Mobile devices will become extremely successful because many industries - communications, IT, IC and hardware manufacturers, software developers and others - are investing capital, time, and effort into making them successful. Here's the latest example of how chip designers work to reduce power consumption and performance of mobile ICs.

Jan 5, 2012. VBeat -- SuVolta, a chip startup that says it can cut power consumption by 50 to 90 percent when coupled with other techniques for lowering voltage said today it has raises $17.6 million in a new round of funding.

“Power is now the biggest design constraint for electronic products,” he[Bruce McWilliams, president and chief executive at SuVolta] said. “This funding demonstrates the excitement surrounding our technology which dramatically reduces power consumption in ICs.”

Intel announced Tri-Gate earlier this year and said it will use 3D structures to pack more (FinFET) transistors into a given space, cutting power consumption by 50 percent and improving performance by 37 percent.

Two additional points from the article:
- the startup's business model is IP licensing;
- VC investment in semiconductors is down dramatically since 1999.

tags: technology, s-curve, innovation, investment, licensing, energy, mobile

A billionair sues billionairs over patents

WSJ reports:

They're the everyday fixtures of the Internet experience: pop-up stock quotes on a website, suggestions for related reading near a news article, videos along the side of your screen.

Now, Microsoft Corp. co-founder Paul Allen says he owns the technology behind all these ideas, and he's demanding that some of the world's top Web companies pay up to use them.

The patents in question are:

- United States Patent No. 6,263,507
- United States Patent No. 6,034,652
- United States Patent No. 6,788,314
- United States Patent No. 6,757,682

Defendants: AOL, INC.; APPLE, INC.; eBAY, INC.; FACEBOOK, INC.; GOOGLE INC.; NETFLIX, INC.; OFFICE DEPOT, INC.; OFFICEMAX INC.; STAPLES, INC.; YAHOO! INC.; AND YOUTUBE, LLC,

tags: patents, example, commerce, licensing

Girlscout cookies burgers, 21st century style.

A very interesting idea from a food startup:

Then there is the marketing strategy. Rather than spend money on traditional marketing, 4food encourages customers to save their favorite burger combinations in the 4food system, give them catchy names, and use the likes of Twitter and Facebook (and even YouTube video ads) to convince their friends to buy them. Every time a custom burger is ordered, the creator receives 25 cents in 4food store credit.

tags: invention, innovation, social, networking, startup, information, licensing

Reportedly, Facebook spent $40M on a social-networking patent porfolio:

A set of documents from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) reveal that Facebook acquired the 18 patents earlier this summer from MOL Global, the Malaysia-based payments company that purchased Friendster last year.

Most likely, it's a defensive move and has nothing to do with the intensifying Google-Facebook rivalry, as the CNET article alleges. Had the patents fell into the hands of an experienced IP litigation firm, Facebook would face massive legal costs and huge potential financial damages claims. I'd say they got away fairly cheaply. Especially, in view of a Bloomberg report that "Facebook Inc.’s biggest advertisers have boosted spending by at least 10-fold in the past year as the social network crossed the half-billion user mark."

In any case, Friendster's patents turned out to be worth a lot more than the business itself.


tags: patents, licensing, 10x,  high value, social,  network

Microsoft said on Wednesday that it is filing two separate patent infringement actions against the GPS navigation company [TomTom]. In complaints before the U.S. District Court in Washington and the International Trade Commission, Microsoft is alleging infringement of eight patents.

Microsoft already has deals with several other GPS system makers including Pioneer, Alpine, and Kenwood as part of its efforts to license its technology, a push that began back in 2003.
"All of these patents have been licensed before by many other companies," Gutierrez said. "We are asking TomTom to do what other companies have done and take a license."

Large operating companies are increasing their effforts to improve return on IP.