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Fujitsu to withdraw from smartphone semiconductor business(Japan Economic Newswire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) TOKYO, Feb. 27 -- (Kyodo) _ Fujitsu Ltd. has decided to withdraw from semiconductor development business for smartphones, in which it was engaged together with NTT Docomo Inc. and NEC Corp., Fujitsu sources said Thursday. The company has found it difficult to compete with its foreign rivals due to its failure to develop a high-performance product at a low cost. The three companies have been developing baseband chips, known as the "brains" of smartphones, which control wireless communications and signals. The companies will liquidate Access Network Technology Ltd., which they jointly established in 2012, by the end of March. Some 90 employees including engineers will be transferred to Fujitsu and other companies, where they previously worked. In the baseband chip business, Qualcomm Inc. of the United States holds about 40 percent of the global share. Among other foreign rivals heavily investing in the business is Taiwan's MediaTek Inc., which produces semiconductors for low-cost smartphones that are popular in China. Fujitsu has been struggling to sell its smartphones and is working to reduce its deficit in the mobile phone business. (c) 2014 Kyodo News International, Inc. |