Driven by the convergence of wireless communications and computing, Qualcomm Inc. and Taiwanese PC chip set and processor vendor Via Technologies Inc. are exploring opportunities for cooperation, a Qualcomm official said here Thursday.
Describing the relationship between the two companies as being in its "infancy," talks between the two have not yet resulted in any specific plans, according to Steven Sivitz, senior product manager, CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) technologies, at Qualcomm.
The two companies have a common link in the Hsinchu, Taiwan-based contract chip maker Taiwan Semiconductor Co. Ltd., which produces chips for both Qualcomm and Via. It was this common link that brought Qualcomm to the Via Technology Forum, Sivitz said in an interview with IDG News Service.
Noting that there are many areas where the two companies could cooperate, Sivitz pointed to Bluetooth, the emerging PAN (personal area network) wireless technology, as an example.
Although it is first likely to be available in the form of add-in modules, Bluetooth will eventually be integrated onto the motherboard of devices such as notebook PCs, and the complementary technology backgrounds of Qualcomm and Via could enable them to solve interference problems, Sivitz noted.
Eventually, wireless technologies such as CDMA will also be integrated into portable computing devices such as notebooks, Sivitz said in a presentation later on Thursday.Integrating wireless communications into a notebook could be compared to putting a strong radio in a big radiator, he added. "A lot of system engineers are going to have a lot of sleepless nights," quipped Sivitz.
Qualcomm develops and supplies a wide range of telecommunications components and equipment, including chip sets for mobile phones based on CDMA technology. Via, meanwhile, is one of the world's largest suppliers of chip sets for PCs.
A spokesman for Via declined to comment on the company's relationship with Qualcomm.
Qualcomm, in San Diego, California, can be reached at +1-619-587-1121 or online at http://www.qualcomm.com/. Via Technologies, in Taipei, is at +886-2-2218-5452, or at http://www.via.com.tw/.