwire is refusing to comment just yet on whether this possibility is even feasible, but the mere mention of a spinoff likely means that Sprint isn't feeling all too peachy about future WiMAX profitability. [Warning: Read link requires subscription][Via InformationWeek]
Nissan's Intelligent Transportation System adds pedestrian avoidance
Although Nissan's anti-drunk driving technology should keep the worst of the unaware from actually cruising down the freeway, certain distractions that we just wouldn't do without could indeed lead to a pedestrian-related crash. Thankfully for us, Nissan is on the lookout, as its Intelligent Transportation System is now getting an additional feature before it's even released. Aside from helping you avoid congestion and emit less fumes, the ITS will now be able to communicate with handsets via 3G networks and GPS in order to alert drivers of upcoming individuals. Of course, we have to assume that only humans within a reasonable line of danger will appear on screen, but Nissan claims that this technology will decrease the amount of car vs. pedestrian mishaps and "reduce road accidents particularly in a blind-spot situation." The automaker is currently collaborating with NTT DoCoMo and researching "what types of pedestrian data are most relevant to help prevent accidents," but unfortunately, the launch date for all of this in-car madness is still a good ways out.
Asustek / Gigabyte call off joint venture
It's not uncommon to find two corporations with nothing better to do than join forces and fight the world together, but even we didn't expect the joint venture between Asustek and Gigabyte to be so short lived. Just seven months after the honeymoon began, the two have agreed to break off the partnership due to "confusion of clients and suppliers, together with the changes of both internal and external factors," which honestly doesn't tell us a whole lot. Nevertheless, both firms seem to agree that "the necessity of forming the joint venture is no longer as strong as expected," and while a bitter breakup would've been so much more fun for everyone not directly involved, Asus is actually being exempted from penalties relating to the separation, further proving that this decision actually does seem mutual in nature. Notably, the Gigabyte United spinoff seems to still be on track, but unless we see yet another change of heart, the original partnership is officially dead.[Via Inquirer]
Nokia cancels Sanyo venture, ending CDMA development?
Given Nokia's icy relationship with Qualcomm and "an already financially prohibitive CDMA ecosystem in general," it looks like the world's largest mobile manufacturer may be on the verge of turning its back on CDMA altogether. It's anybody's guess what exactly happened behind the closed doors of Sanyokia's meetings that caused things to go south, but in addition to pulling out of their planned joint venture to develop CDMA EV-DO handsets, Nokia is looking to deep-six its internal CDMA R&D by April of next year. That said, they also threw out that they plan to "selectively participate in key CDMA markets, with special focus on North America" going forward, which would jive well with their recently-announced Pantech deal -- likely leaving our Finnish friends with a stable of rebranded Korean handsets on Sprint and Verizon.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
