Qualcomm Atheros Launches Skifta 1.0 for Android to Access Personal Music, Photos and Video in the Connected Home or on-the-go

Qualcomm Atheros Launches Skifta 1.0 for Android to Access Personal Music, Photos and Video in the Connected Home or on-the-go

SAN JOSE, CALIF. – October 26, 2011 – Qualcomm Atheros Inc., the networking and connectivity subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM), today announced Skifta™ 1.0 for Android™ smartphones and tablets. Skifta transforms any Android device into a global media remote control that lets consumers access and enjoy their music, videos and photos at home over Wi-Fi and on the move with 3G from wherever their media resides – at home, in the cloud and anywhere in between. Now, with 3G and Wi-Fi support and a new desktop media server plug-in for Mac, Windows and Linux, Skifta fans have an easy way to use their Android devices to access media collections stored on their home computers without requiring a third-party media server application.

Skifta is the first DLNA Certified™ application capable of streaming personal content to millions of Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) and Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) devices worldwide, including TVs, IP-connected stereos like Sonos systems, PlayStation 3 game consoles, Windows 7 PCs and thousands of other connected consumer electronics models. After selecting a photo, song or video stored on the Android smartphone or tablet, users can share this content to any compliant device using Skifta. No wires, downloading or sideloading is required. Consumers just tap on their favorite content, select a connected device and press Play.

A unique feature of the Skifta platform is its Channel library, which eliminates the need for consumers to manage multiple applications to access their favorite media from the cloud. Skifta Channels also give immediate access to Facebook Photos, Picasa, Flickr, Photobucket, Soma.fm, Napster, ShoutCast, Revision 3, TED Talks and more.

“Extensive discussions with our beta group boiled down to this: Skifta should eliminate the barriers between consumers and their media,” said Dan Rabinovitsj, senior vice president and general manager, networking business unit, Qualcomm Atheros. “The new version of Skifta addresses this issue with 3G support and media server software, and it goes a step further to deliver a powerful solution that puts the smartphone or tablet at the center of the connected home.”

LightSquared Announces Brightstar as Preferred Supply Chain Services Provider

RESTON, Va. and CHICAGO, Ill., October 24, 2011 – LightSquaredTM, a wholesale carrier building a nationwide wireless broadband network that will create consumer choice and drive industry innovation, has named Brightstar, a global leader in services and solutions for the wireless industry, as LightSquared’s preferred supply chain services provider. Brightstar will provide LightSquared’s partners with a comprehensive set of supply chain services so they can deliver their products to market faster.

Brightstar has global experience addressing the broad range of challenges facing the world’s leading device manufacturers, operators and retailers, including product development, inventory management, device fulfillment, demand forecasting and local market intelligence.

Brightstar will offer each of LightSquared’s partners a customizable suite of mobile device-related products and services that complement their business needs. As many of LightSquared’s partners are entering the wireless market for the first time, they can harness Brightstar’s services to achieve greater efficiencies as they launch new products and services, and tap into new market segments.

“The LightSquared business model is a perfect fit for the comprehensive services delivered by Brightstar,” said Marcelo Claure, chairman and chief executive officer of Brightstar. “We can ease the challenges experienced by companies that are new entrants to the wireless market by guiding them through product forecasting, distribution and activation. In such a competitive market, it is essential that these functions be implemented as efficiently as possible, and Brightstar has the capabilities and expertise to execute properly. We’re proud to work with LightSquared, whose bold vision for nationwide connectivity will open the wireless market to a variety of new companies.”

“LightSquared’s business model will allow a broad range of companies to enter the wireless market with innovative products. While we are a wholesale operator, we have partnered with Brightstar to offer their supply chain services to our partners, which will in turn help them go to market faster and contribute to their success,” said Sanjiv Ahuja, chairman and chief executive officer of LightSquared. “We’re proud to work with Brightstar, which has a significant track record of working with the world’s leading wireless players and successfully delivering products to consumers.”

CEVA and Mindspeed to Demonstrate Real-World LTE Small Cell Base Station Technology at 4G World

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., Oct 24, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Mindspeed Technologies, Inc.(NASDAQ: MSPD), a leading supplier of semiconductor solutions for network infrastructure applications, and CEVA, Inc. (NASDAQ: CEVA); (LSE: CVA), the leading licensor of silicon intellectual property (SIP) platform solutions and digital signal processors (DSP) cores, today announced that the companies will showcase LTE base station advances based on Mindspeed's Transcede(R) SoC using Trillium LTE Protocol Stacks at 4G World from October 25 -27, 2011 at McCormick Place in Chicago, IL. The companies will demonstrate the only commercially-available eNodeB picocell reference design based on a single SoC. The design utilizes Mindspeed's carrier-class L1 PHY software and production-grade Transcede SoC enabled by CEVA's DSP technology.

Attendees visiting CEVA's booth (#1424) at the show can see a real-world small cell LTE base station transmitting high-definition (HD) video to a commercially available LTE smartphone. The demonstration is built around Mindspeed's LTE small cell reference unit and award-winning Transcede SoC that includes 26 programmable processors, including 10 CEVA DSPs and 10 DSP accelerators and two ARM(R) Cortex A9(R) multi-core symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) reduced instruction set computer (RISC) processors.

"Small cell base station designs require unparalleled processing capabilities to cope with the huge performance demands of LTE networks, and our communication DSPs play a critical role in achieving this," said Eran Briman, vice president of marketing at CEVA. "This real world LTE base station demonstration using commercially available LTE smartphones clearly illustrates the outstanding performance capabilities of the Transcede family of processors, powered by our industry-leading DSP cores."

Mindspeed(R)'s Transcede processor is the first fully-integrated SoC eNodeB solution offering 3GPP LTE Layer 1, Layer 2 and Layer 3 processing with picocell performance. It enables original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to leverage the same software architecture and programming model across the entire family of Transcede processors, and to scale designs from enterprise femtocells and picocells to microcells and other evolutionary form factors.

CEVA DSPs form the basis for a broad range of solutions for wireless base station applications, spanning from femtocells to macrocells. Bringing the highest flexibility and performance to base station architectures, CEVA DSPs are backed up by associated reference architectures, a complete development environment and a comprehensive suite of optimized library functions, including LTE, LTE-A, WiMAX and HSPA+.

Radisys, a leading provider of embedded wireless infrastructure solutions, will provide its Trillium LTE eNodeB software that is integrated off-the-shelf with the Mindspeed Transcede SoC processors to support the demonstration. The Trillium LTE wireless protocol software meets the unique requirements of network equipment providers with its comprehensive standard compliant protocol suite designed for portability and scalability that stretches from all variations of small cells up to macro cells.

"Mindspeed pioneered the concept of single-chip SoCs for LTE small cells and chose CEVA as the primary DSP processor for its Transcede family of processors in order to deliver a solution that exceeds the market demand for advanced processing performance, design flexibility and optimal power consumption," said Alan Taylor, director of marketing for the communications convergence processing business unit at Mindspeed. "Collaborating with CEVA has allowed us to address the demand for small cells with a fully-integrated solution that packages Mindspeed's carrier-grade software with significant, multi-layer processing power and hardware acceleration on a single SoC."

Nokia Siemens Networks helps North American carriers plan for a flexible future in an unpredictable world

Nokia Siemens Networks helps North American carriers plan for a flexible future in an unpredictable world

At 4G World this week, Nokia Siemens Networks is showcasing solutions that help arm carriers for a flexible future. These include its groundbreaking Liquid Net architecture, a comprehensive approach that allows carriers to instantly allocate unused capacity wherever and whenever it is needed. The company will also feature its Customer Experience Management portfolio, including the newly launched Facebook app, a self-care application that connects operators to their customers.

“In a fast-changing and very unpredictable world, operators need the ability to adapt, act fast and expect the unexpected,” said Ricky Corker, head of the North America region for Nokia Siemens Networks. “This means putting in place a plan for flexibility – for their network and for their customer’s individual experience. At 4G World, we’ll be showcasing some of our exciting new developments to help our carrier customers plan for a flexible future.”

Corker will speak more on this topic during his keynote, “Ensuring a Flexible Future in an Increasingly Unpredictable World,” on Tuesday, October 25 at 11 a.m.

Nokia Siemens Networks’ recently launched Liquid Net architecture provides flexibility across networks to adapt to changing customer needs instantly, using existing resources more efficiently. This optimizes capital investment and allows operators to offer new revenue opportunities. Liquid Net uses automated, self-adapting broadband optimization to remain constantly aware of the network’s operational status, as well as the services and content being consumed, to ensure the best user experience. Liquid Net consists of three areas: Liquid Radio, Liquid Core and Liquid Transport.

The company will also highlight its small cells and Unified HetNet, a key element of its Liquid Radio architecture. Nokia Siemens Networks’ complete portfolio of HetNet products and services include macro, micro, femto, Wi-Fi, DAS, repeaters and backhaul, as well as supporting solutions and services with SON, OSS, optimization, caching and deployment.

In addition to Liquid Net, operators can use Nokia Siemens Networks’ new Facebook app, announced just prior to 4G World, to allow people to personally manage their fixed and mobile telecom services. The new app enhances the company’s range of self-care portals that facilitate direct interaction between operators and customers. Customers can check their balance, browse and buy special offers and subscribe to services. They can also share their experience across their social network and get rewards for recommending services to friends. The app aims to offer an improved service by allowing operators to engage with customers where they spend their time online.