They still believe in the CMOS technology.

Qualcomm buys power amp chip maker

JULY 2, 2014

''Qualcomm has purchased Black Sand Technologies, a fabless semiconductor company...''

''With the acquisition, Qualcomm is continuing its efforts to supply more components to makers of smartphones and other mobile gadgets.

For years Qualcomm’s top strength has been cellular radios – called basebands. It had about two-thirds of global market share for basebands in the first quarter, according to industry research firm Strategy Analytics.''

''About a year ago, Qualcomm introduced the RF 360, a package of chips for the so-called RF front end of the phone near the antenna. That put it in competition with existing front end chip makers such as Skyworks, RF Micro and TriQuint.

RF 360 is different than most front end chips because it’s based on CMOS process technology, which is a less expensive way to make semiconductors. Many competitors use gallium arsenide and other more exotic technologies.