Qualcomm

Qualcomm has acquired the handheld technology assets of US chip-maker AMD in a US$65 million deal that the San Diego-based mobile silicon giant says will allow it to expand its graphics and multimedia offerings.

Qualcomm has said it stands to lose "tens of millions of dollars" if the new US administration is successful in pushing back the deadline for the country's switch to digital TV (DTV). US broadcasters are currently scheduled to vacate analogue spectrum on 17 February, freeing up space for the companies that bought 700MHz spectrum last year to launch mobile services.

Globes reports that Qualcomm is to invest US$7 million in modular mobile handset developer Modu, bringing the amount of money raised by the company to US$92 million.

Qualcomm, the world's largest maker of mobile chips, has slashed revenue and income guidance for its current fiscal year, after weakening demand for its chips saw it report a 56 percent annual decline in net income in its previous financial quarter.

A device teardown by analyst firm iSuppli has revealed that Research In Motion's (RIM) Storm - the first BlackBerry touchscreen - is more expensive to produce than Apple's iPhone 3G, and may mark the first time that the Canadian handset vendor has used Qualcomm chips.

Toshiba has unveiled the first mobile device based on Qualcomm's 'Snapdragon' chip, reports Slash Gear. The touchscreen smartphone - known as the Toshiba TG01 - is based on Microsoft's Windows Mobile 6.1 platform and is being seen as a potential competitor to Apple's iPhone.

PC World reports that analysts are predicting that Microsoft could launch its own smartphone at the GSMA Mobile World Congress later this month.