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Sony is going beyond cameras for smartphones. They are acquiring Altair Semiconductor to get into IoT bandwagon.
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Altair is an Israeli company, develops modern chips for 4th generation cellular technology. Their chipsets can connect smart meters, security systems, and even cars to internet. So that can provide perfect push to Sony to get into IoT world. Definitely their cameras will be complementary to security, vision,.... required in IoT systems.
Unusual acquisition for Sony, and an interesting choice of technology. We hear a lot about LTE Cat 12 in the latest smartphones, but this is LTE Cat 0 for IoT devices. I'm wondering if Sony will continue to run Altair as a merchant business or if it becomes a captive business. Sony has this bad habit of creating almost-standard proprietary stuff, like MemoryStick and MagicGate.
It could be seen as sony wanting to build a general expertise center in Israel , which is strong in wireless communication and as close as they can get to LTE cat 12(which they may need to own , since the phone industry is becoming more vertically integrated).
Also maybe this effort isn't focused at flagships , which can pay the Quallcom price , but mid/low range phones may have come to the point of being good enough. For example, the new xiaomiv redmi 3(with 4000mah battery) should last over a day even under heavy usage and maybe 2 days on medium usage. And performance is already good enough for most people.
