Conexant Could Serve as Gauge for Wireless Rebound
Iteris on Tour With Volvo Test Car; Gotcha Shacking Up With Broadband Interactive
TECHNOLOGY
by Andrew Simons
There may be signs that business is improving for wireless phone makers, but they still haven’t seen the light at the end of the tunnel.
That’s was the gist when Motorola Inc., Nokia Corp. and LM Ericsson Telephone Co.,all posting drops in their fourth quarter profits,told investors recently that they expect slow going, at least in the near term.
The weak global economy,exacerbated by a U.S. recession and already slow mobile phones sales,stands to hamstring earnings at wireless companies for some time.
This isn’t good news for Conexant Systems Inc., which has seen its wireless chip business become a bigger part of its sales mix in the past six months. The Newport Beach-based company plans to spin off its wireless unit and pair it with Woburn, Mass.-based Alpha Industries Inc. later this year.
But Conexant’s wireless chip sales could be seen as a leading indicator for the wireless industry six months from now.
“The light will be a bit darker short term, but, longer term, I’m still a believer that this is a growth industry,” Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analyst Sean Faughnan told Reuters. “We would look upon any shorter-term weakness in share prices as an opportunity to buy long term based on prospects for a second-half recovery.”
There’s still another wild card. Wireless companies and their customers have been awaiting the arrival of third generation wireless networks, known as 3G, which promise to carry data and video in addition to voice signals. Wireless service providers have been feverishly upgrading their networks in the past couple of years to handle the bandwidth-hungry services promised by 3G.
That means new phones also have been in the works. Will wireless consumers wait for 3G before buying a new phone? By and large, analysts say no. The networks are backwards compatible, so old phones still will work on the new network. But with any new technology, it’s hard to tell how well it will work and whether consumers will be ready for such services. The first iterations of 3G are due out this year.
ESynch Teams With BuyMicro
In a bid to reach more customers, Irvine’s eSynch Corp., a maker of software that helps manage intellectual property rights online, announced that Kissco, one of its subsidiaries, has struck a marketing pact with online distributor BuyMicro LLC of Redondo Beach.
Kissco said it customer base is around 300,000. But the BuyMicro pact could increase that by about 110,000 customers once the deal gets into full swing, the company said.
“Building our distribution partnerships will be a key portion of our plan to reach additional potential customers,” said Jim Budd, president of Kissco. “BuyMicro’s subscribers are knowledgeable technology users that we believe are strong targets for our performance enhancing software utilities.”
Iteris in Volvos
Don’t worry about falling asleep at the wheel or turning your head while talking to someone in the car. If you start to inadvertently switch lanes, the AutoVue technology by Iteris Inc.,a subsidiary of Anaheim’s Odetics Inc.,will alert you, at least if you’re driving a Volvo of the future.
The technology scored a place in Volvo’s new safety concept car, which is on a tour for car enthusiasts around the world.
According to Iteris, AutoVue detects erratic departures from a lane and warns the driver. The Volvo safety car has been equipped with the technology and other gear that provides “a range of future-generation systems designed to give the driver increased control and better preconditions for making the right decisions in difficult traffic situations,” according to Volvo.
“At a time when driver distractions are at an all-time high, it is great to have technology like this to assist you,” said Francis Memole, vice president of vehicle sensors. “Iteris is proud to have its AutoVue technology included in this innovative Volvo project.”
Amtech Lands GM
General Motors Dealership Identification Leasing Corp. in Los Angeles awarded a multimillion dollar contract to lighting gurus Amtech Lighting Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of ABM Industries Inc. in Anaheim.
The contract covers scheduled cleaning, painting and on-call repair service for more than 4,000 signs at some 1,000 GM dealerships throughout the Southwest. Amtech helps companies manage and maintain lighting and signs.
“In today’s competitive environment, a company’s corporate image is extremely important and we are pleased to be of service to General Motors,” said Ron Gilcrease, president of Amtech. “We look forward to providing GM dealers with comprehensive sign maintenance to enhance their brand, so customers and employees always see a fresh and appealing look.”
Broadband Interactive Expands
Irvine-based Broadband Interactive Group is setting up a 10,000-square-foot production facility at its headquarters for its Bluetorch subsidiary.
Broadband Interactive makes streaming media software and video-on-demand for cable and satellite set-top boxes. Broadband Interactive acts as the holding company for Bluetorch Media, a media and marketing company.
The new facility will serve as a television, video and Web production facility that will produce Bluetorch programming and hosts the Bluetorch.com and Bluetorch.tv Web sites.
The new headquarters also is set to house the head office and showroom for the Gotcha surfwear brands, including Gotcha, More Core Division and GirlStar. Marvin Winkler, Broadband’s chairman, is chairman and chief executive of Gotcha International.
