Microsoft buys Nokia memory variables

On February 19, 2014, following Microsoft’s purchase of Nokia’s mobile phone business and some patent rights for US$7.2 billion in September 2013, the Taiwan’s anti-monopoly regulatory authority, the Taiwan Fair Trade Commission (FTC), passed the merger conditionally. The restrictions imposed include the requirement that Microsoft not make unreasonable pricing or discriminatory treatment when it licenses mobile device-related patents, nor does it interfere with mobile device manufacturers' freedom to choose mobile operating system rights in other ways.

Microsoft's acquisition of Nokia reached the final stage, leaving only China’s Ministry of Commerce without approval. According to the latest news, the Ministry of Commerce will give the final result in the near future. Prior to this, the industry’s controversy focused on the fact that after Nokia’s divestment of its mobile phone business, it would naturally embark on the road to profitability through patent licensing. On the other side, Microsoft may also set barriers through patents to develop its own mobile phone business. Recently, the agency that provides global antitrust information and analysis has issued a document saying that Microsoft and Nokia have submitted "relief measures" to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce. The purpose of this approach is to dispel the concerns of patent-authorized parties, especially large numbers of domestic mobile phone brands. But so far, the voice of “resistance” is still very strong, and mobile phone operators believe that the so-called “relief measures” are too general and do not effectively curb the birth of the new “patent monster”.

Thousand dollar true patent behind the secret door

March of this year is a spring of trouble, and the mobile phone industry is no exception. However, compared with the events that make people feel hurt, the news about mobile phones is good for consumers.

Not long ago, Xiaomi Technology introduced a true eight-core 5.5-inch screen smart phone red rice Note. Immediately afterwards, Huawei and Lenovo, which were not to be outdone, also introduced the "Glory 3X Play Edition" and "Gold Warrior s8" with similar prices. Just a few days ago, TCL's 778-yuan real eight-core big-screen machine “Mody Mee” announced its release. To this end, with the introduction of the first cool sender of the 1,000 Yuan eight-core God F1, most of the well-known domestic mobile phone makers have already put the price of the eight-core mobile phone into the 800 yuan range.

It is noteworthy that many consumers wonder why these cost-effective eight-core phones only support the version of China Mobile's 3G standard T D-SC DMA, and Unicom and Telecom's versions are temporarily unavailable. Is it because the number of mobile users is the largest, so are the vendors paying the most attention? Not at all.

According to a person in charge of a domestic mobile phone business, the key reason is that the TD version does not need to pay part of the patent fee to Qualcomm. This will bring the retail price to a minimum in the current cost of components and components. In other words, if we push the Unicom and Telecom versions, it will not be possible to form a price war of this scale. Manufacturers have to add the cost of patents to mobile phones, and consumers will eventually be affected.

On February 9 this year, China Mobile's China Union of Mobile Phones submitted a report to Qualcomm on allegedly discriminatory pricing and monopoly high prices, claiming that Qualcomm's alleged violations of standards-necessary patent rights should be undertaken in a fair and reasonable manner. And the principle of non-discrimination on the external license, the domestic communications equipment manufacturers charged much higher than the European and American companies' patent license rates.

Another patent-related event is happening in two other global IT giants: Microsoft and Nokia. Microsoft's acquisition of Nokia seems to be only a company-level merger, but it later contains patent concerns that make domestic mobile phone companies quite nervous.

Microsoft, Nokia Relief Measures Alleged to be too General

So far, Microsoft's acquisition of Nokia has not been completed. In the end, the Ministry of Commerce of China has not given the "release policy." It is generally believed in the industry that, unlike the simple corporate merger, the two giants are likely to “find” the patent after the transaction is completed.

Zhan Yan, a doctor of law at Peking University, explained the impact of Microsoft's acquisition of Nokia at the patent level. "Unlike the simple corporate merger, Microsoft only acquired the Nokia mobile phone business, but a large number of patents remain in Nokia." He pointed out that on the one hand, Microsoft "eats" the next Nokia, or in order to expand their share of WP mobile phones. Use patented core weapons. On the other hand, Nokia, after divesting the mobile phone business, does not need to cross-license other patents with other mobile phone vendors. It is very likely that patents will be profitable.

Although the Ministry of Commerce did not provide details in the review process, the participating experts generally believed that whether the two companies would influence the mobile phone manufacturers through unfair patents, especially the Chinese mobile phone companies, was the focus of the Ministry of Commerce.

According to the latest news, Microsoft and Nokia have submitted "remedy measures" to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce for these "concerns" -- Microsoft promises to focus only on de facto standard essential patents when there is patent infringement, and is not a good licensee. Seek a ban. Nokia, on the other hand, promised to license standard essential patents on the basis of FR AND (fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory terms), and promised not to seek a ban on a well-meaning licensee.

"Taking Nokia's remedial measures as an example, there is no limit to the number." The above-mentioned head of the mobile phone business said that even if Nokia increased the patent fee many times, it was a reasonable adjustment under the FRA ND principle. This is not restricted.

The Ministry of Commerce did not give a final resolution

Mei Xinyu, a research fellow at the Ministry of Commerce, said that the current model of patent sales by Qualcomm has actually set an example to other patent giants. “For instance, its pricing standard is not based on the price of the chip itself. It is based on the overall size of the entire terminal. The price comes to sell. I use your Qualcomm chip in my cell phone, and my cell phone screen, shell, and camera will also have to pay you." He believes that Nokia, after divesting the cell phone business, actually wants to copy Qualcomm's model.

"Qualcomm's revenue from operations in China accounted for 49% of its operating revenue in 2013. Microsoft and Nokia also have a very high share of revenue from the Chinese market." Mei Xinyu believes that after this acquisition (fingered by Microsoft's acquisition of Nokia) was completed, According to the kind of operating mode that they want to take, the Chinese market will continue to increase its share of the total revenue of Microsoft and Nokia.

According to Xiao Jiangping, director of the competition law research center of Peking University and executive deputy secretary-general of the Chinese Economic Law Research Association, the current data shows that Nokia's patent group is second only to Qualcomm, and in addition, there are 5,761 non-essential patents.

At present, the Microsoft Nokia M&A case is in the final stage of the review of the Ministry of Commerce, and it is very likely that the results will be announced in the near future. However, there may still be variables in the middle. After all, the Ministry of Commerce did not complete the review within 180 days as required by law, and the declarer voluntarily withdrew the application and reported again. For example, public information shows that MediaTek Inc. has absorbed and merged with Cayman Morningstar Semiconductor. From the time of submitting the application to approval, it took more than one year. Glencore's approval of Xstrata's acquisition also took more than a year.

Rigid PCB , the largest number of PCB manufactured

What is Rigid PCB - Rigid PCB Definition

Rigid PCB is a kind of Printed Circuit Board, and is the largest number of PCB manufactured. It is made of solid substrate material, which can effectively prevent the distortion of the circuit board. Perhaps the most common Rigid Circuit Board is the computer motherboard. The motherboard is a multi-layer PCB designed to distribute power from the power supply while allowing communication between all components of the computer, such as CPU, GPU and RAM.

Rigid PCB can be used in any position where the PCB itself needs to be set to a shape and maintained during the remaining life of the equipment. Rigid PCBs can be anything from simple single-layer PCBs to eight or ten-layer multi-layer PCBs.

Rigid PCB and Flexible PCB are totally different. One is flexible and the other is rigid. Therefore, their application scenarios are different. In addition, there are rigid- Flex PCB . There are similarities between them. However, all rigid PCB have single-layer, double-layer or multi-layer structure, so they have common application scope. This is the case.

Some characteristics of rigid PCB

• Rigid PCB is a kind of conventional PCB, which can not be like flexible PCB, because rigid PCB can not be twisted or folded into any shape, because it has FR4 reinforcement, which is very useful for increasing stiffness.

• Rigid PCB is made up of copper trances and paths which are incorporated on a single board in order to connect the different components on the board. The base material of the board is made of rigid substrate which gives rigidity and strength to the board.

• The computer motherboard is the best example of a rigid PCB with a rigid substrate material.

• Once rigid PCBs are manufactured, they cannot be modified or folded into any other shape.

• Rigid PCB is cheaper than flexible PCB. They are traditional PCBs and are widely used in many electronic products.

Rigid PCB Manufacturing

Substrate Layer - rigid PCB material

• Substrate layer, also referred base material, is made of fiber glass.

Multilayer Rigid PCB Stackup

Copper Layer

• On the top of substrate layer, there resides a copper foil which is laminated on the board with the help of added amount heat and adhesive.

Solder Mask Layer

• Solder Mask Layer houses above the copper layer.

Silkscreen Layer

• Silkscreen layer is located above solder mask layer.

The differences between Rigid PCB And Flexible PCB

• Most of the electronics made use of traditional rigid PCB. However, technology has been evolved and many products abandoned rigid PCBs because of their inability to get folded or twisted. This has erupted the idea of flexible PCB and soon it became the prerequisite for most of the professionals in the market.

• Manufacturing process of both rigid and flexible PCBs is same with some exceptions in terms of their flexibility, softness and cost.

• Some extra measures are required for processing flex PCB when it comes to material handling. Also proper specifications are required in order to avoid any cracked solder joints when the board is bent.

• Flexible PCBs are most costly than rigid PCBs, however, we are referring here individual cost of the flexible PCB, it may happen the overall cost of the project using rigid PCB is higher than the cost of the flexible PCB, but individual cost of flexible PCB will be higher.

• Many cheap electronics make use of rigid PCBs including audio keyboards, desktop devices, solid state drives, toys and many electronic gadgets. However, flex circuits are observed in ultra high performance device because they don`t involve connectors also thinner than rigid boards and can be used in smart phones, cameras, tablets and GPS control system.

• Both rigid and flexible boards can be incorporated together to construct a unified product that comes with both strength and flexibility.

• Some flex PCBs follow the same design as rigid circuit design but they are not completely identical to the rigid circuit boards.

• Flexible PCBs provide flexible and bending solutions and they also require less space and are mostly Single-Sided PCB.

When to Use Rigid and When to Use Flexible

• Rigid PCBs typically cost less than flex circuits. I say "typically" because when considering the total cost of ownership there are some applications that, when using flexible PCBs, may be less expensive compared to using rigid PCBs. To get a true and accurate understanding of the total cost of ownership, you first need to appreciate the fact that flex circuits may eliminate the need for components such as connectors, wire harnesses, and other circuit boards. By removing these components from a design, material cost, labor and assembly cost, and scrap cost are all reduced.

• Many electronic devices (laptop and desktop computers, audio keyboards, solid-state drives (SSDs), flat-screen TVs and monitors, children`s toys, and various electronic gadgets) employ rigid PCBs instead of flexible PCBs. However, flex circuits may be found in ultra-compact and/or high-performance devices, including GPS units, tablets, smart phones, cameras, and wearables.

• Greater sophistication is not the only reason to use flex circuits; low-tech applications,such as LED lights, may utilize flex circuit technology, in some cases because it makes installation much easier.

Rigid PCB Applications

• A computer motherboard is a perfect example of rigid PCB which is a Multilayer Rigid PCB, used to distribute electricity from power supply, and creates a conducting path between CPU, GPU and RAM.

• Rigid PCBs are manufactured in volumes and once they are designed, they can not be altered or modified and remain same throughout the entire life span of the project on which they are placed.

• Some low cost products make use rigid PCBs like toys, ,electronics gadgets, desktop devices and solid state devices.

• You should also have a look at Double-Sided PCB, these are also Rigid PCBs.

Rigid Printed Circuit Board Manufacturer: Guaranteed Quick Delivery

Different Types of Rigid PCB Provided by JHY PCB

• Single Sided PCB : These rigid printed circuit boards feature metal trace on single side of the dielectric. Single-sided rigid PCBs are ideal for rapid productions due to their manufacturability, as well as simple design.

• Double Sided PCB : As the name suggests, these printed circuit boards have a layer of dielectric sandwiched between two metal layers. The double-sided rigid printed circuit boards have become an industry staple. Their applications vary from low to high temperature ranges, fine line surface mounting, solder coatings, and high copper builds.

• Multilayer PCB : Multi-layer rigid PCBs feature more than two conductive metal layers, which are clearly separated by equal dielectric layers. These circuit boards allow our PCB designers to create a vast range of interconnects, as well as applications.

Learn more about JHYPCB by exploring the manufacturing capability of Rigid Printed Circuit Board below. We can do more than you can imagine. 

Additional information

• Rigid Flex PCB Fabrication service
• Flex-Rigid PCB Technology
• Rigid Flex PCB Manufacturing Capability
• Flexible and Flex-Rigid PCB Applications
• Rigid PCB vs. Flexible PCB: How to choose?

Rigid PCB

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JingHongYi PCB (HK) Co., Limited , https://www.pcbjhy.com