Apple has made an interesting acquisition, snapping up smart sensors maker AuthenTec in a transaction valued at $356 million, Reuters reported Friday. AuthenTec makes fingerprint sensor chips used in personal computers.
What's more, its swipe sensors can read the live layer beneath the skin's surface and comply with strict government standards. They also produce chips that utilize near-field communication (NFC) technology which is said to be a part of this fall's iPhone hardware refresh...
Dang, Google just acquired the popular Mac and iOS email client Sparrow. The value of the transaction or terms of the deal have not been made public, though The Verge thinks Google paid under $25 million for Sparrow. According to a blog post announcing the acquisition, this deal will help the Sparrow team "accomplish a bigger vision", one the team says "can better achieve with Google". Hopefully that means buying some notification servers, though Sparrow's email to customers is anything but encouraging. Full details below...
Adamant to strengthen its portfolio of wireless patents (that seem to be all the rage these days) and help differentiate its smartphone and mobile chip businesses, Samsung ponied up $310 million for the mobile business of Cambridge Silicon Radio (CSR) PLC, based out in Cambridge, United Kingdom.
With this transaction due for completion by the fourth quarter this year, Samsung will control CSR's patents related to Bluetooth, WiFi and GPS and obtain interesting handset technology that could help differentiate its flagship smartphones.
Samsung is of course embroiled in patent fights with Apple in courts across the world. At the same time, the company dedicates substantial resources to fabbing mobile chips found inside Apple's iOS devices.
Samsung appears keen on taking advantage of CSR's research and development capability as it looks to improve its own mobile chips, possibly leading to unique hardware features down the road...