Infineon Chips to Be Used in Nokia's New Entry Level Phones

Infineon Technologies, Europe's #2 semiconductor manufacturer, announced this morning it has been chosen by Nokia to provide a system-on-chip for its entry-level phones. Nokia says it's aiming to improve the phones' power-performance while reducing their size, in order to offer the "most competitive and cost-effective portfolio of mobile phones to consumers in new growth markets." Infineon's "E-GOLDvoice" system-on-chip combines a baseband processor, radio frequency transceiver, power management unit and RAM in a diminutive 8 x 8 mm footprint. Infineon's biggest customer, Benq Mobile, ran out of cash and began liquidating last month, forcing Infineon to cut 400 jobs and adjust its forecasts. Infineon shares were up 3.7% in Frankfurt trading on the news.

Sources: Press Release, MarketWatch, Bloomberg
Commentary: Apple Turns To UK For iPhone Processors • Foundry Shakeout Looms -- Who Will Remain Standing? • Infineon Technologies F1Q07 Earnings Call Transcript
Stocks/ETFs to watch: Infineon Technologies AG (IFX). Competitors: STMicroelectronics N.V. (STM), Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN), Fairchild Semiconductor Intl. (FCS), International Rectifier Corp. (IRF), Broadcom Corp. (BRCM). ETFs: Semiconductor HOLDRs (SMH), iShares Goldman Sachs Semiconductor (IGW), PowerShares Dynamic Semiconductors (PSI), SPDR Semiconductor (XSD)

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