Qualcomm buys SoftMax – looks toward noise reduction on mobile phones

Qualcomm is clearly one of the mobile industry’s leading chipmakers, but that doesn’t mean they can sit back and let the revenue from their 3G technologies roll in. The San Diego-based chipmaker seems to be taking a new approach to the mobile chipset market – integrating noise-reduction technology into their chipsets. Qualcomm has just snatched up SoftMax, a privately-held firm that specializes in noise-reduction technology.

SoftMax develops algorithms that aid in signal separation, echo cancellation, and signal processing – allowing voice to be separates from background and ambient noise. Interestingly, Broadcom, Qualcomm sparring partner of late, recently debuted a new Bluetooth headset platform that utilizes SoftMax’s noise reduction algorithms. The BCM2047 Bluetooth headset from Broadcom uses a dual-microphone setup for noise reduction and echo cancelation.

“The acquisition of SoftMax will allow new opportunities for our customers to differentiate themselves by providing a superior level of voice quality to end users,” said Sanjay Jha, chief operating officer of Qualcomm and president of Qualcomm CDMA Technologies, in a statement.

So, Qualcomm’s got another piece of the IP-pie in their pocket. Another way to grab extra revenue from competitors that will need to start incorporating noise-reduction technologies into their mobile chipsets if they want to stay competitive. A good move on Qualcomm’s part indeed.

[Via: InformationWeek]