Hasta La Gadget!

Sharp and Qualcomm subsidiary Pixtronix have inked a $120m deal which will see the two companies collaborate on energy-efficient IGZO displays for mobile devices, as Sharp struggles with falling market share. The deal – which will see Qualcomm inject up to 9.9 billion yen into Sharp – follows rumors of the display firm courting Qualcomm among other US companies, after long-term negotiations with Apple production partner Foxconn stumbled. As a result, the companies will set up a joint development on panels combining IGZO and MEMS display tech.

Those displays will be developed and produced at Sharp’s LCD panel plan in Yonago city, Japan. The technology will be a combination of Sharp’s indium gallium zinc oxide manufacturing, which uses a different semiconductor for reducing power consumption and increasing potential pixel density, and Qualcomm subsidiary Pixtronix’s micro electro mechanical systems, which use so-called “digital shutters” to improve picture quality while also dropping power demands.

Qualcomm acquired Pixtronix at the start of the year, though at the time it was expected that the company would use MEMS in its own mirasol low-power screens for ereaders. However, mirasol was sidelined midway through the year, with production plans frozen amid low yields, and Qualcomm instead exploring technology licensing instead.

“MEMS display to be developed jointly by the two companies is a display using ultrafine process technology and existing display manufacturing infrastructure” Sharp said of today’s deal, “with features including high color reproducibility and low-power consumption.” Sharp and Pixtronix have already been working together for the past 18 months.

Sharp is hoping the deal – which is expected to see it earn Qualcomm’s cash piecemeal, as different stages toward commercialization are reached – will jumpstart its small- to medium-sized LCD business. However, the company warns, while development and initial investment will begin immediately, the point at which actual production will begin is unclear; Sharp says it will only take that step when it makes financial and technological sense.

Meanwhile, Qualcomm and Sharp are keeping the door open to possible future collaboration, including working together on chipsets.

Sharp and Qualcomm ink $120m IGZO/MEMS mobile display deal is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Wondering what sort of accessories you will be able to accessorize your new Blackberry 10 smartphone with upon its release in 2013? The folks at BerryBlog.hu have managed to get their hands on what looks like a screenshot of a list of accessories from RIM that give us an idea of what to expect. Nothing really spectacular here and pretty much what one might expect, such as batteries, a multimedia dock, chargers, and a variety of cases that we expect will play nice with the company’s first Blackberry 10 handset, the L-series, which has been spotted numerous times in leaked photos in the past. We’re not sure what those accessories will look like or how much they will cost, but hopefully those details will be revealed at a later date. For now we guess this is what Blackberry 10 hopefuls will have to make do with.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Amazon Kindle Fire 8.9 ROM gets ported onto the Nexus S, Nokia Lumia 920 wireless charging offered in coffee shop in Russia,

A week ago we reported that Ericsson was suing Samsung in the US over alleged patent infringement, and now unsurprisingly the Swedish company has reached out to the US ITC and are seeking a US import ban on Samsung’s products. According to Ericsson, the ban will cover Samsung’s mobile phones, tablets, televisions and media players that supposedly infringe upon one or more of the company’s patents. Ericsson is also arguing that by banning the import of the offending products, public interest will be served because “an adequate supply of substitute devices will be available to at least Ericsson and its current licensees,” and that since Samsung’s products aren’t necessary for health or welfare, there will not be an adverse impact on the public.

In case you missed our previous coverage, Ericsson is looking to sue Samsung over patent infringements because both companies could not reach an agreement over the renewal of a licensing agreement that both companies had with each other. The apparent reason behind this disagreement is because Samsung felt that Ericsson was asking for higher royalty rates for the same patents, while Ericsson argued that Samsung’s competitors had already agreed and paid, so they don’t see why this might be an issue for the Korean company.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Amazon Kindle Fire 8.9 ROM gets ported onto the Nexus S, Gmail For Android Brings Swiping & Resizing Capabilities,

In an effort to distance itself and stand independent, Lincoln has been re-branded as the Lincoln Motor Company. Of course, Lincoln is a division of Ford, and all of its vehicles are thinly-disguised Fords. This will make it difficult to set the division apart, yet the change is no small matter, and gives Lincoln the edge it needs to prove it is its own unique brand.

Lincoln was founded by Henry Leland in 1920; he sold it to Ford after a couple years. Before it was sold, however, it was known as the Lincoln Ford Company. The division aims at the high-end of the market, offering cars that are supposed to outshine anything Ford offers. By changing its name, the Lincoln Motor Company hopes to be viewed as a source of luxury vehicles all on its lonesome.

This name change comes alongside the company’s plan to launch a new luxury vehicle, the MKZ sedan. The sedan is priced at a hefty $35,925, which climbs higher as you configure it to meet your specifications. Says the company, this is the first of several refreshed or new Lincoln vehicles that will be available over the next two years.

The MKZ features a push button transmission, panoramic glass roof, a split-wing grill, as well as a wider and longer body. Back in the early 1990s, Lincoln was a best-selling luxury brand in the United States. This popularity declined as Ford amassed additional luxury brands, including Volvo, while at the same time neglecing Lincoln. Sales numbers are low, with only 69,000 Lincoln vehicles having been sold in the US this year.

[via Digital Trends]

Lincoln becomes the Lincoln Motor Company is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Though it still lacks an official moniker, Lenovo’s so-called Thinkpad tablet (aka the TP00043AEF) is racking up copious frequent flyer miles with yet another journey past the FCC’s prying eyes. This time, the Windows 8 slate is packing WCDMA II and V radios, the 3G bands supported by AT&T in the US and Canada’s Bell Mobility, but with a notable lack of an LTE band. All that rules out Europe as a possible destination for this particular flavor of the tab, meaning it’s likely to end up in Asia or North and South America for mobile data customers who don’t need gobs of hustle. As far as we know, it’s still the same 10.1-inch tablet with a 1,366 x 768 display, some form of Intel Clover Trail CPU and an 8MP camera, but we’ve still no idea as to delivery or price. Hopefully we’ll have more info soon, but meanwhile, if another of the legion Windows 8 tablets out there doesn’t suit you, check the source for all the radiographic minutiae.

Filed under: Tablets, Lenovo

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Source: FCC