NTT DoCoMo, Samsung, Fujitsu, Fujitsu Semiconductor, NEC and Panasonic announced plans on Tuesday to establish a joint venture in which the firms hope to work together to create LTE and LTE Advanced products. The fabless JV will specifically focus on the development of “feature-rich, small-size, low-power-consumption semiconductor products equipped with modem functionality” for LTE and LTE Advanced networks. Products developed by the companies will be sold globally. NTT DoCoMo will invest $5.8 mil...

NTT DoCoMo, Fujitsu, NEC and Panasonic are discussing a joint venture with Samsung that could be created as early as next year, Reuters reported recently. The companies will develop new smartphone baseband chips in an attempt to compete directly with Qualcomm, which currently has an 80% grip on the baseband chip industry. NTT DoCoMo will be the majority owner in the Japan-based joint venture and the total investment is expected to be about $390 million. The joint venture will help each firm cut down procureme...

Immediately following news that Windows Phone 7.5 “Mango” has been released to manufacturers, Toshiba-Fujitsu became the first vendor in the world to announce a Mango phone. The stylish smartphone will launch with a less-than-memorable IS12T moniker in September, and it will be a KDDI exclusive in Japan at that time. Beyond being the first Mango phone announced, the IS12T will also be the first Windows Phone-powered smartphone to launch in Japan. Spec highlights include a 3.7-inch WVGA display, a ...

Microsoft confirmed on its Windows Team Blog on Monday that it has released the RTM build of Windows Phone “Mango” to manufacturing partners. “This marks the point in the development process where we hand code to our handset and mobile operator partners to optimize Mango for their specific phone and network configurations,” explained Microsoft’s Windows Phone corporate vice president Terry Myerson. Microsoft has said Mango will deliver more than 500 new features to the Windows P...

Microsoft’s final build of Windows Phone Mango has been rubber stamped and released to manufacturers and wireless carriers according to Windows Phone Dev Podcast. The move is among the final steps before Microsoft delivers the Mango release to customers. The most recent reports have suggested that Microsoft will update current Windows Phone devices in September, although winrumors says the update could be pushed out as soon as August. Microsoft’s Windows Phone partners include HTC, LG, Samsung, De...

Did a Microsoft employee just inadvertently let the cat out of the bag? Posting to the company’s official Microsoft Imagine Cup Twitter account, a Microsoft rep confirmed that all Imagine Cup challenge finalists will receive Windows Phone 7.5 “Mango” handsets early this fall. Of course it wouldn’t be the first time Microsoft slipped this week. The post reads: “ImagineCup finalists ALL receive Windows Phone 7.5 Mango Release!! Each student will get the phone by September!”...

Microsoft showed off a number of new Windows Phone “Mango” devices during a Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference presentation on Tuesday. The unnamed devices were on stage during a Microsoft presentation, and were handled very briefly so the audience could get a quick look at them. Acer’s first Windows Phone was the first device to be displayed, followed by a pink waterproof offering from Fujitsu. ZTE also had a device on stage, but all eyes were locked on a Galaxy S II-like device from Sa...

During Microsoft’s Windows Phone Mango press conference in New York today, the company confirmed that Nokia’s first Windows Phone devices will run the newest Mango operating system when they’re released. That suggests that the phones could land as soon as this fall, when Mango makes its debut. Microsoft also confirmed that it already has Nokia prototype devices running in its labs today. Other new partners include Fujitsu, Acer, and ZTE, and Microsoft said that we can expect new Windows Phon...

Intel on Monday officially took the wraps off of its latest Atom Z760 processor, formerly codenamed “Oak Trail.” The Atom Z760 processor promises to provide better performance, specifically with multimedia playback, and it supports 1080p video encoding as well as HDMI-out in a package that’s 60% smaller than previous Atom CPUs. The new processor also supports Windows 7, Android and MeeGo, allowing manufacturers to build tablets that can boot into a variety of operating systems, and Intel say...

Several Japanese newspapers are reporting that Fujitsu is working on an Android smartphone. This first Android offering from the Japanese electronics giant is expected to land next year with NTT DoCoMo and will be the first smartphone in Fujitsu’s handset lineup. Details on the device are sparse but with the future merger of Fujitsu’s mobile division with Toshiba’s mobile business unit, we can conjure up images of an Android handset that takes the high-end features of the Toshiba TG01 and mi...

Toshiba and Fujitsu confirmed on Thursday that the two Japanese companies will be merging their mobile phone business units. As part of the merger, Toshiba will spin off its mobile division into a new company with Fujitsu acquiring a majority stake in this newly formed venture. The resulting company will become Japan’s second largest mobile phone maker with an estimated 18.7% market share. Details are expected to be finalized in July with the merged company beginning operations in October of this ...

Fujitsu announced on Thursday that it is now offering a new program called “Service Built for Android”. Fujitsu is leveraging its experience in the development of embedded devices and offering to help companies deploy the Android OS on all kinds of hardware, from  mobile phones, automotive systems and consumer electronics to embedded systems. Fujitsu will provide consulting, training, engineering and embedded middleware services intended to assist companies in fast tracking their products. For co...

Fujitsu’s U2010, the ultra-portable convertible tablet PC, can now add integrated 3.5G to its long list of features – having just made its debut by way of Fujitsu Singapore, Fujitsu Hong Kong and Fujitsu Philippines. According to the specs, the integrated 3.5G will support tri-band UMTS (HSDPA): 850, 1900, and 2100 MHz and Quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM: 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz. The UMPC itself boasts the following specs:Intel Centrino Atom processor Z530 (1.6GHz, 512 L2 Cache, 533Mhz)Genuine Windows Vi...

Man, that thing looks tiny next to the 17″ Amilo notebook to the right of the picture above! Consider this confirmation that Fujitsu is indeed working on an ultra-portable Asus Eee competitor. The ultra-portable space has been a proven sector of late as more and more companies set their sites on mini laptops, the latest being Fujitsu. The 8.9″ unit pictured above will be its first entry into this space and if word on the street is correct, its success it anything but guaranteed. For starters, the ...