by CIO Staff

Dopod Denies Via Tie-Up for Ultra-Mobile PC

News
Dec 18, 20062 mins
MobileSmall and Medium Business

Dopod International Monday denied a local newspaper report that said it plans to use a Via Technologies microprocessor in a new ultra-mobile PC due out by the end of next year.

Such a device would be a slight departure from the company’s mainstay mobile phone and smart phone business, and would see it building systems from a computing perspective instead of a mobile phone perspective. It would also be another design win for Via if such a deal unfolds later next year. Dopod is tied to Via through investors and executives in both companies.

Cher Wang is a major initial investor in Dopod, and is the chairwoman of both Via Technologies and High Tech Computer (HTC). HTC announced in June that it would buy Dopod for up to US$150 million.

Until now, Dopod has used only Texas Instruments and Samsung Electronics processors in its devices, according to Caroline Hsu, a deputy communications manager at Dopod. She said Dopod is finalizing its 2007 product road map and would not likely make any announcements about its plans for at least a month or more. The company currently has no plans to make an ultra-mobile PC, she said.

Via won a major victory in the ultra-mobile PC segment earlier this year when Samsung chose its 1.0GHz C7 microprocessor for its Q1B ultra-mobile.

Via is in stiff competition with Intel and Advanced Micro Devices in the processor business, and gaining tier-one customers is important. In thin clients, the company has already won Hitachi, NEC, Hewlett-Packard and Fujitsu-Siemens Computers.

-Dan Nystedt, IDG News Service (Taipei Bureau)

Related Links:

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  • Via Brings the Internet to Poor Nations

  • Samsung Upgrades Ultra-Mobile PC

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