Daily Business Report-Aug. 10, 2015
Qualcomm first talked about the existence of the Snapdragon 820 during the 2015 Mobile World Congress in March, and giving some hints about what to expect.
Report Says Qualcomm to Release New
Snapdragon 820 Chip Specs This Week
A new report has emerged saying Qualcomm will be announcing the details of its soon-to-be-released Snapdragon 820 this week.
A Chinese analyst has published a detailed report on the upcoming Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, including news it will be unveiled at a special press conference on Aug. 11.
Jiutang Pan, a respected analyst with a solid track record in semiconductor technology information, has released what appears to be a presentation on the Snapdragon 820 SoC on Weibo.com.
According to the report, it will be a FinFET 14nm 64-bit chip with a Hydra CPU core providing a 35 percent increase in performance, and an Adreno 530 GPU with a 40 percent improvement in performance, and 30 percent in improvement in terms of power consumption.
It will also feature an MDM9x55 LTE Cat.10 modem, and include a “dedicated low-power sensor for emerging always-on-use-cases,” the report said.
More importantly, the Snapdragon 820 has promised a marked improvement in terms of power and thermal elements, which is a welcome development following reports of the Snapdragon 810 causing smartphones to overheat.
Qualcomm first talked about the existence of the Snapdragon 820 during the 2015 Mobile World Congress in March, and giving some hints about what to expect.
If Jiutang Pan’s report proves true, the new SoC will be unveiled complete with all the pertinent details.
The analyst continued to say that the Snapdragon 820 SoC may be included inside Xiaomi’s upcoming flagship handset, the Mi5 Plus, which is rumored to be released at the end of the year.
Assuming other manufacturers will be clamoring for the new System-on-Chip, the Xiaomi Mi5 Plus is likely to be followed by the Samsung Galaxy S7, that’s expected to be launched in the first or second quarter of 2016.
Dueling Proposals
The Brigantine and Sunroad Enterprises
In Competition to Replace Anthony’s Fish Grotto
One of San Diego’s largest restaurant companies and a company that operates everything from car dealerships to office buildings are being considered by the Port of San Diego to replace Anthony’s Fish Grotto on the waterfront adjacent to the Maritime Museum of San Diego.
The two companies — The Brigantine Inc. and Sunroad Enterprises — were recommended by port staff out of six companies that responded to a request for proposals in May. Port commissioners at their Tuesday meeting will take up the staff recommendation. If they give the go-ahead, the staff will start negotiations with the two companies with the ultimate goal of selecting one of them.
The 52-year Anthony’s lease expires on Jan. 31, 2017, presenting an opportunity for the port to explore other options for the prime waterfront site. “As the steward of this public land, the Port of San Diego is using a competitive selection process to maximize the potential of this tremendously desirable location,” said Port Chief Executive Officer Randa Coniglio. “This is a very unique, over-water site at the most prominent location on our waterfront.”
Sunroad Enterprises is proposing to be the developer and master tenant of the site that would include Blue Point Coastal Cuisine by the Cohn Restaurant Group, Fish Camp by King’s Seafood Company, PierBurger by King’s Seafood, Craft & Commerce by Consortium Holdings and a Stone Brewing Company Store and Tasting Room. Sunroad’s proposed investment is $12 million to $15 million. It said the projected annual revenue would be $22 million to $31 million.
The Brigantine proposal is to redevelop the existing building and dock-and-dine facilities under the “Portside Pier” name. The space would be divided into four businesses: Brigantine on the Bay, Miguel’s Cocina, Ketch Grill & Taps and Portside Gelato & Coffee.
Earlier this year the board declined to accept a proposal from the operators of Anthony’s Fish Grotto.
Sunroad Enterprises owns various businesses and at least 59 parcents of land in the county. Its businesses include South Bay Car Sales, Sunroad Financial Plaza, Sunroad Centrum, Kearny Mesa Car Sales, Sunroad Resort Marina and the Maderas Golf Club in Poway.
The Brigantine owns and operates 10 restaurants in the San Diego region including Brigantine Seafood and Miguel’s Cocina. The company sold The Steakhouse at Azul La Jolla to Donovan’s Prim Steakhouse Restaurant.
NSF Gives Green Light
To Pacific Research Platform
For the last three years, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has made a series of competitive grants to over 100 U.S. universities to aggressively upgrade their campus network capacity for greatly enhanced science data access. NSF is now building on that distributed investment by funding a $5 million, five-year award to UC San Diego and UC Berkeley to establish a Pacific Research Platform (PRP), a science-driven high-capacity data-centric “freeway system” on a large regional scale. Within a few years, the PRP will give participating universities and other research institutions the ability to move data 1,000 times faster compared to speeds on today’s inter-campus shared Internet.
The PRP’s data sharing architecture, with end-to-end 10-100 gigabits per second connections, will enable regionwide virtual co-location of data with computing resources and enhanced security options. PRP links most of the research universities on the West Coast (the 10 University of California campuses, San Diego State University, Caltech, USC, Stanford, University of Washington) via the Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California.
“Research in data-intensive fields is increasingly multi-investigator and multi-institutional, depending on ever more rapid access to ultra-large heterogeneous and widely distributed datasets,” said UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla. “The Pacific Research Platform will make it possible for PRP researchers to transfer large datasets to where they work from their collaborators’ labs or from remote data centers.”
Fifteen existing multi-campus data-intensive application teams act as drivers of the PRP, providing feedback over the five years to the technical design staff. These application areas include accelerator particle physics, astronomical telescope survey data, gravitational wave detector data analysis, galaxy formation and evolution, cancer genomics, human and microbiome ‘omics integration, biomolecular structure modeling, natural disaster, climate, CO2 sequestration simulations, as well as scalable visualization, virtual reality, and ultra-resolution video.
Operating Aging Qualcomm Stadium
For 20 Years Could Cost $259 Million
City News Service
Keeping aging Qualcomm Stadium operating over the next 20 years could cost the city of San Diego at least $259 million, and possibly as much as $282 million, according to a city report obtained Friday by City News Service.
The estimate by the city’s chief financial officer factors in annual costs to run the facility in Mission Valley, current debt service, and the projected cost of future major maintenance projects. It doesn’t take into account potential upgrades to amenities, such as bigger and better video and sound systems, bathroom and kitchen overhauls, or luxury suite improvements, CFO Mary Lewis said.
Her memorandum to members of the City Council came three days before city and county officials make a pitch to a group of National Football League owners in Chicago in support of their plan for a new facility in Mission Valley that would house the Chargers, San Diego State Aztecs, the Holiday and Poinsettia bowls, high school championships and special events.
The Chargers have been asking for a new stadium for nearly 15 years, and have acquired land in the Los Angeles County city of Carson on which they could build a facility themselves, possibly in concert with the Oakland Raiders.
The NFL has made a priority of moving a franchise to the lucrative Los Angeles market. The owner of the St. Louis Rams, Stan Kroenke, previously unveiled plans to build a stadium in Inglewood, close to the Los Angeles International Airport.
San Diego’s plan to keep the Chargers includes a $1.1 billion replacement for Qualcomm Stadium.
A task force appointed by Mayor Kevin Faulconer suggested that the city and county governments could each contribute $121 million over 30 years — far below the figures in Lewis’ memo, but it’s uncertain whether such funding levels will make it into an eventual financing plan.
Salk Professor Wins $7.9 Million
To Further His Cancer Research
Geoffrey Wahl, professor at San Diego’s Salk Institute for Biological Studies, will receive the National Cancer Institute Outstanding Investigator Award, which encourages cancer research with breakthrough potential. Wahl, a professor in Salk’s Gene Expression Laboratory, will receive $7.9 million over a seven-year period to further his cancer research.
Wahl, who is a past president and elected Fellow of the American Association for Cancer Research as well as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and American Association for the Advancement of Science, has been involved in various aspects of cancer research for his entire 40-year career.
At the Salk Institute, Wahl and his team have made contributions to the development of important technologies used throughout the world that have impacts in many fields. For instance, he and his team recently developed a rapid and versatile method for observing subtle and previously hidden interactions between proteins in living cells. The technology promises to dramatically accelerate the identification of many potential new drug targets and drug candidates.
The NCI award will allow Wahl the freedom to take more risks in his lines of inquiry as well as take the time to develop new techniques in his cancer research.
Fitbit to Open R&D Office in San Diego
Fitbit is starting to recruit engineers for a new research and development office it plans to open in San Diego, potentially marking the company’s expansion into 10 cities worldwide.
The company chose San Diego for its strong talent pool and global connections. “San Diego is a recognized center of engineering excellence and we’re looking to build out a large presence and expand our team with the goal of replicating our culture and mission to make the world a healthier, more active place,” the company said in a statement.
Fitbit makes wearable fitness products.
Sponsors and Exhibitors
Sought for High Tech Fair
Local high-tech businesses and scientific organizations can engage their employees and help promote STEM — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — education throughout the county by connecting with students, teachers and parents as part of the High Tech Fair in October.
The San Diego Science Alliance and the San Diego County Office of Education are recruiting exhibitors and sponsors now for the two-day event. Exhibits should include hands-on or interactive features that inspire middle- and high-school students to explore science technology, engineering and mathematics, commonly referred to as STEM.
“It’s all about igniting passion in students,” said Ellen Peneski, executive director of SDSA. “The combination of engaging in practical applications of STEM content and interacting directly with adults that have a similar passion, amplifies the STEM experience for all involved.”
The High Tech Fair is an opportunity for businesses, organizations, research institutions and college programs to showcase their work and inspire students to pursue STEM careers and become the next generation of engineers and scientists.
The event has grown in the past 17 years to include more than 60 exhibitors; more than 4,000 students, teachers and parents; and more than 50 schools from across 25 districts, including charter schools and private schools. In that time, an estimated 50,000 students from throughout the county have attended and found inspiration.
The High Tech Fair will be held in Bing Crosby Hall at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. The student and parent evening event Oct. 14 is free and open to the public from 5 to 8 p.m. Online registration is encouraged. The school-day event is Oct. 15. Teachers bring their students to the fair where they have 90 minutes to visit the various exhibits.
UCSD Creates Institute to Translate Ideas
Into Products for the Medical Profession
The University of California, San Diego (UCSD) has gathered faculty from the School of Medicine, the Skaggs School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Jacobs School of Engineering together to create the Institute of Engineering in Medicine (IEM) to translate creative ideas into clinical products for the medical profession.
Event producer UBM Canon has invited IEM to partner with them for the upcoming MEDevice San Diego Conference and Tech Showcase, at the San Diego Marriott Marquis & Marina, Sept. 1-2.
IEM will be supporting the Conference and is also part of the Tech Showcase. The UCSD group is a perfect match with the purpose of the event — providing education, information, and networking opportunities for engineers and entrepreneurs working on the latest generation of medical devices.
Keynotes will be given by Dr. Zia Agha, executive vice president of West Health Institute, and Sue MacInnes, chief marketing solutions officer for Medline Industries Inc.
Personnel Announcements
Malashock Dance Welcomes New Staff
New staff at Malashock Dance include Jennifer Zamora, administrative coordinator, and Whitney Laurent, education program manager.
Zamora egan her dance training at the San Diego Civic Youth Ballet at a young age and also has a background in flamenco, Ballet Folkorico and modern. She received her bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from San Diego State University in 2006 and has continued to collaborate within the art world both locally and internationally.
Laurent hails from the New Jersey/ New York metro area. A life in dance began for Laurent at age 3. She trained at local studios and continued her dance studies at the Mason Gross School of the Arts and Rutgers University, where she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Her journey as a professional dancer and instructor has led her to tour nationally and internationally with various schools, companies and
performance groups in New York City.
