Jeff Burt

Broadcom is adding to its portfolio of processors aimed at the Internet of things (IoT) with a family of low-power chips that support a broad array of protocols and offer features such as 40-nanometer flash memory and a common development platform. The new ARM-based systems-on-a-chip (SoCs), introduced Dec. 8, are part of the Wireless Internet […]

Cisco Systems a year ago introduced Project Squared, an initiative designed to bring consumer-like ease to enterprise-class collaboration and communications. It was renamed Spark in March and introduced as a collaboration application that made it easier for users to schedule, manage and attend video conferences or other online meetings. Now Cisco officials want to evolve […]

Cradlepoint, a 4G LTE provider based in Boise, Idaho, has bought network virtualization startup Pertino to expand its ability in the growing software-defined WAN space. Cradlepoint officials announced the deal Dec. 8, saying that the company will use Pertino’s technology and expertise to bring software-defined networking (SDN) to wide-area networks (WANs) that use 4G LTE, […]

Qualcomm continues to draw the attention of regulators worldwide. The antitrust arm of the European Union (EU) is accusing Qualcomm—the world’s largest mobile chipset vendor—of using its size and influence to illegally drive competitors from the market. At the same time, Taiwan’s Fair Trade Commission is investigating to see if Qualcomm’s licensing policies violate the […]

Ensuring application performance is becoming challenging at a time when enterprises increasingly are adopting cloud computing and hybrid IT infrastructures, according to a recent survey by Riverbed Technology. The survey results, released Dec. 7, found that 98 percent of the 900 business executives who responded said that optimal enterprise application performance is important to their […]

Rack Architecture, x86 Systems Helped Drive Q3 Server Growth Third-quarter numbers from IDC and Gartner analysts show that the server space is growing, not only in terms of revenue but also in shipments. HPE, Dell Still the Top 2 Vendors In numbers from both IDC and Gartner, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) and Dell not only […]

Freescale is now part of NXP Semiconductors as the two companies on Dec. 7 announced the closing of their $12 billion merger. The new company, which will continue operations as NXP Semiconductors, will boast $10 billion in combined annual revenue, about 45,000 employees, more than 11,000 engineers, a presence in more than 35 countries and […]

The global PC market will continue to see a sharp decline in shipments in the current quarter, and the picture won’t start improving until later in 2016, according to analysts with IDC. The market research firm expects worldwide shipments to fall 10 percent in the fourth quarter, helping drive the year-over-year decline in 2015 to […]

Qualcomm last week announced a patent licensing agreement with fast-rising Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi, an important bit of good news for a chip-making company that has seen its share of challenges both inside and outside of China. Under the agreement, Xiaomi will license Qualcomm’s patents to build and sell smartphones that connect to cellular networks […]

Japanese tech vendors Toshiba and Fujitsu reportedly are considering merging their struggling PC units in an attempt to create a stronger company in a shrinking market and to save costs by ridding themselves of unprofitable businesses. Reuters and Asian business daily Nikkei reported that the companies are about to begin negotiating an agreement that could […]

HP Inc. is getting out of the low-end tablet market, opting instead to focus on higher-cost, higher-profit devices. The company has a healthy list of tablets on its Website that run as high as $1,499 (for the new Elite x2 1012 G1 tablet, powered by Intel’s Core m5-6Y54 processor and running Microsoft’s Windows 10 Pro […]

Nokia shareholders this week endorsed the company’s $16.6 billion proposal to buy Alcatel-Lucent in a bid to create a major competitor to such networking vendors as Ericsson, Huawei Technologies and Cisco Systems. During a meeting in Helsinki Dec. 2, Nokia investors overwhelmingly supported the deal, according to company officials. The acquisition has received the necessary […]