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Microsoft buys Nokia for $7.2 bn: Key facts you need to know

September 5th, 2013 | Edited by Zoran Stosic | hardware

Sep
05

Microsoft Corp on Tuesday said it will buy Nokia’s mobile phone business for 5.44 billion euros. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2014 and it is subject to approval by Nokia’s shareholders and regulatory approvals. Here are some key facts about the deal:
* As part of the transaction, Nokia will grant Microsoft a 10 year non-exclusive license to its patents as of the time of the closing of the deal and Microsoft will grant Nokia reciprocal rights. In addition, Nokia will grant Microsoft an option to extend this mutual patent agreement to perpetuity. Of the total purchase price of EUR 5.44 billion, EUR 3.79 billion relates to the purchase of substantially all of the Devices & Services business, and EUR 1.65 billion relates to the mutual patent agreement and future option. Additionally, Microsoft will become a strategic license of the HERE platform, and will separately pay Nokia for a four year license.

* Microsoft has agreed to make immediately available to Nokia EUR 1.5 billion of financing in the form of three EUR 500 million tranches of convertible bonds to be issued by Nokia maturing in 5, 6 and 7 years respectively. It is at Nokia’s discretion if it chooses to draw down all or some of these tranches.
* At closing, approximately 32,000 people from Nokia are expected to transfer to Microsoft, including approximately 4,700 people in Finland. Nokia’s CTO (Chief Technology Office) organization and patent portfolio will remain within the Nokia Group.
* Microsoft has said it will draw from its overseas cash resources to fund the transaction.
* Microsoft also said it is acquiring Nokia’s Asha brand of low to mid-level smartphones and will license the Nokia brand for current Nokia mobile products.
* Nokia CEO Stephen Elop will be coming back to Microsoft, and he will lead an expanded Devices team, which includes all of Microsoft’s current Devices and Studios work. Nokia board chairman Risto Siilasmaa will take over CEO duties while the Finnish firm looks for a new CEO to replace Elop.

Source: www.firstpost.com

Samsung starts mass production of DDR4 memories

September 5th, 2013 | Edited by Zoran Stosic | hardware

Sep
05

Samsung is targeting the new memory at enterprise servers in next-generation data centers.
Samsung Electronics has started mass producing DDR4 memories that it expects will go into enterprise servers in next-generation data centers.
A successor to the DDR3 (Double Data Rate 3), DDR4 memories are expected to offer higher performance, reliability and lower power consumption than its predecessor.
However, there have been some doubts as to whether the market is ready to transition in volumes from DDR3 memories which are still being designed into servers and other products. Some analysts have forecast that the component will get designed into servers and later PCs only by 2015.

Samsung said on Thursday that early market availability of the 4-gigabit (Gb) DDR4 devices, which use 20-nanometer process technology, will create demand for 16GB and 32GB memory modules.
The 4Gb-based DDR4 has a data transmission rate of 2,667 megabits-per-second, a 1.25-fold increase over 20nm-class DDR3, while lowering power consumption by more than 30 percent, Samsung said.
Samsung did not immediately provide information on the schedule for shipment of the new memories. The pricing information is not available, a spokesman said.
Microelectronics standards body JEDEC Solid State Technology Association published in September 2012 the initial DDR4 standard.

Source: www.infoworld.com