Newport Beach chipmaker Conexant Systems Inc. is coming out with a series of chips designed to run digital photo frames that wirelessly link to the Internet.
The chips are set to drive Internet connections and touch-screen controls in “connected” digital photo frames and other interactive displays.
“We have applied our proficiency in imaging technologies to deliver a new system on a chip that allows us to expand into the growing, adjacent connected photo frame segment,” said Christian Scherp, president of Conexant.
The chipmaker got into the digital frame business about a year ago, when it bought some of Freescale Semiconductor Inc.’s technologies for undisclosed terms.
The buy was incorporated into the company’s imaging group, which also makes chips that go into multifunction inkjet and laser printers, photo printers and fax machines.
Connected frames and interactive displays are built into a handful of other consumer electronics, including speakerphones and phones that make calls over the Internet.
Connected frames,which are like traditional picture frames but display digital images,can be used at home to send or receive text messages, make Internet phone calls and view news, traffic, weather and other online content.
They also are built into interactive kiosks in stores, cash registers, baby monitors and home security systems.
Additionally, Conexant is looking to play in new service offerings by some wireless carriers that allow subscribers to use connected frames to get data over their networks.
Connected frames, which hook up to the Internet via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connections, are expected to be the fastest-growing niche among digital photo frames, according to data from Scottsdale-based In-Stat, a market research unit of Reed Elsevier Group PLC.
Worldwide shipments of digital photo frames are expected to reach 25 million units this year, according to In-Stat’s report.
They could sell some 50 million units by 2013 as they come down in price.
“Prices for connected frames will continue to decline, and as manufacturers educate consumers about these devices, the mass market will become more comfortable using the Internet services (that) connected frames support,” said In-Stat analyst Stephanie Ethier. “Applications such as sharing and downloading pictures over the Internet, as well as streaming radio and video from online sites like YouTube, are expected to be primary drivers.”
Altura Acquisition
Fullerton-based Altura Communication Solutions LLC, a top reseller of phone and communications gear from Avaya Inc., recently acquired a small business that also sells and services products from the Basking Ridge, N.J.-based company.
Altura bought Everett, Wash.-based NetVersant Solutions LLC for undisclosed terms.
NetVersant also is an Avaya reseller with customers in education, healthcare and the government.
“The combination of Altura and NetVersant offers the marketplace and our customers with expanded design and service capabilities, increased geographic coverage and greater access to resources within Avaya,” Altura Chief Executive Bob Blazek said.
Privately held Altura sells and installs conferencing gear, voice-over Internet phones, networking gear and data switching and routing products to some 2,500 companies.
The company, which has some 300 workers here, was formerly the service division of Irvine’s Fujitsu Business Communication Systems Inc.
Altura was formed after that division was acquired by Beverly Hills-based Platinum Equity LLC in 2001.
Budgets Back?
The local information technology industry can expect so see some of the budget cuts that dominated the first half of the year ease up a bit, according to a recent survey of nearly 500 technology and engineering hiring managers in Orange County.
South Jordan, Utah-based ConsultNet LLC, a consulting company that conducted the survey, found that 42% of OC companies are expecting stable or growing technology budgets and headcounts in the next six months.
But that’s a pretty glass-half-full view.
Still, the back half of the year looks considerably brighter from a budget standpoint.
Some 53% of hiring managers expect their tech budgets to shrink during the rest of the year, down from some 58% that saw budget cuts during the first half.
Roughly 4% expect their technology budget to stay flat and 1% see larger budgets. The IT jobs front is a little trickier.
About 53% of hiring mangers expect to cut more jobs in the next six months, 9% expect to hire workers and 38% expect no change, survey results showed.
ConsultNet ran the survey out of its office in Irvine.
It also examined IT expectations for Denver, Dallas and Salt Lake City.
Local.com Credit
Irvine’s Local.com Corp., which runs a local search Web site and business directory, recently landed a $10 million open-ended line of credit.
Local.com tapped Square 1 Bank, part of Square 1 Financial Inc., for the credit, which is set to be used to expand the company via acquisitions and other growth initiatives, the company said.
In an earlier announcement, Local.com teamed up with the Dallas Morning News to power local searches on the newspaper’s Web site.
The news site, which serves the Dallas and Fort Worth area, recently launched a directory with some 250,000 local businesses along with consumer reviews.
Local.com hosts Web sites that help users search for local businesses and products. It generates revenue through companies that advertise on its sites.
For news outlets, Local.com helps smaller advertisers get more search results online and drive more Web site traffic.
