QUALCOMM Signs Agreement to Form Alliance
with Matsushita Electronics Components
- Matsushita to Manufacture CRM3000 CDMA Radio Modules -
NEW ORLEANS, Feb. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- QUALCOMM Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM),
pioneer and world leader of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) digital
wireless technology, today announced it has signed an agreement with
Matsushita Electronic Components Co. Ltd., contemplating the formation of an
alliance for the development and manufacture of the new CRM3000(TM) CDMA Radio
Modules (CRMs).
"Our alliance with Matsushita Electronics Components will be aimed at
enabling a broader array of applications to utilize CDMA technology," said Don
Schrock, president of QUALCOMM CDMA Technologies. "QUALCOMM CDMA
Technologies' proven experience in chip and software design, coupled with
Matsushita Electronics Components' expertise in radio circuitry modules, are
expected to provide our customers with an alternative way to access our
leading solutions through simplified RF design."
"We are excited about the opportunity to work with QUALCOMM to provide
solutions to the broad range of existing CDMA equipment manufacturers as well
as to new entrants into the market," said Keisuke Utsunomiya, general manager,
HFPD, Matsushita Electronics Components Co., Ltd. "The worldwide CDMA market
is expanding rapidly. By leveraging Matsushita's Radio Frequency (RF)
technologies in building high quality RF modules for the consumer industry
into CDMA applications, customers can quickly get a new product ready for
production."
These highly compact pre-tested CRMs will contain complete RF circuitry
for CDMA handsets and interface with QUALCOMM's MSM3000(TM) chip, enabling
very fast design and manufacture of CDMA subscriber products, even with
limited in-house RF design resources. The normal design effort and know-how
associated with the radio section will be simplified and development tasks
will be streamlined for all CDMA-based wireless communications solutions. In
addition, the small footprint of the new CRM will allow customers to utilize
them in a wide variety of small form-factor devices.
In addition to cellular handsets, other CDMA-based applications for the
CRM3000 modules will include smartphones, PDAs, personal computers, PC cards,
telemetry and monitoring equipment, and a variety of data transmission
equipment. The new CRM3000 module will be on display at the CTIA '99 trade
show in New Orleans, La. this week in QUALCOMM's booth, number 3125. Initial
shipment of the modules is anticipated in late 1999.
Features of the CRM3000 modules will include:
-- All transmit and receive signal processing circuitry from baseband
through RF;
-- QUALCOMM's IFT3000(TM) and IFR3000(TM) fully integrated Intermediate
Frequency (IF) chipset in Bump Chip Carrier (BCC) packages which interface
with the MSM3000;
-- Compliance with various CDMA systems, including IS-95/98, J-STD-
008/018, ARIB-T53;
-- High density mounting and ultra-miniature Surface Mount Device (SMD)
components; and
-- Supply voltage compatibility for platforms utilizing a single-cell
Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) battery design.
The CRM3000 modules will provide numerous advantages for customers:
-- Significantly reduced development and production lead times -- Full
advance verification of radio performance allows handset manufacturers to
efficiently utilize their radio engineering resources to pursue additional
development efforts concurrently and to substantially shorten overall product
development cycles;
-- A complete CDMA wireless air interface functional module -- The fully
functional modules will be designed to utilize the capabilities of the MSM3000
chipset and software;
-- Small handset design -- Matsushita's high-density mounting technology
and its small SMD components offer an extremely compact radio design solution,
giving manufacturers greater flexibility in the design and development of
their handsets; and
-- Certified quality assurance and reliability for volume production --
Matsushita's quality assurance system ensures the consistency of performance
necessary for high reliability and production yield of the CRM.
Japan-based Matsushita Electronic Components Co., Ltd. is a wholly owned
subsidiary of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (MEI) (NYSE: MC), one
of the world's leading producers of electronic and electric products for
consumer, business and industrial use.
QUALCOMM CDMA Technologies is the leading developer and supplier of CDMA
chipsets, hardware and software solutions and tools with more than 30 million
MSM chips shipped worldwide. The division supplies chipsets to the world's
leading CDMA handset and infrastructure manufacturers including: ALPS ELECTRIC
CO., LTD.; CASIO COMPUTER CO., LTD.; DENSO CORPORATION; FUJITSU LIMITED;
Hitachi, Ltd.; Hyundai Electronics Industries Co., Ltd.; KYOCERA CORPORATION;
LG Information and Communications, Ltd.; Samsung Electronics Ltd.; SANYO
Electric Co., Ltd.; and Toshiba Corporation, among others.
QUALCOMM Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM) is a leader in developing and
delivering innovative digital wireless communications products and services
based on the Company's CDMA digital technology. The Company's major business
areas include CDMA phones; integrated CDMA chipsets and systems software;
wireless infrastructure; technology licensing; and satellite-based systems
including OmniTRACS(R) and portions of the Globalstar(TM) system. QUALCOMM is
headquartered in San Diego, Calif. QUALCOMM's fiscal 1998 revenues exceeded
U.S. $3 billion. For more information, please visit the Company's web site at
qualcomm.com.
Except for the historical information contained herein, this news release
contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and
uncertainties, including timely product development, the Company's ability to
successfully manufacture significant quantities of CDMA or other equipment on
a timely and profitable basis, and those related to performance guarantees,
change in economic conditions of the various markets the Company serves, as
well as the other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's SEC
reports, including the report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 27,
1998, and most recent Form 10-Q.
QUALCOMM and OmniTRACS are registered trademarks of QUALCOMM Incorporated.
MSM, MSM3000, CRM3000, IFT3000 and IFR3000 are trademarks of QUALCOMM
Incorporated. Globalstar is a trademark of Loral QUALCOMM Satellite Services,
Incorporated.
SOURCE QUALCOMM Incorporated
|
