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Samsung gets go-ahead on $3.9 billion chip production line expansion in Texas
Samsung's plans for a substantial renovations at hits semiconductor factory in Austin have been approved. Completing talks with the government of Texas, the world's biggest memory chip-maker will be expanding the capacity of its already substantial production lines, hoping to keep up with the ever-increasing demand for mobile components.
Fallen kingdom: 38 Studios' collapse and the pitfalls of using public money to support tech companies
In a career filled with many clutch throws from the baseball mound, former Boston Red Sox ace Curt Schilling's main calling card was a gutsy post-season performance made even more memorable by a blood-soaked sock. It was a pitch made by Schilling outside of Major League Baseball, however, that would prove to be his most daring one yet. In 2010, Schilling convinced Rhode Island officials to give his video game company, 38 Studios, a $75 million loan guarantee. A self-professed fan of massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG), Schilling's dream was to create a worthy competitor to Blizzard's MMORPG juggernaut, World of Warcraft. In 2006, Schilling started Green Monster Games, which was later renamed 38 Studios. Luring the company away from Massachusetts was supposed to bring in more than 400 jobs and serve as the linchpin for launching a new tech-based industry in Rhode Island. Instead, the state's taxpayers found themselves left at the table with a multimillion-dollar tab.
Isis mobile payment system primed for September launch, supported devices revealed
You've known it was coming, but Isis has been so quiet on the mobile payments front in the past few months that you might've forgotten the score. Now, the joint venture backed by AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon has announced that it'll debut its system in Austin and Salt Lake City next month. At least part of the delay is attributed to its shift in strategy, when Isis shelved its plans to process payments through the carriers themselves and instead work with MasterCard and Visa. Isis representatives have declined to elaborate on future expansion plans. Coinciding with the recent update that enabled Isis support for T-Mobile's Galaxy S II, MasterCard has come clean with a list of devices that'll receive similar treatment. Specifically, those in the US can expect the Droid Incredible 4G LTE, One X, Amaze 4G, Galaxy S III to gain Isis support. Naturally, the possibility remains open for other devices as well, and if you'd like to see the complete list of candidates, make sure to check out the PDF below.
Fujitsu and Acacia resolve patent disputes with settlement, keep it out of the courts
Fujitsu's bank balance may be a little lighter today, since Acacia Research Corp. has reported that subsidiaries of both companies have signed a settlement deal over patent disputes. As usual, Acacia is keeping tight-lipped about exactly what the patents cover, but a little digging on our part has revealed they are related to flash memory and RAM technologies. The agreement resolves lawsuits in the works at district courts in Texas and California, which is probably a good thing. After all, these cases can get pretty messy when they go to court.
Samsung spending $4 billion to renovate Austin chip factory
Premiership footballers will be weeping in envy at the way Samsung's been spending its cash this month. After splashing $822 million on a Korean R&D center, it's now chucking $4 billion to renovate its semiconductor factory in Austin, Texas. The cash will be used to increase production on system-on-chip products used in a wide variety of smartphones and tablets, presumably to cope with future demand. It's not clear if this investment is in addition to the $1 billion it was raising in January to add a new SOC and OLED line to the same facility, but it's certainly a good time to be living in Texas, right now.
Sprint LTE spreads its wings to four more areas by Labor Day
Sprint may have played slightly fast and loose with its definition of a 15-city LTE launch this month -- some of those areas were mighty close to each other -- but it's taking that expansion a little further down the road with its next stage. Hand-in-hand with its second quarter results, the pin-drop network has outlined plans to revisit its 4G hometown in Baltimore as well Gainesville in Georgia, the Junction City-Manhattan area in Kansas and the Denison-Sherman region in Texas, giving them all LTE by Labor Day. The expansion will certainly please Georgian Galaxy S III owners; unfortunately, it still leaves many major cities fending with EV-DO 3G until later in the year, if not 2013. Maybe Sprint's Hitchcock-inspired nightmares are to blame.
Apple snaps up land for Texas campus expansion plans
Apple may not be doing much talking about its big Texas expansion plans itself, but we're still getting a fair bit of information about them. Following an impromptu announcement from Texas governor Rick Perry earlier this year, the Austin Business Journal is now reporting that Apple has closed a deal with Riata Vista LP for three large plots of land next to its existing campus in Austin. That sale was reportedly finalized on June 20th, but specifics otherwise remain light, with no word yet on a sale price or the exact size of the land. As we've heard previously, though, Apple is investing over $300 million into the campus, which will eventually result in the creation of 3,600 new jobs.
Nest partners with Texas utility, offers intelligent thermostat to energy-conscious households
What's next for an energy-efficient thermostat designed by ex-Apple engineers? A limited promotion with a utilities provider to make it even more legit, that's what. Now that Nest has broached online mega-retailer Amazon's virtual shelves, the next stop on its trendy household domination tour's taking it to Reliant, a Texas-based electricity company. Bundled into the utility's "Learn & Conserve" plan, qualifying residents that sign-up for a two-year rate will receive one of the stylish, WiFi-enabled units, making the business of managing their energy settings a stylish and remotely controllable (via Android or iOS app) affair. Of course, you don't need to be a resident of The Lone Star state to call one of these your own -- Best Buy, Apple and Lowe's will also eagerly claim your cash in exchange for this home-monitoring wündergadget.
Amazon to collect sales tax, create 2,500 jobs in Texas
If Amazon's been your internet safe haven from the ravages of sales tax, you may want to sit down. As part of a settlement with the great state of Texas, Bezos' baby will start collecting the state's requisite 6.25-percent sales tax on July 1st. The settlement resolves the online retailer's ongoing dispute with the Lone Star state, which claimed that Amazon owed $269 million in back taxes. In addition to taking up collection, Amazon has agreed to create at least 2,500 jobs and invest a minimum of $200 million in capital investments, though it admits no fault, and believes "the assessment was without merit," according to its latest SEC filing. Grouped in with Kansas, Kentucky, New York, North Dakota and Washington, this agreement makes Texas the sixth state to collect sales tax from Amazon -- and California, Nevada and Arizona will join the collection club in due time. Check out the source links below for the Texas Comptroller's official statement and more reading on Amazon's tax agreements across the nation.
Apple's plans for Texas construction delayed due to disagreement with county
Apple's plans to bring 3,600 jobs to Austin, Texas are being delayed due to a disagreement between the company and the Travis County Commissioners Court over the terms of an economic incentive package. Apple is hoping to establish an Americas Operations Center in Austin, which would run most of the company's business operations for North and South America. Key to the deal to invest $304 million in the center is a package which would provide the company with almost $36 million in incentives over the next 10 to 15 years. The sticking point in the negotiations is with the Travis County Commissioners Court, which would provide anywhere from $5.4 to $6.4 million of the incentive. Opponents of the deal raised their objections at a Tuesday meeting of the Court, with Bill Aleshire (an attorney and former Travis County judge) and Ed Wendler (an Austin developer) picking through the details of the contract between the county and Apple. Aleshire said "I'm not sorry that Apple is frustrated ... That's a sorry contract." He felt that Apple "had it rigged so they could not comply with the contract yet end up with county staff basically renegotiating the terms that they would have to comply with." There's hope that the negotiations will end in a positive vote for Apple's expansion plans next Tuesday, May 1, 2012. If not, there are plenty of other cities in the U.S. that would be more than happy to welcome Apple with open arms.
TiVo sues Time Warner Cable, Motorola Mobility in fresh patent assault
Four days ago TiVo abandoned its protracted patent litigation against Microsoft and we sighed in relief at the idea that people were learning to just get along. Our respite was short lived, however, when the company revealed it was lobbing litigation-shaped grenades over the fence toward Motorola Mobility and Time Warner Cable. The lawsuit, filed in the Patent Troll haven of Texas' Eastern District, concerns patents 6,223,389, 7,529,465 and 6,792,195. The first of that trio is the contentious Time Warping patent that's been argued over so much we'd like to slice it in two, King Solomon style. Details beyond that are few and far between, but something tells us we'll be hearing more about the tiff in the future... whether we want to or not.
Mobile Miscellany: week of March 12th, 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've seen T-Mobile expand its network coverage and take an argument to the FCC regarding interoperability requirements of the 700MHz band. 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 March 12th, 2012.
Apple building $304 million campus in Austin, Texas, Rick Perry approves this message
Looks like SXSW isn't the only thing happening in Austin. The Apple machine is rolling in, but this time it's not the Cupertino outfit filling us in on the deets. Outspoken Texas Governor Rick Perry says that one of Apple's next creations will be a $304 million campus in his state's capital, which will include a $21 million investment over a decade from the Texas Enterprise Fund. Apple's not exactly a newcomer to the south, though, since it currently holds a customer support base in the area and, if all goes according to plan, the new addition could create up to 3600 more jobs. After all, bigger is better in Texas, right?
Apple to build $304M campus in Austin, Texas
Apple is expanding its presence in Texas with a new campus that'll add 3,600 new jobs, says Texas Governor Rick Perry. The US$304 million campus will double the size of Apple's Texas workforce over the next ten years and bring new customer support, sales and accounting jobs to the region. To help fund this project, Apple will receive $21 million from the Texas Enterprise Fund, a fund created to encourage companies to invest in the Lone Star State. [Via AppleInsider]
Mass Effect 3's trip into space gets a trailer, useful purpose
So, remember how EA and Bioware are launching six copies of Mass Effect 3 into (near) space? Well, they're still doing that, and now there's a trailer about it that you can watch.The trailer itself is not particularly informative, but the press release delivered with said trailer actually contained some cool information about the event. Specifically, students from the High Altitude Balloon Club at Texas A&M University will be assisting with each of the six launch sites around the world.Once the event is complete, EA will be donating all of the equipment used during the publicity stunt to A&M's Aerospace Engineering department, which will then take the gear to Alaska and use it study the aurora borealis. We're glad to hear this advertising campaign will benefit a group of bright youngsters, and that EA isn't shelling out a presumably massive load of cash just to launch some games into space.
Huawei R&D department gets new home, sets up shop in Silicon Valley
Chinese manufacturing giant Huawei has been calling Plano, Texas its North American home since 2010, but now it seems the company's ready to explore a different business territory. Huawei's just announced its Research and Development squad -- in which it invested about $3.6 billion dollars last year -- is setting up shop in Silicon Valley in a move that could certainly be seen as an effort to rub elbows with the big players this side of the pond. According to the Dallas Business Journal, the company piled up $30 billion in sales last year, and while the new 600-plus human R&D operation will be calling California home, Huawei's Honorary headquarters won't be moving away from the state where "everything's bigger" anytime soon.
Samsung looks to borrow $1 billion to expand production capacity in Austin, Texas
When you're producing chips for the iPad and iPhone, you need a serious facility to meet those demands. And evidently, Samsung's not foreseeing its legal battles with Apple to cause any wrinkles in said plans. In fact, Bloomberg is reporting that Sammy has "sent requests for proposals to banks to borrow as much as $1 billion to expand production capacity at its factory in Austin, Texas," with the bonds to be issued by Samsung's US unit. It's bruited that the company -- which has around $19.2 billion in cash -- may sell its first overseas bonds since 1997 due to the impossibly low cost of borrowing money these days, and in a time where positive economic news is tough to come by, it's quite the relief to see a bit of forward progress come from historically low interest rates. Reuters is reporting that the investment will mostly be used to "boost production of mobile chips and next-generation OLED (organic light-emitting diode) display panels," but specific details beyond that remain murky.
Sprint encroaches on AT&T markets for first LTE upgrades: Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio
We knew good and well that Sprint was placing its future network bets on LTE, but up until now, we had no idea who would get first dibs. Sprint's own Dan Hesse just cleared up a quip that he gave to us back in July of 2011, noting that Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio would be first to get "4G LTE and 3G network upgrades by mid-2012," just in time for the first Sprint LTE phones to take advantage. If you're thinking those cities sound familiar, you're right; AT&T Mobility is headquartered in the ATL, and all three of those Texas communities were high on AT&T's list of launch markets, too. Here's hoping we hear of a few more markets in the run-up to Mobile World Congress in February.... Update: Sprint has just issued a proper release on the news (it's embedded after the break), with the key snippet as follows: "The launch of these metropolitan areas marks the next step in the company's overall network strategy, also known as Network Vision. Sprint customers can expect to enjoy ultra-fast data speeds, improved 3G voice and data quality, and stronger in-building signal penetration providing a more reliable wireless experience." [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Apple's A5 processor now manufactured in Texas
"Designed by Apple in California" -- you'll find that on virtually every Apple product. While it's well-known that the brains of Apple's outfit are indeed housed in California, it's almost as well-known that Apple's products are almost wholly manufactured overseas. Indeed, Apple has been a target of criticism in the past because of how much it relies upon labor outside the US. However, according to a new report from Reuters, apparently at least one major component of Apple's portable devices is in fact manufactured in the States -- in Texas, to be more specific. Reuters reports that the A5 processor that powers both the iPad 2 and iPhone 4S is built in a Samsung-owned, 1.6 million square foot factory in Austin, Texas. The A5 production line in Austin reportedly reached full production earlier this month, and Reuters' sources say nearly the entire factory's non-memory production is geared toward cranking out A5 chips for Apple. Previously the only source of A5 chips was Samsung's factory in South Korea. Austin's A5 production line has created 1100 new jobs in the Austin area, Reuters says. Reports from earlier this year indicated that rival production firm TSMC may produce the next-generation A6 processor instead of (or possibly in addition to) Samsung. While Samsung is the main supplier for many of the central components of Apple's iOS-powered devices, it is also one of Apple's chief competitors in the smartphone market. The two companies have also been embroiled in a knockdown-dragout patent battle across multiple continents for several months, so it's not clear just how long this Samsung production line in Texas will be doing business with Apple.
Future Texas Apple Store to feature a glass roof
Apple likes glass. Its iPhone 4/4S is encased in glass, its proposed office building will be largely faced with glass and its retail stores are increasingly constructed with glass. The latest example is the future Highland Village Retail Store in Houston, Texas. Texas resident Tracy Evans scoped out the soon-to-be-completed Highland Village store, and discovered it may be a smaller version of Apple's Upper West Side (UWS) store in New York City. Similar to the UWS store, the Texas store will have an all-glass front, a curved glass roof and limestone walls. The store will even have an all-glass back because it doesn't have a basement or a rear stock room. All warehouse stock will be stored in an adjacent location which means the store's entire floor space will be used for retail. This trend isn't unique to the Texas and New York locations. Apple is renovating two stores in California with the glass-centric design. Building documents submitted to city planning officials suggest the Palo Alto store in Northern California and the Third Street Promenade store in Southern California are also getting a glassy makeover. [Via ifoapplestore]