Qualcomm’s Atheros Buy and the Importance of Wi-Fi.

"Qualcomm has agreed to buy chipmaker Atheros in a deal valued at $3.1 billion, which will create a networking powerhouse that spans the cellular, home, smart grid and sensor networks. As I wrote yesterday, this is an unusual and important deal for Qualcomm that helps it expand from the cellular world to myriad other networks. It’s also an indication the Wi-Fi has won, and in doing so has changed the game for device makers, carriers and even consumers."

also see: Qualcomm to acquire chip maker Atheros for $3.1 billion

"Atheros develops and builds the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chipsets found in a wide variety of popular devices, including the Amazon Kindle and Apple notebooks. The implications of this deal are tremendous, and could ultimately result in the inclusion of cellular radios in countless popular consumer electronics products moving forward."

Look Out Intel: Here Comes Qualcomm’s Next Super Chip.

"Qualcomm’s next Snapdragon appears ready to buck a long-time trend in the mobile world: typically there’s a trade-off between power requirements and performance, but the MSM8960 looks poised to undercut that theory. And more importantly, if the chip can deliver on its high-performance promises, it becomes another thorn in the side of Intel and its Atom efforts."

Report: Qualcomm, Android could become the new 'Wintel.'

"According to a report by consultancy PRTM, of the 57 Android handsets from 12 different manufacturers the firm surveyed, 77 percent of them were running Qualcomm's chips. The firm terms the partnership 'Quadroid' and compares it to 'Wintel.' Wintel has dominated computers as Microsoft's Windows operating system coupled with Intel's chips became standard among PC makers...

Among the other insights from PRTM's report is that Qualcomm is speeding up its chip delivery cycle for Android phones. Another is that once Google releases a new version of Android, almost all handset vendors have the ability to produce a handset running on it within 16 to 20 weeks."

Qualcomm envisions chips that support multiple wireless technologies.

"Qualcomm (NSYE:QCOM), long-known as a CDMA behemoth, plans to eventually make chips that contain access for every wireless technology--from various 3G technologies to LTE and more--and will automatically switch users to the fastest network...

Qualcomm also plans to expand beyond traditional mobile devices. Mollenkopf said Qualcomm is interested in taking advantage of the burgeoning machine-to-machine market in healthcare, and also is considering tracking technologies."

Qualcomm follows Nokia into services arena.

"While not fully accepting that it was mimicking Nokia, Qualcomm executives have outlined plans for the company that will target increased revenues by working with operators at a data services and platform level."

Qualcomm announces availability of MobileView.

"Qualcomm Incorporated... recently announced the commercial availability of the MobileView product. MobileView is a software application that remotely captures diagnostic data with GPS from mobile handsets, providing insight into handset and network performance. MobileView is currently in trials with CDMA2000 and WCDMA (UMTS) network operators worldwide, including T-Mobile Germany."

Qualcomm's MVNO, healthcare's the hook.

"While Qualcomm won't say which carrier its MVNO will be piggybacking on, the safe bet seems to be Verizon Wireless. LifeComm has admitted it has an agreement with a CDMA carrier and the service will run on Qualcomm's BREW platform, which is the same one Verizon uses. LifeComm will also make use of assisted-GPS for location services."