Conexant Lands Modem Deal With China’s Legend
QLogic’s Anderson Takes Microsemi Seat; Axiom Buys Location Tracker Traxsis
TECHNOLOGY
by Andrew Simons
Conexant Systems Inc. has landed a coveted deal with Hong Kong’s Legend Holdings Ltd., China’s largest computer seller.
Under the pact, Legend is shipping Conexant V.92 modems in its TeanLin Premia desktop PC line throughout China.
“We selected a Conexant-based modem because of its proven V.92 modem technology with an installed base of more than 27 million units worldwide,” said Wei Jun, a general manager at Legend. “Conexant’s ability to support Legend’s development and certification efforts assured us of a full-featured yet cost-effective quality product.”
U.S. computer products makers are salivating at China’s relatively underserved consumer technology market. Technology executives have lobbied the U.S. and Chinese governments to ease trade hurdles between the two countries, while partially state-owned Legend and other Chinese companies have cashed in.
“Legend has grown its business significantly in China. The adoption of Conexant’s modem technology positions us to see tremendous growth for our products in China,” said Akram Atallah a vice president in Conexant’s personal computing division.
It could be a lucrative deal for Conexant. China’s PC market is projected to grow 24% this year and will maintain more than 18% annual growth for the next five years, according to statistics from International Data Corp. Unlike in the U.S., dial-up Internet access using modems such as Conexant’s is growing in China and other parts of the world.
“China’s market will replace Japan’s as the second largest PC market in the world by 2003,” said IDC analyst Kitty Fok. “I believe Legend has the advantage to hold the top position.”
Conexant is busy elsewhere in China. The company’s Mindspeed Technologies unit, a maker of networking chips, recently was tapped by Shenzhen Huawei Technologies Co. for chips to be used in a Hauwei networking switch.
QLogic Exec Joins Microsemi
Tom Anderson may have said he plans to leave Aliso Viejo-based QLogic Corp. to spend more time with his family, but he still has some time for a board seat here and there.
Anderson, the financial chief at QLogic until June, was elected to the board of Microsemi Corp., an Irvine-based chipmaker.
“I’ve long respected Tom and his reputation for solid financial decision-making abilities and leadership,” said James Peterson, Microsemi’s chief executive. “I’m looking forward to having his skills and experience at the table when the board meets to provide direction as Microsemi grows.”
Anderson joined QLogic in 1993, a year before the maker of electronics for storage devices was spun off from Costa Mesa-based Emulex Corp. Anderson, who holds around $10 million in QLogic stock, cited personal reasons for announcing his departure from the company last year. He plans to stay on at QLogic for another three months.
Last month, QLogic named Frank Calderoni as its new chief financial officer. Calderoni comes to QLogic from Sunnyvale-based SanDisk Corp., where he was senior vice president and chief financial officer. Before that, Calderoni served for 21 years at IBM Corp.
Axiom, Traxsis Combine
If you get lost, Axiom wants to find you.
At least that’s how it seems after Costa Mesa-based Axiom Navigation Inc. struck a deal to buy Traxsis Inc. of Burlingame. Traxsis makes software that locates mobile users via cellular networks.
“Our companies share a unified vision about where the wireless market is headed in the coming years,” said Jason Shin, Axiom’s chief executive. “Traxsis gives us the software required to address the growing demand for asset tracking and location-based services.”
Quest Unveils Foglight
Irvine-based Quest Software Inc., a maker software that lets users better handle complex databases, recently released its new Foglight software.
Foglight helps administrators monitor networks to make sure office productivity tools and other applications are available to employees. While other companies have come out with similar monitors, Foglight allows administrators to pinpoint problems more easily and to test the efficiency of specific network components, according to Quest.
“In use, Foglight was able to detect and resolve a memory leak within 10 minutes, which would have taken over two days to identify previously,” said Deb Jenson, a product marketing director at Quest.
Gauss, Artesia Partner
Irvine’s Gauss Interprise Inc., a maker of content management software, recently signed a deal with Rockville, Md.-based Artesia Technologies Inc. in which the two plan to market their products together.
Under terms of the pact, the companies plan to bundle their software. The combined offerings should allow users in large companies to create, manage and share documents on a network and the Web.
Initially, the companies plan to launch the program with their own customers then expand from there.
