Parthus revisited:
I presented questions to Tero on a live Street.com chat tonight (previewing NOK's earnings tomorrow) thestreet.com regarding Parthus chief executive Brian Long's comments regarding GPRS handset delays. Here are my questions and his comments:
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blgg-guest: Evening Tero, Parthus chief executive Brian Long recently stated that
target [for] the date for commercial quantities of GPRS handsets "may have to be put
back until the end of 2002". How do you view the impact of this possibility on NOK's
prospects going forward? When will GSM vendors finally come to grips with
apparently serious problems with GPRS handsets?
RM_Tero: Parthus has its own car in a ditch, as we say in Finland. Parthus has it's
own "cow in a ditch," as we say in Finland. As a Bluetooth company, they would
love GPRS to miss all kinds of deadlines. I think there is room for both Bluetooth and
GPRS. So I sort of wish these two camps would stop backstabbing each other.
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My observations:
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** "Parthus has it's own "cow in a ditch," as we say in Finland."
For the record -
Parthus -- % off high: 46% - % off low: 66%
Nokia -- % off high: 42% - % off low: 24%
If Parthus's cow is in a ditch - Nokia's cow keeps it company.
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** "..As a Bluetooth company, they would love GPRS to miss all kinds of deadlines..."
For the record
Parthus - products and services (as listed on web site: parthus.com )
* Our InfoStream is a highly sophisticated mobile computing platform powering the handheld organizer (PDA) or Smartphone of the future.
* Our 2.5G platform delivers broadband 'always on' GPRS connectivity to wireless devices.
* Our BlueStream platform is a total Bluetooth solution (RF, baseband, software stacks) and enables wLAN communications.
* Our Multimedia platform, MediaStream, is a 24bit programmable DSP powering a diverse range of digital audio, including MP3.
* NavStream is a Global Positioning (GPS) platform, delivering user location awareness to an accuracy below 5 meters anywhere on the planet.
* DSP technology - including:
1. Data Recovery
2. Fractional-N PLLs,
3. DSP Software
* Analog technology - including:
1.Communication channels System partitioning, Modelling, Performance Optimisation Equalization, Quantization, Detection, etc.
2.Data Acquiition VGAs, ADCs, DACs, voltage references.
3.Timing References Oscs, Ultra Low Jitter PLLs, DLLs, Phase Mixers and Interpolators. High resolution and precision Digital Delay lines.
4.Sigma Delta Converters DACs, ADCs, Bandpass converters, multi level architectures.
5.Physical Interface USB, SCSI, UDMA, LVDS
6.Continuous time filters Active filters, Programmable GmC filter, CMOS.
7.Low Noise Preamplifiers.
8.Wireline Communications Very high speed serial links, plus 2 Gbit/Sec.
9.Design for Manufacture and Test ESD, Latchup, Electron Migration, test aids, etc.
10.RF Wireless communications. Radio architectures, LNAs, Mixers, VCOs, Modulators, on chip filtering, Power Amps. Focus on RF CMOS. uding:
* FR Technology including:
1. SiGe Bluetooth Solutions
2. RF CMOS Technology
3. RF GPS Technology
* SoC Technology (software on a chip)
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In light of Parthus's collection of products - including their 2.5G GPRS Platform - is labeling Parthus a "Bluetooth company" accurate?
Is labeling Parthus a Bluetooth company analogous to labeling Nokia a CDMA chipset fabricator?
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Is Nokia a "Bluetooth company" as well?
Here is a rather large section on Nokia's web site - titled "Nokia and Bluetooth" - nokia.com
"Bluetooth technology is a joint achievement of leading companies within the telecommunications and computer industries. Nokia is a founding member of Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG)..." nokia.com
In light of the fact that Nokia provides Bluetooth hardware and software solutions - that may well compete with Parthus's Bluestream platform - must I infer that Nokia "would love GPRS to miss all kinds of deadlines" as well?
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** Question - "How do you view the impact of this possibility (GPRS handset delays) on NOK's prospects going forward?"
No answer.
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** Question - "When will GSM vendors finally come to grips with apparently serious problems with GPRS handsets?"
No answer.
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** "So I sort of wish these two camps would stop backstabbing each other."
Seems like good advice.
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ben |
