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NEC and Renesas looking to join forces against semiconductor evil
We're always up for a good semiconductor merger, and it looks like NEC Electronics and Renesas are prepping the biggest one we've seen this week. The two companies have agreed to team up, creating a combined force of $13 billion in yearly sales, and the largest chip company in Japan -- Renesas was already the product of a chip merger between Hitachi and Mitsubishi Electric. They'll still be behind Intel and Samsung in the overall game, but we won't hold that against them. Tokyo analysts believe this might lead to other "defensive" mergers by other Japanese chipmakers, but we'll have to wait and see. NEC and Renesas hope to finish talks by July and become a single company by April of next year.[Via Electronista]
NEC develops processor for 12 megapixel camera phones
No sooner than we get wind of a possible Samsung 12 megapixel camera phone does NEC reveal a linear shift-invariant (LSI) chip that, along with the proper CMOS sensor, can bestow onto mobile devices the power to shoot 12 megapixel imagery, as well as output full-HD video. Dubbed the CE143, it's being touted by the company for Its focus speed and signal-to-noise reduction 6db greater than with what's currently in the market. The chip will integrate with an image stabilizer, shading correction, and other essential point-and-click tools. Manufacturers should expect to get some hands-on time when samples begin shipping out in March. Keep a lookout for this one at Mobile World Congress later this month.
