Untitled

2011
BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY REPORT
Prepared by Ferhat nlkal 9/4/2011
Market Leader in US

AUGUST 2011
Consumer Electronics (CE) Samsung Business SAMSUNG Electronics today said second-quarter net profit fell 18 per cent from a year earlier, as weakness at its struggling display unit outweighed strength at its cellphone operations. Samsung, the world's biggest maker of memory chips and flat-screen televisions by revenue, said its net profit for the three months ended June 30 fell to KRW3.506 trillion ($3 billion) from KRW4.28 trillion a year earlier. In the first quarter, Samsung reported a net profit of KRW2.78 trillion.
Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest flat-screen television (TV) maker led the North American TV market in the first half of the year, on the back of rising demand for premium TVs, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency on Tuesday. Samsung Electronics's first-half market share for digital TVs stood at 35 percent in terms of value of the units sold in the U.S. and Canada, remaining the region's top seller, the company said based on data compiled by NPD Group, a U.S.-based market researcher. Its market share in the North American TV market by sales came in at 25.3 percent, also topping the list of TV makers, Samsung Electronics said. Its market share in the region's flat-screen TV market stood at 35.4 percent in terms of value in the first half. Samsung's sales of 3D TVs and LED TVs also ranked first in the region with its market share standing at 44.1 percent and 54.5 percent, respectively, it said. Samsung Electronics said its dominance of the North American market is expected to continue as demand for its premium TVs remains strong.
Software Capabilities Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee has asked the firm's top management to seek measures including acquisitions to enhance its software prowess, local media reports said on Wednesday. His remarks come as Samsung is embroiled in an intensifying patent battle with Apple, and after Google unveiled a $12.5 billion deal on Monday to buy Motorola Mobility Holdings, threatening its ties with the Android mobile software platform maker.
Samsungs stock performance
Connected TV Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., a global leader in the consumer electronics industry, today announced that the UAE is leading the SMART TV market in the Gulf with 40 percent market share. Since its global launch, the Gulf region contributed to 7 percent of the total global SMART TV sales.
3D Active Glass Standard Three television manufacturers intend to create a new technology standard for 3D active glasses, targeted for use in the home. Panasonic, Samsung, and Sony will put the standard together in conjunction with active 3D glasses manufacturing company XPAND 3D, and are hoping that the new standard will foster wider adoption of the technology. The group will develop a set of system protocols that will allow 3D glasses and 3D televisions to be interchangeable among those brands, while providing backwards compatibility with 3D TVs they release in 2011. Currently, the different brands of 3D equipment are not at all compatible. Ethan Rasiel, a director of public relations with Samsung, told Ars that a few big differences will have to be overcomefor instance, Rasiel said Samsung currently uses Bluetooth to connect its glasses and TVs, while Sony and Panasonic use infrared waves. The standard will include multiple types of infrared protocols, including some that were formerly proprietary to Samsung and Sony. Through the standard, the four companies are hoping to "widely introduce" active 3D glasses to the market. The license for the standard is targeted for release in September, with the universal glasses becoming available in 2012. LG
growing consumer electronics and telecommunications markets, today announced that the Company's HDMI 1.4 Intellectual Property (IP) with patented Phaswitch technology has been selected by Samsung Electronics for its next generation of televisions. Under the agreement, Samsung Electronics will incorporate TranSwitch's HDMI technology in next-generation video processors across its Visual Display product lines in 2013, including flat panel televisions.
Reducing TV sales forecast South Korea's LG Electronics Inc has cut its annual television sales forecast by 20 percent, a media report said, joining its Japanese rival Sony Corp in bracing for weaker sales due to uncertain global economic prospects. Global TV makers from top-ranked Samsung Electronics to Sony, LG and Panasonic Corp have already warned of a tough sales outlook, especially in the United States and Europe, as consumers delay purchases amid rising inflation and deepening euro zone fiscal problems. "TV sales are seen sharply below our original target and may come in at around 32 million units this year, as the euro zone fiscal crisis is likely to continue and a U.S. consumption recovery also remains uncertain," online news outlet eDaily quoted an unnamed LG official as saying. LG said earlier this year it was targeting sales of 40 million units of flat-screen TVs in 2011. Sony plans to overhaul its TV business this month after cutting its annual TV sales forecast and warning that losses from the unit could widen this year. he firm cut its sales forecast for LCD TVs to 22 million sets from 27 million.
HDMI 1.4 TranSwitch Corporation (NASDAQ: TXCC), a leading provider of semiconductor solutions in the rapidly 3
from KraussMaffeis MX series. The machines will be installed in the development department of the companys mould technology centre, currently under construction in Pyeongtaek-si, Korea. Sony TV Business
LGs stock performance
Licence Agreement LG Electronics and Sony said on Thursday that they have resolved patent disputes between the two firms spanning smartphones, TVs and Blu-ray technology, with LG adding that they have signed a cross-licensing deal.
Emerging market - India According to a top company official, LG Electronics is planning to double its business in India by 2015, focusing on home appliances as well as information technology (IT) products while expanding its production capacities.
PenTouch TV LG is combining touch screens with big screens with the announcement of the new PenTouch TV line of plasma HDTVs. PenTouch TV screens let users interact with their HDTV like a touch screen through a powered stylus. It's specifically designed to work with computers through the PenTouch software, included with the TV.
Cooperation in Plastic Process LG Electronics and KraussMaffei have agreed to work together on technological developments in plastics processing for electronics devices. The deal was signed at a ceremony in Munich where LG also ordered additional injection moulding machines
Sony ruled out dumping its television business or dissolving a TV panel partnership with Samsung Electronics Co even as it looks to overhaul its lossmaking TV unit. The electronics and entertainment conglomerates secondin-command, Kazuo Hirai (picture), told reporters today that the company was not considering selling off its factories, but would consider new partnerships as it reviews the unit. Televisions are a core business for Sony and it would be unthinkable for us to shrink that business, executive deputy president Hirai said. The maker of Bravia TVs cut its sales and profit estimates last week, citing sluggish sales of TVs in the U.S. and Europe. Tokyo-based Sony, reeling from three consecutive years of company-wide losses, also slashed its full-year TV sales target by 19 percent to 22 million units. Sony Corp., facing an eighth straight year of losses from its main television operations, is preparing to overhaul the business to reduce costs and compete against Samsung Electronics Co. The plans may include partnerships as well as reorganizing the procurement, product development and sales operations, Mami Imada, a Tokyo-based spokeswoman, said in response to queries about a Nikkei newspaper report. Details of the reorganization may be decided this month, she said. Chairman Howard Stringer, whos farmed out production to Foxconn Technology Group and eliminated thousands of jobs, may be returning his
focus toward cost cuts after 3-D TVs and Internet-centered sets failed to stem Sonys slide in market share against Samsung and LG. The Japanese company last week replaced its TV head and said it wont sell as many units as it had anticipated.
Videogame Acquisition Sony Computer Entertainment announced Tuesday that it has bought the studio behind hit videogames "inFamous" and "Sly Cooper." Sucker Punch Productions will be part of game development operations of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios and make games exclusively for PlayStation 3 videogame consoles, according to SCE.
Digital Cameras Sony announced today two models of binoculars that come loaded with features usually found on high-end digital cameras, including highdefinition video recording, zoom and auto-focus capabilities.
Sonys stock performance
Organic Electroluminenscent monitors Sony Corp plans to launch a range of organic electroluminescent monitors for commercial users this month, priced almost 70 percent below existing models, the Nikkei business daily reported. While Sony currently sells a 25-inch OEL monitor for about 2.3 million yen ($29,303), a monitor of the same dimension from the new range will cost only about 600,000 yen. This is close to the price of the LCD monitors used by television studios, the paper said.
Play Station prices Sony Corp. is cutting the price of its PlayStation 3 gaming console by $50 in an attempt to drum up demand for the 5-year-old machine. It is now $249, down 17 percent from $299. The last time Sony lowered the price of the PlayStation 3 was in 2009, when it launched a lighter, slimmer model of the video game system.
Car Entertainment Sony is expanding its mobile audio lineup with eight new in-dash CD receivers. The new models range from entry-level units to advanced receivers and digital media players that offer SiriusXM satellite radio and Pandora internet radio connectivity in the car.
Tablet PC Sony will launch sales of the S1, its 9.4inch Sony Tablet S tablet, in early September, according to gadget review site Engadget. The slightly wedgeshaped device was first introduced in April and is expected to run Android's Honeycomb software. HTC, too, is close to adding its own tablet to the bonfire. According to Engadget, HTC has a 4G LTE tablet called Puccini, which is headed to AT&T(T_).
Panasonic Financial Panasonic slumped to a 30.4 billion yen ($389 million) quarterly loss, hit by lower sales after the earthquake in northeastern Japan, and announced the sale of part of its refrigerator and washing machine business to Chinese
rival Haier. Panasonic Corp., which makes Viera TVs and Lumix cameras, said Thursday the deal for Haier Group to buy the Sanyo brand home appliances businesses in Japan and Southeast Asia is set to be completed by March 2012.
Healthcare Equipment Japanese electronics major Panasonic is open to the idea of acquiring a company in the healthcare equipment business in India and could spend a few million dollars to do so, a senior company official has said. The Japanese firm has launched a major drive to emerge as a major player in the Indian market and is consolidating its business in the country.
Green Technology Panasonic and the government of Singapore are working to create Asia's first public-housing test bed for technology designed to provide total energy solutions and, ultimately, link to a smart grid. The plan involves a block of public housing units in Punggol EcoTown. Singapore wants to transform the former fishing and farming village into the country's first green community, and last year it began remaking the town as a living laboratory for green technology.
Panasonics stock performance
Sanyo household appliance to Haier Panasonic Corp. (6752.TO) said Thursday that it will sell subsidiary Sanyo Electric Co.'s household appliance businesses to the Haier Group, in an uncommon instance of a Japanese electronics conglomerate allowing a rising Chinese rival take over a chunk of a major business segment.
Toshiba Emerging Market Toshiba Corp will begin designing LCD televisions for local markets in India, Indonesia and Vietnam in October to challenge Samsung Electronics Co and other South Korean rivals, the Nikkei business daily reported. The company is set on boosting its worldwide LCD TV sales to 25 million units by fiscal 2013, up 80 percent from fiscal 2010, the daily reported. Toshiba aims to have emerging countries account for 50% of its global TV sales in volume terms in fiscal 2013, the paper said.
Cloud Based Solutions Panasonic System Networks Company of America today launched its first Cloud-based services solution, Panasonic Cloud Business Phone System for small businesses. This marks the first step into the services industry from a company that has provided state-of-the-art telephony systems for business owners nationwide. Recognized as the number one choice for small business phone systems*, Panasonic is now expanding into services to meet changing market needs by pairing its highly regarded business phones with equally reliable Cloud-based voice services.
Haier Acquisiton of Sanyo home appliance busines Chinese electronics firm Haier Group and Japans Sanyo Electric Co. signed an agreement on Thursday setting out the terms regarding Haiers intention to acquire Sanyos refrigerator, washing machine, and other consumer electric appliances business in Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. The acquisition will cover the research and development (R&D) and manufacturing facilities of Sanyo Electrics refrigerator and washing machine business, as well as the sales and service business of Sanyo Electric consumer electric appliances in the above countries, including the washing machine brand Aqua and other Aqua related brands. At the same time, Haier and Sanyo Electric have reached an agreement on the use of the Sanyo brand.
Toshibas stock performance
Hitachi Outsourcing TV production Japan's Hitachi Ltd said on Wednesday it will outsource all television production as early as this business year as it expects demand to shrink in an increasingly price-competitive market. It expects the domestic TV market to shrivel to 7 million units in 2012, after ballooning ahead of the switch to digital terrestrial broadcasting this year. The market was about 25.7 million units size in 2010. Hitachi had just 0.5 percent of the global flat pane l TV market by revenues in the first quarter of this year, according to DisplaySearch. The news helped Hitachi shares recover much of their morning losses to trade down 0.4 percent at 465 yen, outperforming a 2.1 percent fall in the benchmark Nikkei 225 .
Haiers stock performance
Vizio SRS Lab-Audio Technology Santa Ana-based SRS Labs, the developer of surround sound and other audio technology, said this week that it has extended a deal with LCD HDTV firm VIZIO. SRS Labs said that the firm is in a new, multi-year agreement to provide VIZIO with a portfolio of its
Hitachis stock performance
audio enhancement and surround sound technology. Financial details of the license were not announced. Patent agreement VIZIO announced that E & S International has become a licensee under VIZIO's QAM patent portfolio. VIZIO, a leader in the American LCD HDTV market, owns a substantial worldwide patent portfolio directed to digital television technology. Financial terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.
Foxconns stock performance
LCD TV shipments Vestel Bit Torent Cooperation Vestel, one of the worlds leading DTV manufacturers, and BitTorrent, Inc., a globally recognized creator of software products and technology protocols that help people find, share and move digital media, today announced plans to showcase the worlds first BitTorrent Certified Digital TV at the IFA show in Berlin. Vestels new BitTorrent Certified TV will enable consumers to find, play and share all types of personal media, independently produced content and internet files directly on their TV. Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) is expected to ship 17 million LCD TVs in 2011 thanks to orders from Sony and a number of brand vendors in China, including Suning and Gome, according to industry sources. However, Foxconn's LCD TV shipments might be affected by Sony's recent downward adjustment of its LCD TV shipment target for 2011 to 22 million units from 27 million projected previously, the sources noted. Sony shipped only 4.9 million units of LCD TVs during the April-June period, which were lower than its target, said the sources.
R&D in China Foxconn Business Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) has announced revenues of NT$229.45 billion (US$7.92 billion) for July, up 0.45% on month and 16.97% on year. With the company's strategy of moving its production lines into western China and to gradually transition its work force from manual labor to automation, market watchers are optimistic about Foxconn's future revenue performance and expect its profitability will also improve. Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the government of Hunan province, China and will cooperate on R&D, production and promotion of new power-saving products. In addition to Hunan, Foxconn previously invested in cities including Chongqing, Chengdu and Zhengzhou, and the company's aggressive action is believed to be a strategy for its retail channel business, according to market watchers.
Lawsuit Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) has withdrawn a patent lawsuit filed last year against Taiwanbased connector maker Suyin, the defendant said on August 8. Suyin added that the lawsuit had not affected the company's finance or sales.
decision to lower their sales goals, sources said. LCD Shipments According to DisplaySearch, worldwide TV shipments hit 55.5 million during the second quarter of 2011, representing a year-over-year decline of 1 percent. During the period, only LCD shipments were up over the prior year, jumping 6 percent to 44.5 million. Plasma shipments were down 6 percent to 4.2 million, while CRTs dropped 31 percent to land at 6.8 million worldwide. During the first quarter of 2011, television shipments were up 1 percent compared to the same period in 2010. However, 55.2 million televisions shipped during the period. DisplaySearch reported that the vendor's market share hit 22.6 percent in the second quarter, up from the 22.1 percent market share it nabbed in the first quarter. LG secured 14.4 percent of market, down from 14.5 percent in the prior quarter. Sony's market share jumped from 11.4 percent in the first quarter to 11.7 percent in the second quarter, DisplaySearch found. Panasonic and Sharp rounded out the top five in global television shipments with 9.4 percent and 7 percent market share, respectively. Finally, DisplaySearch looked at the technologies the televisions are shipping with. According to the firm, LED-backlit LCDs represented 43 percent of all LCD TV shipments during the second quarter. The company also found that 3D capability was available in 9 percent of all the televisions shipped, and sets with the technology accounted for 23 percent of TV revenues.
CE Market LCD TV market Global LCD TV shipments may only reach 206-207 million units in 2011, with the top-five vendors having lowered their shipment targets by a total of 50 million units from the sum of their previous goals, according to industry sources. At the end of last year, the top-five LCD TV vendors, Samsung, LG, Sony, Sharp and Toshiba, were optimistic about their 2011 shipments, the sources said. Samsung's original target was 50 million units for 2011, while LG and Sony set their shipment goals at 40 million units each. Sharp aimed at 18 million units, and Toshiba 20 million. But Japan's March 11 disasters, the debt problems in Europe and the US, and inflation in many parts of the world have sent the vendors lowering their shipment goals. Japan-based vendors have made big cuts to the goals, the sources said. Sony has almost halved its 2011 shipment goal from 40 million units to 23 million. Korea-based Samsung has reduced its 2011 shipment goal to around 36-37 million units, sliding over 25% compared with its original target. LG revised its shipment goal to less than 27 million units in 2011, an over 30% decrease from the initial goal. Philips, Vizio, and Panasonic have also lowered their 2011 shipment goals, the sources noted. In addition to the global economic woes, the saturated LCD TV markets in North American, Western Europe and Japan also contributed to the vendors'
LCD TV Outsourcing More Japan-based branded LCD TV vendors are expected to increase their outsourcing to manufacturers outside Japan due to heavy losses incurred in the TV business, a move which benefits Taiwan TV ODMs and panel makers, 9
according to industry sources. Sony is reportedly restructuring its TV business unit as the company is expected to see its TV unit post losses for the eighth straight year in 2011, noted the sources, adding that total losses at Sony's TV business unit have reached US$5 billion to date. Panasonic is set to complete an overhaul of its TV business unit by 2012, with objectives including the suspension of large capital investment in production facilities for TV products, while increasing the ratio of outsourcing, the sources indicated. Hitachi reportedly plans to suspend its production lines for slim-type TVs before the end of March 2012 and instead will completely outsource slim TVs to makers outside Japan. The ratios of outsourced LCD TVs to total TV sales at Sony and Toshiba will both reach over 70% in 2011, the sources estimated. Taiwan makers are expected to ship a total of 53.61 million LCD TVs in 2011, accounting for 25% of total global shipments of 211 million units projected for the year, according to Digitimes Research. China Market In the China market, the six largest China-based vendors ship 15.42 million LCD TVs during the first half of 2011, with Hisense, TCL and Skyworth recording the largest market shares of 22%, 21% and 20% respectively, according to WitsView. Of the 6-month shipment volume, 39% was of LEDbacklit models and the penetration rate for the whole year of 2011 is estimated at 47%. In June particularly, the six vendors procured 3.04 million LCD TV panels and Taiwan-based Chimei Innolux shared 31% of the supply volume, followed by LG Display with 27%, Samsung Electronics with 21% and Taiwan-based AU Optronics with 17%.
TV Market Satellite, Cable, Terrestrial, IP TV industry remains on a Reports growth path - the worldwide market represents 301 billion Euro, a progression of 7.8% compared to 2009. This report analyses the overriding trends and changes taking place in the markets around the globe. It explores the driving forces behind the market's growth and transformation, including an examination of the chief market trends, plus volume and value forecasts up to 2015 by geographical area and by country.
Connected devices market In addition, there will be around 1 billion new internet users, about 15 billion new connected devices and an amazing 1 zettabyte of Internet traffic by 2015.
Taiwans LCD TV OEM Demand for global LCD TV dropped to 201203 million due to weaker demand. In Q2, brand shipment declined 2 percent compared to Q1. However, Q2 shipment of Taiwan's LCD TV OEM significantly grew by 7.3 percent, according to WitsView, a research arm of TrendForce Corp. Beginning 2008, Taiwan's OEM ratio of LCD TV gradually grew from 15.7 percent to the estimated 2325 percent (a volume about 4749 million) for 2011 worldwide LCD TV, stated Burrell Liu, research associate of WitsView. According to the worldwide average data, one out of every four LCD TVs was made by Taiwan's OEMs. The gradual growth of Taiwan's OEM LCD TV in overall worldwide demand also demonstrates that it is a future trend for brands to outsource LCD TV. Due to their quality, services, and competitive and cost advantages, Taiwan's OEMs will remain an important option for the international brands during this economic downturn.
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According to WitsView, there will be a 1215 percent growth of LCD TV brands in Q3 with contributing factors such as lead-time and inventory reduction. Taiwan's TV OEMs will have an estimated 6 to 9 percent growth in Q3. With panel supply being greater than demand, the brand and OEMs' shipment growth are not helping the panel price hike. However, it may be good news to the current supply and demand imbalance.
growth of 16 and 11 percent in value and volume, respectively. GfK tracks the performance of all segments of TV that include LCD, Plasma and CRT and its latest retail audit report reflects continuing demand for LCD TVs that achieved nearly 30 percent more in value sales over the 1H10, making it the key driver of the overall TV industry across Southeast Asia (SEA).
Home Automation The U.S. market for home automation systems and devices was worth approximately $3.2 billion in 2010. It is expected to grow to almost $3.4 billion in 2011. In the longer term (i.e., 2011 to 2016), the forecast is for strong renewed growth in the home automation market, which is expected to exceed $5.5 billion in 2016, a CAGR of 10.5% between 2011 and 2016. Lighting, home entertainment, and security systems accounted for nearly 58% of the U.S. home automation market in 2010. It is estimated to be around $2.1 billion in the year and further to reach $3.8 billion by 2016 at a CAGR of 12.2 %. Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) and energy management made up for the remaining 42% of the U.S. market. It is expected to reach $1.7 billion by 2016 at a CAGR of 7.4% between 2011 and 2016.
LCD monitors
The global market for LCD monitors in 2011 is estimated at 180 million units.
Asian TV Market According to GfK Asia Pte Ltd, consumers in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam have spent over $2.1 billion on 6.33 million TV sets in the first half of the year, reflecting an overall industry 11
ICT HP Business Samsung made it clear today that it is not interested in buying HP's PC business, despite market rumours to the contrary.
HPs stock performance
Cloud Computing Hewlett Packard is investing some US$1 billion to set up at least six commercial data centres to offer cloud computing services in the Asia Pacific.
leading candidate, analysts at technology research firms Ovum Ltd. and IDC said. Samsung may also be interested because the purchase may complement its geographic and product mix, said Carter Lusher, a researcher at Ovum. Hewlett-Packard said yesterday it may shed the unit as Chief Executive Officer Leo Apotheker plans to overhaul the 72- year-old company to focus more on software and enterprise customers. Credit Suisse Group AG estimates the division may be worth $12 billion, which may make a sale the PC industrys biggest since HewlettPackard bought Compaq Computer Corp. in 2002, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The PC business is still going to be a huge business with great opportunities for a company that can manage it correctly, Lusher said in a telephone interview. The tablets are hot new flavors, but remember hundreds of millions of PCs are sold every year. The Palo Alto, California-based company said yesterday it plans to separate its PC division within 18 months, discontinue making products that run WebOS software and purchase software- maker Autonomy Corp. for $10.3 billion. Dell Inc. (DELL), the second- largest PC maker, also is focusing more on services, though PCs still make up about half its sales. Tablet PC HP has permanently cut the price on its low-end TouchPad price to $399 as it seeks to stand out in a crowded tablet market.
Focusing on software and enterprise Hewlett-Packard said yesterday it may shed its personal-computer business unit as Chief Executive Officer Leo Apotheker plans to overhaul the 72year-old company to focus more on software and enterprise. HewlettPackard Co. (HPQ)s plans to unload its personal-computer business, the worlds biggest, may attract Chinas Lenovo Group Ltd. (992) and South Koreas Samsung Electronics Co. as suitors, analysts said. Lenovo, the Chinese company that bought International Business Machines Corp.s PC business in 2005, would be a
Price fixing Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) accused AU Optronics Corp. (AUO) in a lawsuit of conspiring to fix prices of thin-film transistor liquid crystal display panels, according to a court filing. A complaint for damages alleging violations of
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antitrust laws was filed under seal to conceal from HPs competitors confidential information about the companys process for procuring LCD panels, according to a document filed Aug. 19 in federal court in San Francisco by Jun Kim, an HP vice president and general manager for the displays business unit. AUO and others conspired to fix the prices of LCD panels, HP said in a document relating its complaint to a pending group case filed against LCD makers on behalf of purchasers of the screens, used in personal computers, televisions and mobile devices. Samsung Zero interest in buying HP PC business Samsung says it has zero interest in buying Hewlett-Packard's personal computer business. The company made a similar comment yesterday in response to speculation that Samsung might want to buy the HP PC business, and this morning, it is saying it once again, which should put an end to the speculation (well, that's the idea, at least.) Here's a statement this morning on the matter from Samsung CEO and Vice Chairman Geosung Choi: "To put to rest any speculation on this issue, I would like to definitively state that Samsung Electronics will not acquire Hewlett-Packard's PC Business. Hewlett-Packard is the global leader in the PC business with sales of 40 million units last year, while Samsung is an emerging player in the category and sold about 10 million units in 2010. Based on the significant disparity in scale with Samsung's own PC business and the complete lack of synergies, it would be both infeasible and imprudent to even consider such an acquisition."
Samsung vs Apple Korean company Samsung Electronics will go to a German court on August 25 to try to overturn a ban on it selling flagship Galaxy tablets in most of the European Union. Earlier this week, a Duesseldorf court temporarily barred Samsung from selling its tablets, following an injunction filed by Apple which had said the Galaxy line of mobile phones and tablets "slavishly" copied its iPad and iPhone.
Smartphones Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. zoomed to the top of global smartphone makers in the second quarter, blowing past Nokia Corp. and BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd., according to IDC.Korea's Samsung made the biggest jump, from No. 4 in the first quarter to No. 2 in the second, on the strength of its Galaxy phones, which run Google Inc.'s Android software. It sold 17.3 million in the second quarter, up from 10.8 million, IDC said. Samsung Electronics unveiled four new smartphone models under its flagship Galaxy line on Wednesday, expanding its offerings of cheaper phones to tap growth in emerging markets. Samsung will enter a lower-end market ripe with cut-throat competition from Chinese producers including ZTE Corp and Huawei Technologies, as well as a host of no-brand producers pumping out hundreds of millions of phones for consumers in China, Africa and other developing economies. Samsung Electronics Co, the world's No.2 handset maker, aims to boost its smartphone market share in emerging markets, which have low penetration rates and bigger growth potential, its parent group said on Wednesday. "Samsung seeks to expand market share in the emerging market with models costing around $200, as those markets have lower smartphone
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penetration rates compared with advanced markets," a Samsung group spokeswoman quoted an executive from Samsung Electronics' mobile division as telling a meeting of the group's executives on Wednesday. Smartphone OS Samsung Electronics has announced the availability of a developer platform (SDK) for its own smartphone OS, bada 2.0. The new OS, which was shown off nearly six-months ago offers multitasking, Wi-Fi Direct, Near Field Communication (NFC) and voice recognition. "Samsung Bada and our Wave devices continue to succeed around the world, taking advantage of the mobile technology and brand awareness of Samsung's leadership in the market," said JK Shin, President and Head of Samsung's Mobile Communications Business. "We have brought together our key mobile innovations in bada 2.0, setting the foundation for it to become a leading mobile platform."
Apples stock performance
Pico Projector The iPhone 5 could well be the first Apple product to ship with a pico projector, but a report by Taiwanese IT industry English-language newspaper DigiTimes puts a damper on the rumors. DigiTimes concluded that the related R&D is still not mature and demand from consumers has yet to appear, so smartphone-use pico projector modules are unlikely to start mass shipping until after 2012. Apple is not the first company to try integrating pico projectors into its smartphones. Samsung showed off an Android smartphone called the Galaxy Beam back in 2010, LG strapped a projector accessory to the back of its LG Expo smartphone in 2009, and camera maker Nikon started shipping its Coolpix S100pj digital camera with a built-in 10 lumen LED pico projector during the same year. In a 2009 report, market researcher iSuppli predicted that shipments of embedded pico projectors would reach more than 3 million units by 2013.
Apple Smartphones Apple rose to No. 1, taking the spot from Nokia, by selling 20.3 million iPhones, up from 18.7 million in the first quarter. That relegated Finland's Nokia, the long-time leader, to third place. Apple has yet to top Nokia's high-water mark of 28.1 million phones in a quarter. "But given Apple's momentum in the smartphone market, it may not be a question of whether Apple will beat that milestone, but when," IDC said.
iPad3 US-based tablet PC players Apple has recently canceled its iPad 3 supply schedule for the second half of 2011, forcing other tablet PC brand vendors that are set to launch same-level product to compete, to follow suit and delay their launch; however, supply of the iPad 2 in the second half will still be
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maintained at 28-30 million units, according to sources from the upstream supply chain. Apple was originally set to launch its iPad 3 in the second half of 2011 with a supply volume of 1.5-2 million units in the third quarter and 5-6 million in the fourth quarter, but Apple's supply chain partners have recently discovered that the related figures have all already been deleted, the sources pointed out. Fatih Project Apple, Intel and Microsoft may bid to help supply up to 15 million tablets to Turkish schoolkids over a period of four years, according to the country's stateowned news agency, Anatolia. The outlet quotes Turkish trade minister Zafer Caglayan, who says that while visiting the US, Apple officials told him the company might also consider using Turkish manufacturers to build accessories such as covers and headphones for iPads and iPhones. To win the tablet contract, known as Fatih, a company must at least build the tablets within Turkey. Caglayan adds that a Microsoft team may visit Turkey to inquire about Fatih. Intel, meanwhile, is allegedly considering building a research and development facility in the country. While the companies appear to be working on sweetening their bids, of the three, only Apple has an existing commercial tablet that could be adapted to educational needs.
smartphone, tablet and TV market. The company has already said that Android will not make any changes on how it manages access to Android and also promised that Motorola will run as a separate company. But the Web search giant still needs to figure out to keep handset and set-top businesses at arm's length. In a conference call announcing the acquisition plan, Andy Rubin, Google's senior vice president for mobile, gave insight on the company's evolving development process.
Googles stock performance
Online Video Market Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) plans to conquer the European online video market beginning next year by bringing its Google TV product to the UK.
Cisco Google Motorola Acquisition of Motorola Mobility Google Inc's biggest deal ever, acquiring Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc for $12.5 billion, is an attempt to buy insurance against increasingly aggressive legal attacks from rivals such as Apple Inc. Google's Motorola acquisition is causing tension among its competitors in the Network virtualization The VXLAN technology introduced by Cisco and VMware this week is intended to scale VLANs to accommodate the exploding number of virtual machines in the virtualized data center. In addition to Cisco and VMware, Broadcom, Arista, Citrix and Red Hat also co-wrote the VXLAN specification.
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Ciscos stock performance
Collaboration Cisco Systems has acquired Versly, a private startup that specializes in developing software and solutions for more effective collaboration and productivity.
Acer Ultrabooks Acer chairman JT Wang, commenting on tablet PC's impact on the notebook industry, pointed out that tablet PC fever is already starting to cool down and consumers are also being attracted by notebooks again with Intel's Ultrabooks and Microsoft's Windows 8 the major attractions. Acer is already set to launch an Ultrabook in September with a price as low as US$799, noted Wang adding that Acer has performed surveys and discovered that consumers have a high interest in Ultrabooks. Some players in the PC industry agree with Wang's prediction and pointed out that tablet PCs are mainly marketed for entertainment purposes, different from notebooks, which are also tools for work and learning. Therefore, once the tablet PC market reaches saturation, consumers' motivation to replace tablet PCs will be a lot lower than for notebooks, causing tablet PC sales to stagnate once volumes reach a certain level. In
addition to Acer and Asustek Computer, which plan to launch Ultrabooks in September, Dell, Toshiba, Lenovo and Hewlett-Packard (HP) are all set to launch models in the fourth quarter of 2011 or the first quarter of 2012. Taiwan-based makers of components such as batteries, hinges and chassis have also started small volume pilot production, and are set to start mass shipments in the fourth quarter. Acer president Jim Wong pointed out that although Ultrabooks will only account for a small portion of notebook shipments in 2011, the percentage is expected to reach 25-35% in 2012, a number close to Intel's prediction of 40% by the end of 2012. As for Windows 8, Wang believes that the operating system will contribute a stronger sales boost to notebooks than tablet PCs and will also benefit brand vendors during the back-to-school season in 2012 as the operating system's launch date will be close to that period.
Acers stock performance
HTC Audio technology HTC will invest $300 million in digital audio company Beats Electronics, a move to boost multimedia technology on its handsets and strengthen the companys brand in the U.S.
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HTCs stock performance
Compals stock performance
Compal Business Compal Electronics has announced consolidated revenues of NT$55.95 billion (US$1.93 billion) for July, down 6% on month, with combined consolidated revenues from January to July also down 22% on year to only NT$389.07 billion. Meanwhile, the company's notebook shipments for the month dropped from 3.6-3.7 million units in June, to 3.5 million units with shipments of LCD TVs of 600,000 units and tablet PCs of 300,000 units. For the third quarter, market watchers forecast that overall notebook shipments will grow 5-10% sequentially with Compal only able to achieve a sequential growth of 5% and may even fail to hit its annual shipment target of 48 million units. However, benefiting from strong orders from Acer, Lenovo, Dell and Asustek Computer, Compal is expected to achieve strong growth in 2012. Compal shipped 21.2 million notebooks in the first half and with the company's internal estimate of 10-15% growth in the second half, Compal's annual shipments are likely to reach 45 million units.
Pegatron Smartphone Pegatron Technology has landed orders for 10 million units of iPhone 5 to become the second ODM of the smartphone. Shipments will start in September, according to industry sources. As iPhone gross margins are relatively small, Pegatron aims to compete for orders for iPad, MacBook Air and other Apple products and has increased production equipment and employment, the sources said. For 2012, Pegatron expects to obtain ODM orders for 8-10 million notebooks form Acer, the sources noted.
Pegatrons stock performance
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TPV LCD Monitors TPV Technology expects its total shipments of LCD monitors, including those shipped under the brand names of Philips and AOC, will top 20 million in 2011 and further increase to 30 million in 2012. Of total shipments projected for 2011, 10 million units will be shipped under the AOC brand, 6-7 million units under the Philips brand, and others under the Topview and Envision brands, the company noted. According to the latest data available, AOC ranked as the top TV brand in the China market in the first quarter of 2011 with a 22% share, and Philips took the third ranking with a 16-17% share. TPV produces 50% of Philipsbranded TVs in-house, while outsourcing the remaining 50%, the company noted.
6.48 million units and accounting for 45% of global shipments projected for 2011, said Digitimes Research. Wistron, a major ODM partner of Lenovo, is expected to see its shipments of AIO PCs nearly triple to two million units in 2011 due to strong sales of AIO PCs at Lenovo. Pegatron will ship 1.7 million AIO PCs in 2011, with orders coming from HP and Dell, which previously outsourced the production of AIO PCs to Flextronics International. Shipments of AIO PCs from TPV-Inventa will also top 1.7 million units in 2011 with clients including Lenovo, HP, and other regional channel operators, added Digitimes Research.
Tablet PC Tablet computers running Android have collectively begun to challenge the dominance of Apple's iPad, stealing 20% of the iPad's market share in the last year, according to ABI Research. Market research firm Gartner is predicting that tablet sales will grow from almost 70 million this year to 294 million in 2015. In addition, In-Stat expects 850 million smartphone sales in 2015.
TPVs stock performance
ICT Market All-in-One PCs Wistron, Pegatron Technology and TPV-Inventa Technology are expected to see their shipments of all-in-one (AIO) PCs grow significantly in 2011, buoyed by orders from Lenovo and Hewlett-Packard (HP), according to Digitimes Research. However, Quanta will continue to serve as the top AIO ODM with total shipments reaching of
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Flat Panel Industry Samsung Panel pricing Samsung Electronics has reportedly been selling its flat panels with aggressive pricing recently, causing the already fragile panel pricing to drift downward further in the second half of August, according to industry sources. Prices for large-size panels were affected mostly by Samsung's pricing strategy, with quotes for TV panels being reduced by 5% and those for IP panels dropped by 2-3% recently, said the sources. The sources also indicated that LCD vendors in the end market are likely to slash their product prices drastically before year-end with flat panel makers supporting such marketing efforts by offering even more competitive panel prices in the fourth quarter. Some panel makers have lowered their capacity utilization rates to 70-75% recently and may further reduce the ratios to 50% in September, the sources noted.
LG Display Raising tariffs for LCD Modules in China Korea-based LCD panel makers Samsung Electronics and LG Display (LGD) need to speed up constructing their plants in China in order to cope with the country's planned increases in tariffs, said a Korean news report. The Korean-language Electronic Times said that China plans to raise tariffs for LCD modules to 8-10% from the current 5% while tariffs for LCD TV cells will increase to 8% from 3%. The increases will be put into effect as early as 2012, the report said. The report said that China's move is aimed at protecting local makers, especially BOE Technology and China Star OptoELectronics Technology (CSOT), both of which have started construction on 8G LCD plants.
OLED Cooperation Samsung Mobile Display Co., Ltd. (SMD), the world leader in the manufacture and sale of active-matrix OLED display products, and Universal Display Corporation (NASDAQ:PANL), enabling energy-efficient OLED displays and lighting with its UniversalPHOLED technology and materials, today announced that the companies have entered into agreements under which Universal Display will license its technologies and sell its proprietary materials to SMD for use in its line of state-of-the-art OLED display products. Building on their eleven-year relationship, SMD and Universal Display will continue to work closely to accelerate growth of the OLED display industry through the development of state-of-the-art, energy-efficient OLED products.
LG Displays stock performance
OEL Panels South Korea's LG Display <034220.KS> aims to invest about 220 billion yen ($2.83 billion) toward mass-production of OEL (organic electroluminescence) panels from the second half of 2014, the Nikkei business daily reported, quoting a top executive.
iPad2 tablet panels LG Display (LGD) reportedly has lost some 9.7-inch iPad 2 panel orders to
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Samsug Electronics and Chimei Innolux (CMI) after its recent shipments to Apple experienced quality issues, according to industry sources. LGD's July panel shipments for the Apple tablets were one million units short of its original mothly goal. LGD's overall revenues for third-quarter 2011 are likely to be affected, the sources added. LGD, as the largest panel supplier for the iPad 2, began using its 6G LCD plant to produce 9.7-inch panels for the Apple tablets in secondquarter 2011. The maker originally planned to enhance the panels' monthly supply to nearly four million units in third-quarter from around three million units in the second quarter. But quality issues with the LGD panels for the iPad 2 have disrupted the maker's production pace and have caused Apple to suspend new orders for the maker, the sources claimed. Apple has turned to Samsung and CMI to meet its demand.
aiming to sign and definitive and legally-binding agreements by autumn of 2011 and to complete the business integration in the spring of 2012, subject to any necessary government approvals. The merged company, dubbed as Japan Display, will be operated by INCJ, which is supervised by Japan's trade ministry. The ministry has been criticized for not supporting Japan's chip and display industries and this, according to some critics, has allowed South Korean and U.S. companies to overtake Japanese firms. Sharp Cooperation with Apple Apple is planning to invest $1 billion in a Sharp LCD plant, Reuters is reporting. Apple Inc plans to invest in a Sharp Corp factory to secure a supply of LCD screens for iPhones and iPads, sources said, triggering expectations Apple may step up orders to Japanese parts makers.
Stocks LG Display Co. retreated in Seoul trading after Shinhan Investment Corp. lowered its share-price estimate by 19 percent, saying the companys operating loss will widen in the third quarter. The worlds second-largest liquid- crystal display maker dropped 4.3 percent to 20,250 won as of 9:34 a.m. on the Korea Exchange.
Sony Japanese Panel Manufacturers Cooperation In a move to fend off the growing competition from its South Korean and Taiwan rivals, Sony Corp., Hitachi Ltd and Toshiba Corp, together with Innovation Network Corp. of Japan (INCJ), have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding to integrate their small- and medium-sized display businesses. The companies are AUO Financial AU Optronics Corp. ("AUO" or the "Company") (TAIEX: 2409; NYSE: AUO) today held its investors conference and announced its unaudited results for the second quarter of 2011(1). AUO posted consolidated revenue of NT$98,050
Sharps stock performance
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million (US$3,406 million)(2), up 5.2% from the previous quarter. Gross profit was at -NT$2,482 million (-US$86 million), with the gross margin of 2.5%. Operating loss was at NT$9,120 million (US$317 million), with the operating margin of -9.3%. AUO's net loss for the second quarter was at NT$10,766 million (US$374 million). Net loss attributable to equity holders of the parent company was NT$10,801 million (US$375 million), with basic EPS of -NT$1.22 per common share (US$0.42 per ADR).
Solutions, and Touch Solutions. Integrated total solutions will be offered for clients and end customers to enjoy customized value-added services. Executive Strategic Planning Division will also be established to help visualize the future of the Company from a macro perspective. The new organization will become effective from September 1, 2011.
Trade commission AU Optronics has received the Examiner's Report made by the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) alleging the violation of competition rules in Korea conducted by a number of LCD manufacturers, including AUO, according to a posting on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE). The LCD maker stated that there have not yet been any announcement concerning fines on the alleged companies and that AUO is reviewing the Examiner's Report before taking further action. When contacted by Digitimes, Chimei Innolux (CMI) stated that it has not yet received the report so it cannot comment on the situation.
AUOs stock performance
Business Taiwan-based TFT LCD panel maker AU Optronics (AUO) on August 8 reported consolidated revenues NT$32.739 billion (US$1.13 billion) for July, increasing by 4.69% on month. AUO's large-size panel shipments rose 6.6% to over 9.81 million units, but small- to medium-size shipments dropped.
Inventory Turnover & Capacity Utilization AUO said the number of its inventory turnover days will reach 46 days in the third quarter compared to 43 days in the second, while capacity utilization rate will be lowered to 80% from 8283% during the same period.
New organization AU Optronics Corp. ("AUO" or the "Company") (TAIEX: 2409; NYSE: AUO) today announced its new organizational arrangement. Due to the transformation of the global display market and the emergence of new products and applications, Display Business Operation led by Paul Peng will be divided into three business groups, namely Video Solutions, Mobile
Gorilla Glass Taiwan-based AU Optronics (AUO) and TPK Holding as well as LG Display and Samsung Electronics plan to adopt small-sized Gorilla glass produced by Corning as glass substrates used to make Touch on Lens touch panels, indicating Gorilla glass may have a large market share in touch panels used in smartphones, according to industry sources. 21
CMI Financial Chimei Innolux Corporation (CMI) (TAIEX: 3481) today announced its combined second quarter 2011 TFTLCD net sales of NT$ 121,696 million, a 2.1% decrease over the previous quarter's NT$ 124,327 million. Gross loss was NT$ 6,625 million, for a gross margin of -5.4%. Operating loss totaled NT$ 12,900 million with an operating margin of -10.6%. Net loss attributable to the shareholders of the parent company amounted to NT$ 13,010 million. According to CMI, shipments of largesize panels in the second quarter were 35.5 million units, representing a 9.9% increase on quarter. Combined shipments of small- and medium-size panels were 95.1 million units, a 6.26% on-quarter decrease. Sales of LCD TV panels accounted for 39% of total net sales, added CMI. Chimei Innolux (CMI) spent NT$800 million-1 billion (US$27.6-34.5 million) to improve yield rates of small- to medium-sized panels during the second quarter of 2011, and therefore expects shipments to begin to increase significantly in the third quarter, according to general manager Wang Jyh-chau for the south branch of the company. While the shipment volume of 35.471 million large-sized panels in the second quarter increased sequentially by 9.91%, small- to medium-sized panels decreased 6.17% to that of 95.4 million mainly due to adjustments in manufacturing process to hike yields, CMI said. Panel maker Chimei Innolux (CMI) has decided to revise downward its 2011 capex to NT$50-60 billion (US$1.7-2.1 billion) from the previously-planned NT$70-80 billion. The newly-revised target has also been halved from the initial goal of NT$100 billion.
Business TFT-LCD panel maker Chimei Innolux (CMI) has reported July consolidated revenues of NT$41.21 billion (US$1.42 billion), up 0.5% compared with June 2011. CMI's large-size panel consolidated shipments in July totaled 12.92 million units, up 4.9%on month, while small- to medium-size panel shipments decreased 8.3% sequentially to 32.1 million units. CMI recorded an after-tax loss of NT$13.01 billion in second-quarter 2011, with a loss per share of NT$1.78. The company has posted consecutive quarterly losses since third-quarter 2010, with total losses of NT$54.5 billion. The maker reported a loss of NT$26.81 billion in first-half 2011, with a loss of per share of NT$3.67.
Panel Shipments CMI expects its shipments of IT panels to remain flat in the third quarter but shipments of TV panels will decline within a range of 5%. CMI also looks to a double-digit increase in shipments of touch panels as well as panels for smartphones and tablet PC applications in the third quarter.
iPad 3 panels Chimei Innolux (CMI) has failed to become a LCD panel supplier for the Apple iPad 3 due to technological hurdles, according to industry sources. CMI has cut into the supply chain of iPad 2, which uses IPS panels, but the new Apple tablet is more demanding in terms of resolution, the sources said. The iPad 3 will feature a 9.7-inch panel with resolution of 2,048x1,536 comapred to the iPad 2's 1,024x768. CMI previously scheduled mass production of IPS panels to begin as early as the end of 2010 or early 2011. But low yield rates delayed the mass production until recent months. The maker's IPS panel monthly output in July 2011 reached nearly 500,000
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units. It is looking forward to an output of one million units in August 2011, the sources said. TCL LCD Panel Production TCL China has lent its full support to the group's subsidiary in entering into a US$1.55 billion to build a new 8.5 generation LCD panel production plant. With its monthly production capacity of over 100,000 units, or $3 billion worth of products per year, the new plant is expected to help propel TCL's global brand value to the top 5. Harry Wu, managing director of TCL Electronics (Thailand), revealed that in early August Huaxing Electric, a subsidiary of TCL China, has entered into a joint venture agreement with Senshao Electronics Technology and Korea's Samsung Electric to build a new 8.5 generation LCD panel production line, with a registered capital of $1.55 billion. TCL holds 55 per cent shares of the new facility while Senshao and Samsung own the remaining 30 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively. The plant will have its inaugural operation in October and will operate to its full capacity by late 2012. "In 2012, TCL has plans to design the manufacturing line to support the production of over 100,000 units of 26 - 32", 46", and 55" LCD panels per month. Collectively, the facility has the production capacity of more than 17.5 units per year, which is approximately $3 billion worth of products."
October, according to sources familiar with CSOT's roadmap. Earlier market reports indicated that CSOT might be forced to postpone operations at the 8.5G plant to 2012 due to issues related to the clean room of the new line, the sources indicated. The kick-off of CSOT's 8.5G plant comes at a time when fellow flat panel companies in Korea and Taiwan are lowering their capacity utilization rates due to oversupply of flat panels at the market, the sources noted. In addition to CSOT's 8.5G line, an 8.5G flat panel plant of China-based BOE Technology already began mass production this quarter, pointed out the sources. Although recent market rumors also indicated that CSOT may scale down the production capacity of its 8.5G plant due to unfavorable market conditions, CSOT actually does not have plans to adjust its capacity, the sources noted, adding that CSOT will ramp up its output to over 20,000 units a month by the end of 2011 and further jack up the production to 100,000 units by year-end 2012. Panel Market Competition LCD panels makers, especially for those who focus on large-size panels, are likely to brace for lackluster performance in the third quarter due to declining panel prices caused by slow sales of LCD TVs in the US and Europe as well as high inventory levels at TV vendors in China. Although large-size panel makers AU Optronics (AUO) and Chimei Innolux (CMI) reported slightly improved monthly sales in July, their prospect for the second half of 2011 could be dimmed by declining FOB prices of LCD TVs and low capacity utilization rates. AUO's consolidated revenues in July saw an on-month increase of 4.7%, and CMI enjoyed a slight on-month gain of 0.5%. Chunghwa Picture Tubes (CPT) and 23
CSOT Business China Star Optoelectronics Technology (CSOT), a subsidiary of TCL, plans to kick off operations at its 8.5G TFT LCD flat panel production line in Shenzhen, China on August 8 with mass production of flat panels slated for
Hannstar Display posted sliding monthly sales in large-size panels because they shifted focus to manufacturing small- to medium- size panels. CPT's July shipments of largesize panels decreased 20.9% onmonth, while Hannstar's shipments reduced 11%. A traditional peak season for panels, with China's National Day holidays in October, third-quarter 2011 nevertheless might still experience sluggish sales, industry sources forecast. Bad economy in Europe and North America, and high inventories in China may weaken demand for new LCD TVs in the third quarter, they said. The global economic recession is also affecting China and Taiwan. Shipments of LCD TVs to China are expected to reach 41-42 million units in 2011, lower than the 43-45 million units estimated at the beginning of the year. Taiwan manufacturers operating in China could suffer as a result. A possible depreciation of the South Korean Won might also cut competitive edge of Taiwan makers. Average capacity utilization rate of South Korean panel plants is expected to climb to 80-85% in third-quarter 2011, buoyed by the South Korea makers' brand-name products. However, Taiwan has fewer branded products in the market than Korean competitors. So a relatively lower capacity utilization rate of 75-80% is expected. OBM and OEM orders, as well as contracts from Japan, will be major contributors to Taiwan's capacity utilization. Still, Taiwan panel plants' capacity utilization rate could be lower than 75% if orders during China's national holidays and the Christmas season turn out to be weaker than expected. Besides, China's BOE Technology and China Star Optoelectronics Technology (CSOT) have completed their 8.5G panel plants and entered mass production. Panels made by the Chinese suppliers are expected to enter the market as early as September 2011, snatching orders
from Taiwan and Korea makers. Sources said that although Chinese suppliers' competiveness has yet to grow, makers in Taiwan and South Korea would have to brace for a negative outlook for the second half of 2011. Increasing capacity Utilization Despite weak demand in the LCD TV market due to the increasing popularity of smartphones and tablet PCs, the traditional boom season in the third quarter should help panel makers such as LG Display and AU Optronics (AUO) increase capacity utilization rates sequentially. Market watchers predict South Korea-based panel firms are likely to turn profits in the third quarter. AUO incurred huge losses in the second quarter and since then has been enforcing strict inventory controls. AUO has been decreasing capacity utilization from 82-83% to 80% in third quarter. LG Display decreased capacity utilization in July to 70%, pushing inventory levels down to normal. The panel makers continue to hold conservative prospects for the third quarter, however, market watchers predict China's long holiday in October, Thanksgiving and the year-end holidays in Europe and the US will likely bring back demand. Shipments of branded LCD monitors in the third quarter are expected to grow 5-8%. Sales of tablet PCs are estimated to continue growing.
China panel imports China may raise its tariffs on LCD panel imports as it moves to protect the country's fledgling panel industry, people familiar with the situation have said. China's BOE Technology Group (BOE) and China Star Optoelectronics Technology (CSPT), are expected to begin pilot runs at their new 8.5G LCD panel plants in August 2011. BOE's and CSPT's plants are set to enter mass production in September and October,
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respectively. Having its own panel plants will help China attract component makers to set up lines in support of panel proudction, enhancing the technology level of the country's overall LCD industry, sources said. In addition, increasing tariffs on panel imports would prompt foreign makers to set up production lines in China to avoid the taxes, the sources commented, adding the tarffis mayincrease to 8-10% from the current 5%. Samsung Electronics' panel plant in Suzhou began construction in May 2011, with initial investment of US$3 billion. The 7.5G panel plant is a joint venture of Samsung, China's consumer electronics maker The Creative Life (TCL), and the Suzhou Industrial Park. The plant is expected to enter mass production in January 2013, with a monthly capacity of 100,000 glass substrates. LG Display (LGD) plans to begin construction on a panel plant in Guangzhou on August 30, 2011. AUO is also investing in a joint venture to build a 8.5G plant in Kunshan. Mass production is expected in 2013. Chimei Innlux (CMI) is the only one of the world's major LCD panel makers who has not yet unveiled plans to build build up panel manufacturing facilities in China.
2012. Capacity is expected to double again in 2013. Impact of HP decision Hewlett-Packard's (HP) LCD panel suppliers and contract manufacturers are bracing for changes to their partnerships with the US client in the wake of its plan to separate its PC business, according to industry sources. The extent of changes remains uncertain at this point, but many Taiwan comapnies could be seriously hit if HP sells the PC business to Samsung Electronics, the sources said. Rumors have been circulated since first-quarter 2011 that HP has contacted Samsung about selling the PC business to the Korea-based firm, the sources from Taiwan's supply chain added. Taiwan's Chimei Innolux (CMI) and AU Optronics (AUO), both of whom are Samsung's major competitors in the panel market, would see unimaginable impacts on their supplies to HP, the source said, adding that panel makers in Taiwan are already facing a difficult time due to sliding sales from large-size panels amid weakened TV demand. As for HP's PC manufacturers, including Quanta, Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) and Inventec, their partnerships with the client could also be affected. Although HP's orders for 2012 have already been set, changes could still be made if Samsung takes over the PC business, the sources said.
AMOLED The long-anticipated growth in size and volume of AMOLED display manufacturing is finally becoming a reality, with Samsung Mobile Display's (SMD) ramp-up of the first 5.5G AMOLED fab. The company began installing equipment in its A2 factory in December 2010 and is now expected to reach maximum capacity of 80,000 substrates per month by the end of first-quarter 2012, according to DisplaySearch. This development is forecast to drive growth in AMOLED capacity from 890,000 square meters in 2011 to 2.6 million square meters in
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Software Industry QNX RFID solutions QNX Software Systems Limited, a leading supplier of operating systems and middleware for connected embedded systems, today announced that Zebra Technologies, a recognized global leader in bar code, kiosk, card, and RFID printers as well as real-time location solutions, is standardizing on the QNX(R) Neutrino(R) Realtime Operating System (RTOS) as the software platform for its portfolio of printers. The first Zebra Technologies product line to use the QNX Neutrino RTOS is the new QLn mobile printer series.
Semiconductor Industry Intel Business Intel Corp., the worlds biggest semiconductor maker, widened its global market share lead over Samsung Electronics Co. in the first half of this year, mainly due to weaker memory chip prices, a market report showed Friday. According to U.S.-based IC Insights Inc., Intels market share in semiconductors moved up 2.7 percentage points from a year earlier to 21.7 percent in the six-month period, with Samsungs numbers edging up 0.1 percentage point to 15.1 percent. The gap between the top two companies reached 6.6 percentage points from 4 percentage points in the first half of 2010, it said. IC Insights said the gap was caused by the sharp drop in dynamic random access memory (DRAM) prices that make up the bulk of earnings for Samsungs semiconductor operations. Industry sources said DRAM prices have been falling steadily in the following months since an all-time high in May 2010. Reflecting this, Intels sales, based mainly on its microprocessor business, shot up 23 percent on-year to 23.89 billion US dollars in the January-June period, while Samsungs sales gained just 9 percent to 16.68 billion US dollars.
Intels stock performance
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Price Pressure Intel Corp's PC business will face greater pricing pressure following Hewlett-Packard Co's decision to spin off its personal computers business, Nomura said and added that it expects the top chipmaker to miss its thirdquarter guidance.On Thursday, HP said it may spin off its PC business -- the world's largest -- as part of a wrenching series of moves away from the consumer market, including killing its new tablet and buying British software company Autonomy Corp for as much as $11.7 billion. Intel's PC Client group -- which caters to personal computers -- accounted for 64 percent of the chipmaker's sales last quarter, the brokerage said. It maintained its "reduce" rating on the stock and a price target of $18. Nomura said HP's lowered outlook for the second half of 2011, consistent with Dell Inc and NetApp Inc's weak forecasts, backs its view that Intel will miss its thirdquarter outlook. Last month, Intel forecast third-quarter revenue of about $14 billion, give or take $500 million.
notebook computer in the third to fourth quarter, and expects to see their prices below $999 in the fourth quarter. Intel Capital, Intel's global investment arm, will create a $300 million fund to invest in companies building hardware and software technologies for the new category of PCs known as Ultrabook. "We are working very hard to bring the Ultrabook into the main stream...the prices will come down over time," Erik Reid, Intel's PC Client Group General Manager of Mobile Platforms Division, told a press conference in Taipei on Thursday. Digital/Connected TV China Digital TV Holding Co., Ltd. (NYSE: STV) ("China Digital TV" or the "Company"), the leading provider of conditional access ("CA") systems to China's expanding digital television market, and Intel Capital, Intel Corporation's global investment organization, today jointly announced an Intel Capital investment in Beijing JoySee Technology Co., Ltd ("JoySee"), a subsidiary of China Digital TV. Established in 2011 as a subsidiary of China Digital TV, JoySee is engaged in the research and development of highdefinition (HD) smart TV/cable smart set top boxes ("STB"). The funding from Intel Capital will be used to further develop JoySee's HD smart TV and cable smart STB products, which will use Intel Atom processor CE4100 to provide end users with a highly secure and reliable HD experience. Intel Capital will appoint an authorized representative to observe on JoySee's board of directors.
Ultrabooks Intel has reportedly revealed a reference BOM (bill of materials) without assembly costs for 21mm ultrabooks at US$475-650 and 18mm models at US$493-710, according to sources at notebook makers. Intel is scheduled to meet notebook ODM partners in Taipei next week to discuss the BOM and other details pertaining to ultrabooks with an aim to control the initial selling prices of ultrabooks to below US$1,000, the sources noted. Intel will also push next-generation ultrabooks based on its 22nm Ivy Bridge CPUs in 2012 and also tout Haswell-based models in 2013, the sources indicated. Top chipmaker Intel Corp said computer makers Lenovo, Asustek and Acer will launch its new category of
Ecommerce Intel Corp.'s (INTC) venture-capital arm said Wednesday it invested a total of about $22 million in three Chinese companies covering the e-commerce sector as well as television and sensor technologies.Intel Capital said it invested in 6DXchange Inc., which 27
operates the fashion retail website Yaodian100.com; in Beijing Joysee Technology Co., a "smart TV" unit of China Digital TV Holding Co. (STV); and in Shanghai Bocom Intelligent Network Technologies Co., a maker of sensor and networking technology. The companies will use the funds for product development and market expansion, Intel Capital said. Valuations in the tech sector worldwide have risen recently, a trend that historically "almost always leads to a correction," Sodhani said, adding Intel Capital will avoid overpriced investments. Cloud Computing Given the evolution of data centers and the growing importance of cloud computing, Intel is looking to expand beyond selling just the microprocessors for servers. According to a press release last month, Intel has agreed to acquire Fulcrum Microsystems, which designs ethernet switch silicon for data centers. We estimate that the server microprocessor business constitutes about 30% to Intels stock. The company has a mammoth share of server microprocessor market, about 93%, with remaining share attributed to its rival AMD. This acquisition will help it expand into other data center avenues beyond the microprocessors. We can look at it in couple of ways.
Cedar Trail-M Platform Intel has had to push back the release date for its latest netbook platform, Cedar Trail-M, and will also delay the launch of its new Atom CPUs. Once slated for release next month, Cedar Trail-M is now expected in November, reports DigiTimes.
Cloud & Embedded Research Center Intel is opening up two research centers at Carnegie Mellon university that will develop technology around delivery of real-time information to consumer electronics aggregated from millions of cloud sources, the company said on Wednesday. Intel is investing US$30 million in the cloud and embedded computing research centers, which will focus on areas such as the analysis of "big data" -- massive amounts of online data -- and increasing the relevance of information delivered to client devices, said Intel spokeswoman Connie Brown. For example, a futuristic pair of sunglasses with Internet connectivity and a digital information handler could receive information from the Internet based on what is in sight, such as information about a person or a product on sale. Intel has invested millions in research around visual computing and security, but recently has been pouring resources into cloud research. Intel's cloud presence has largely been restricted to handling transactions at the server level, with its processors used in most data centers worldwide. Through the investment, Intel in the future hopes to become relevant on handheld and wearable devices, which are increasingly pulling more through social networks and searches.
Possible Acquisition of TI Omap Platform An analyst at Forward Concepts believes Intel may be one of several companies interested in purchasing TI's OMAP division. Although it remains unclear if Texas Instruments is even selling off its OMAP business, FC principal analyst Will Strauss says Santa Clara may ultimately be interested in combining an ARM-based applications processor with baseband technology recently acquired from Infineon Technologies.
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Samsung STT-RAM Acquisition- Grandis Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd has announced that it has bought Grandis Inc. Grandis is a spin-transfer torque random access memory (STT-RAM) vendor. Grandis will be integrated into Samsung's R&D operations focused on developing next-generation memory. Here, new semiconductor materials and structures are reviewed for their longterm commercial value.
officials at both companies. According to the paper, LG Electronics has begun manufacturing its solely-developed fourth-generation LTE, or Long-Term Evolution, chips at a chip assembly line of Samsung Electronics. The production volume is estimated at somewhere between 20,000 and 50,000 units, the paper said.
Toshiba Consolidation Toshiba Corp <6502.T>, the world's No.2 maker of flash memory, will reduce its semiconductor lineup of as many as 6,000 types in half by the end of this business year to boost efficiency, Nikkei business daily reported without citing sources. Toshiba Corp, the world's No.2 maker of flash memory, on Wednesday warned that profits in its chip business could fall short of expectations, citing weak PC sales, faltering U.S. and European economies and a higher yen.
SSD Tablet users may need more storage capacity in the future, and Samsung Semiconductor on Thursday announced it is now making its fastest solid-state drives for tablets and laptops with capacity of up to 512GB. Samsung will ship the next generation of its 2.5-inch SSD, the 830 series, in October, the company announced today. With up to 512GB of storage and support for the latest SATA 3 interface, the new drive promises to double the speed of its predecessor, the Samsung 470.
Texas Instruments Zigbee Smart Energy Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) (NYSE: TXN), the industry leader in highly integrated connectivity solutions and a Promoter member of the ZigBee Alliance, today announced that it achieved ZigBee Certified status for its ZigBee Smart Energy(TM) 1.1 standard implementation, recently introduced by the ZigBee Alliance. TI is pleased to announce the availability of its new Z-Stack(TM) 2.5.0 with support for ZigBee Smart Energy 1.1, geared towards home area networks (HAN). Proving its leadership in the development of low-power wireless applications such as industrial monitoring and control, smart metering, building automation and more, TI's ZigBee Smart Energy 1.1 29
DDR Samsung Electronics today announced the development of 32 gigabyte (GB) double data rate-3 (DDR3) registered dual Inline memory modules (RDIMMs) that use three dimensional (3D) through silicon via (TSV) package technology.
LTE Chips to LG Samsung Electronics Co. (005930.SE), the world's largest computer memory chip maker by revenue, will supply core chips to its hometown rival LG Electronics Inc. (066570.SE) for the next-generation smartphones, a local newspaper the Maeil Business Newspaper reported Thursday, citing
profile gives developers the confidence and means necessary to interoperate with various implementations. TI's ZStack 2.5.0 with ZigBee Smart Energy 1.1 is available royalty-free to all using TI's ZigBee-compliant hardware platforms.
in connected TVs, which market research firm Display Search predicts will represent 43% of the total worldwide market by 2014.
Tridents stock performance
TIs stock performance
Fingerprint content identification Audible Magic today announced that Trident Microsystems has integrated its SmartID automated content recognition system onto its digital TV (DTV) platform. Based on Audible Magics patented digital fingerprint content identification technology, the SmartID system will help Trident OEMs and ODMs and their application developers more fully capitalize on new opportunities in the emerging social TV, interactive advertising, and personalization markets.
Trident Connected TV Trident Microsystems, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRID), a leading provider of set-top box and TV semiconductor solutions, today announced its new Fusion HiDTV family of DTV system-on-chips (SoCs) designed for the next generation of Smart-TVs with 200/240Hz video frame rate capabilities running on the Android platform. The Fusion HiDTV family integrates multiple CPUs and Trident's patented MEMC technology to deliver outstanding picture quality, OpenGL 2.0 3D graphics capabilities, Android OS support, and the ability to display to 21:9 screens for a true cinematic experience. The connected home market has been driving the emergence of innovative features such as 3D-TVs and 240Hz televisions. The higher refresh rates of 240Hz TVs deliver significantly better picture quality, particularly in larger screen TVs, and 240Hz is also an essential element for delivering quality 3D content. With its new Fusion HiDTV family, Trident is well positioned to emerge as a leader
Mediatek Cooperation with Philips MediaTek Inc., a leading fabless semiconductor company for wireless communications and digital multimedia solutions today announced that the maker of Europe's second largest TV brand, Royal Philips Electronics, has adopted the use of one of its energy saving LED TV IC solutions series. MediaTek TV solutions not only support digital TV standards worldwide, but the superiority of its energy efficiency
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technology has received wide recognition from top TV brands in Europe's environmentally conscious market. From DVD players to digital TV solutions, MediaTek has been a player in European market for over seven years, with our next step being the development of a long-term and close partnership with Philips.
MStars stock performance
Silicon Laboratories Data Modem IC Silicon Laboratories Inc. (NASDAQ: SLAB), a leader in high-performance, analog-intensive, mixed-signal ICs, today announced the next generation of its widely used Si24xx ISOmodem family, offering advanced voice features, lower power, reduced BOM costs and flexible interface options for a wide range of data modem applications. The innovative Si24xx data modem ICs address the need for voice and machine-to-machine (M2M) communications for security and home automation systems, smart utility meters, set-top boxes, point-of-sale (POS) terminals and many other electronics systems that connect to the public switched telephone network (PSTN).
Mediateks stock performance
Mstar 3DTV Chips IC design house MStar Semiconductor has landed orders of single-chip solutions for 3D TVs from China-based Skyworth, according to a Chineselanguage Commercial Times report. The report did not cite its source. MStar was quoted as saying in previous reports that shipments of its TV chips would grow substantially in the second half of 2011. Shipments went flat sequentially in the second quarter due to seasonal factors. But industry observers have claimed that the company has been facing rising competition as more design firms are stepping up efforts to push their TV solutions, especially in the China market. Major rival MediaTek reportedly has secured orders for solutions for large-size TVs and 3D TVs from brands such as Sharp, Skyworth, TCL, Haier and Hisense.
Silicon Laboratories stock performance
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Gainspan Smart Energy GainSpan Corporation, a leading developer of ultra-low power embedded Wi-Fi solutions, and Our Home Spaces, supplier of energy management solutions for homeowners and developer of cloud based energy management systems, have partnered to bring a Wi-Fi-Smart Plug to market to be used for load shedding of appliances, hot water heaters as well as for control of lighting. GainSpan's GS1011M Wi-Fi module is used by the Our Home Spaces (OHS) Smart Plug allowing users to remotely control it using Wi-Fi. A demonstration of the WiFi Smart Plug using OpenADR can be seen at the Wi-Fi Smart Energy Forum, underway this week at the Hyatt Regency Chicago O'Hare and hosted by the Wi-Fi Alliance. The demonstration showcases the viability of IP-based networks and devices for the support of standard based Smart Energy applications.
Microelectronics and ALi, are expected to see their shipments of IC solutions for smart TVs and set-top boxes (STBs) remain strong in the second half of 2011 as well as in 2012 despite slowerthan-expected LCD TV shipments in the global market this year, according to industry sources. MediaTek has been stepping up its cooperation with firsttier branded TV vendors in China to expand its share in the TV solution segment in China, pointed out the sources, noting that MediaTek's shipments of TV chips in the second half of 2011 will be higher than those shipped in the first half. MStar has continued to roll out TV solutions, including high-end parts for 3D and Internet TVs, aiming not only to maintain its market leadership in China and other emerging markets but also to fend off competition from MediaTek, the sources indicated.The increasing availability of cloud computing services globally is also expected to drive up demand for smart TV and STB solutions in years ahead, the sources asserted. Silicon Tuner The transition from older-style can-type tuners to silicon TV tuners finally began to occur in 2010. Today, the top TV set manufacturers are actually putting silicon tuners directly on their main TV chassis boards and many ODMs are using can-type modules that contain silicon tuners and demodulators. In addition, mobile video services in China, Brazil, and the US are creating new growth markets for all-digital mobile tuners, which, according to new In-Stat (http://www.in-stat.com) research, will drive the value of silicon TV tuners to $750 million in 2015. By 2015, nearly 80% of all new TV sets will ship with silicon tuners built in. Silicon tuner shipments into Latin America will grow at CAGR of 30.5%. In North America, silicon tuners built into TV sets, will grow with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
Semiconductor market STB IC Market Five companies dominate the worldwide set-top box System on Chip (SoC) IC market, controlling 85 percent of the market share. The market, which was valued at $3.3 billion in 2010, is controlled by the likes of Broadcom, STMicro, Renesas, Trident, and Sigma.
Taiwanese IC Designers Most Taiwan-based IC designers are expected to see their gross margins continue to edge down in the third quarter of 2011 as demand for their products will be weaker than expected during the traditional peak season, according to industry sources. Taiwan-based IC design houses, including MediaTek, MStar Semiconductor, Novatek
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of 22.5% through 2015. Many European TV sets already include silicon TV tuners, and expected growth will push the number of units shipped to nearly 36 million in 2015. In the cable TV space, Broadcoms Full Band Capture technologies will help bring an expanding range of Internet Protocol (IP) services to consumers homes. In the satellite space, NovelSats NS-3 modulation may create a new wave of satellite services that can re-invigorate shipments for next-generation satellite set top boxes.
applications incorporate touch and orientation electronics, demand for sensors used will continue to grow. Other sensors are also seeing strong demand with demand coming from automotive, medical electronics, and security applications. Overall the sensors market reached close to $7 billion in 2010 with $6.5 million units shipped worldwide. This tracker provides vital market statistics that marketing, sales, and executives need to follow what application markets to target, market share performance, and product demand looking forward.
DRAM According to DRAMeXchange, total revenues for the global DRAM industry in the second quarter of 2011 were approximately US$8.1 billion. Although DRAM ASP (average selling price) increased slightly due to expectations of supply disruption from the Japan earthquake, ProMOS Technologies' decrease in wafer start volume and Powerchip Technology's increase of non-DRAM products caused overall revenues to decrease slightly 1.9% from the first quarter of 2011. From the market perspective, as DRAM manufacturers continued to increase output from 30nm/40nm advanced processes, DRAMeXchange predicted that in the second quarter overall chip production would show a growth of 9% from the previous quarter. However, as DRAM manufacturers were undergoing technology migration but were still in the adjustment period characterized by low yield rates, a large volume of lowgrade chips entered the spot market. As a result, spot prices were not on par with the contract market in the second quarter, falling by more than 10%.
HomePlug Alliance The HomePlug Alliance, Wi-Fi Alliance, HomeGrid Forum and ZigBee Alliance have agreed to create a Consortium for SEP 2 Interoperability. The new consortium will enable organizations whose technologies support communications over Internet Protocol (IP) to certify SEP 2 according to a consistent test plan. Recognizing that the vision of interoperable SEP 2 devices across the network will only be realized with consistent certification and interoperability testing, the Consortium is being structured as an open organization. This cooperation among alliances builds on the work of many industries to bring smart grid benefits to consumers.
Sensors The sensors market is growing faster than the overall semiconductor industry. As more and more electronics
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Service Industry Time Warner Acquisition Time Warner Cable has reached a deal to buy The Carlyle Group's cable operator Insight Communications Co for around $3 billion in cash, a source familiar with the matter said on Sunday.
Retail & Payment Industry Verifone Hypercom acquisition The Department of Justice said today that in order to complete its acquisition of Hypercom, VeriFone must divest Hypercom's U.S. point-of-sale (POS) terminals business to Gores Group private equity firm. VeriFone Systems Inc. said it has completed the acquisition of rival electronic-payment provider Hypercom Corp. after reaching a settlement with antitrust regulators to sell Hypercom's U.S. payment systems business to an entity sponsored by investment firm Gores Group LLC. VeriFone said the Hypercom acquisition will let it to expand geographically, particularly overseas, and diversify its products and services. VeriFone expects the deal to contribute $350 million in revenue and earnings of 20 cents to 25 cents per share, both excluding items, in fiscal 2012. VeriFone Systems, Inc., recently announced the completion of its acquisition of Hypercom Corporation. In connection with the closing, VeriFone and Hypercom reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, following which Hypercom divested its U.S. payment systems business to The Gores Group, LLC. "This strategic acquisition complements VeriFone's
position as a trusted, worldwide leader of the electronic payment industry," said VeriFone CEO Douglas G. Bergeron. "VeriFone plans to grow and enhance all major product lines that existed prior to completing this acquisition, bolstered with the strong VeriFone brand identity." VeriFone Systems Inc. (NYSE: PAY News) recently completed the acquisition of Hypercom Corp., one of the companys competitors. In order to get the consent of acquisition from the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ), VeriFone agreed to divest Hypercoms U.S. payment systems business to The Gores Group LLC.
Verifone stock performance
Acquisitions in emerging markets VeriFone Systems Inc. (PAY), the largest maker of credit card terminals, may spend as much as $1 billion a year on acquisitions in emerging markets and data services, Chief Executive Officer Douglas Bergeron said. The San Jose, California-based company anticipates one $500 million to $700 million deal annually, as well as several transactions of about $10 million to $20 million, he said. While Europe is VeriFones fastestgrowing region, the company is expanding elsewhere to help add share in the global mobile-payments market, which Juniper Research says may reach
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$670 billion by 2015. Retailers worldwide will buy 77 million cardpayment terminals from 2012 to 2016, up from 65 million in the prior five-year period, projects David Robertson, publisher of The Nilson Report, which tracks consumer payment systems. The San Jose, Calif.-based company is eyeing emerging markets, such as Turkey and Brazil, and is seeing investment opportunities by teaming up players, such as Google. Google Wallet enables Android phone users to link their bank accounts to their phones and use them to pay for items in the store using near-field communications.
U.S. by positioning it to accept and handle chip transactions, and securing payments through the use of dynamic card authentication. The added security features that promise to reduce the impact of card-based fraud will benefit both retailers and cardholders.
New Business models VeriFone Systems, Inc. (NYSE: PAY) today announced a new direct distribution relationship for retailers, acquirers and processors in Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Austria and Switzerland. These organizations will now be able to obtain products, services, support and value-added solutions directly from VeriFone.
Ingenicos stock performance
Acquisition of TNET in Italy Ingenico (Euronext : FR0000125346 ING), leading worldwide provider of payment solutions, today announces the acquisition of 100% of TNET Centro Servizi Monetici Srl (TNET), an Italian company specialized in technical services for payment terminals. Through this transaction, Ingenico reinforces its positioning on the Italian market, notably with banking, loyalty, petrol and retail. Ingenico Italia will thus become the largest independent company for POS related services.
Ingenico Migration to EMV Ingenico, the leading worldwide provider of payment devices and services, reacted positively to the recent announcement by VISA Inc. to accelerate the migration to EMV contact and contactless chip technology in the United States. Boasting the largest installed base of EMV-enabled terminals (over 15 million) globally, Ingenico sees the arrival of the smart card technology as the next logical step in preparing the U.S. payments ecosystem to benefit from the international interoperability and newly emerging non-traditional NFC-enabled mobile payments technology. The EMV and other next generation chip-based payment technologies will enhance the current payment infrastructure in the
Hypercom Acquisition KleinPartners Capital Corp, a private investment company, announced today that it has acquired Hypercom Spain S.A. and Hypercom UK, with Kazem Aminaee, the former President of Hypercom Europe, Middle East, and Africa.
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NCR Acquisition of Radiant Systems NCR Corporation (NYSE: NCR) today announced that it has completed its acquisition of Radiant Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: RADS) through a merger, with Radiant becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of NCR.
announced that the sale of its Technology Solutions Group (TSG) business unit has been completed. In addition, Agilysys' Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program for up to 1.6 million common shares, or approximately 7% of the Company's outstanding shares.
Agilsys stock performance
Payment Market
NCRs stock performance
NFC POS Terminal Technavio's analysts forecast the Global NFC PoS Terminal market to grow at a CAGR of 10.1 percent over the period 2010-2014. One of the key factors contributing to this market growth is the growing popularity of NFC as the preferred mode of payment by customers. The Global NFC PoS Terminal market has also been witnessing non-payment applications being offered as value-added services by vendors. However, the high cost of NFC terminals could pose a challenge to the growth of this market.
ATM services in China NCR Corporation today announced that it has secured its largest ever ATM services contract in China, as NCR continues to grow both its software and services businesses worldwide as well as its operations in emerging regions. NCR will provide hardware maintenance services for approximately 10,000 units of NCR-branded ATMs installed at the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), helping drive higher ATM availability to improve the banks customer satisfaction. The contract also is one of the largest services contract wins in the Chinese banking industry.
RFID tagging The RFID tagging of apparel is now the largest and fastest growing application of RFID in retailing, the retail supply chain and associated industries. About 100 organizations are tagging apparel in trials and rollouts. Just two - taken together - will buy 500 million tags yearly. According to new IDTechEx analysis, the systems and tag business
Agilsys Sales of Technology Solution Group Agilysys, Inc. a leading developer and marketer of proprietary enterprise software, services and solutions to the hospitality and retail industries, recently
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concerned with apparel RFID will grow at double the rate of the overall RFID market through the next ten years. The market for tagging retail apparel will grow to demand 20 billion RFID tags annually in 2021, with $1 Billion spent on RFID tags alone that year for this application. This new IDTechEx report "Apparel RFID 2011-2021" has detailed sector analysis and ten year forecasts, with 2010 figures for comparison. It gives numbers, unit prices and total market values for retail/ retail supply chain and separately for laundry/ rented apparel for the next ten years.
Transportation Industry Intelligent Transportation Market The business of intelligent transportation -- everything from traffic and transit controls to sophisticated telematic systems for connecting EVs to the smart grid -- is a quiet but growing industry poised for a boom. That's my takeaway from a new report that predicts the intelligent transport industry will grow from $48 billion in revenue in 2009 to $67 billion by 2015 in the U.S.
Mobility Vechicles IDTechEx has forecasted the growth of this market from 1.3 million mobility vehicles rising to 3.1 million in 2022. It is a smooth projection of past growth driven by both increasing age and obesity. For younger adults, the Light Electric Vehicle (LEV) partly replaces cars nowadays and work-from-home arrangements discourage car ownership. You can beat the traffic jams and save money with e-bikes (with throttle) and pedal assisted bikes. IDTechEx has forecasted a $5.9 billion global market for these as early as 2015 at ex-factory prices. A large market for hybrid electric motorcycles is also on the way.
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Energy Industry Samsung Renewable Energy The Ontario Liberal government has renegotiated its $7-billion renewable energy deal with Samsung C&T Corporation, the engineering wing of the Korean industrial giant that plans to create a wind turbine factory in Windsor, as well as other wind and solar energy projects in the province. South Korea-based Samsung C&T Corp. has signed a $3 billion (Canadian) contract to build wind and solar energy plants in Ontario. News reports said that under the terms of the contract, Samsung C&T will build 520-megawatt projects in the Haldimand and Chatham-Kent regions and 550-MW projects in Kingston and Bruce. Korea Electric Power Corp. will design the plants electrical wiring and operate the plants. Samsung C&T said the contract represents the first two steps of a fivestep plan over two decades to build and operate 2,000 MW of wind capacity and 500 MW of solar power capacity in the province. Construction is expected to begin in 2012 and be completed by 2014. In 2010, Samsung committed to invest $7 billion ($7.07 billion American) under Ontarios Green Energy Act. That investment pledge came in exchange for $110 million ($111.17 million) in subsidies over the next 25 years.
Chevrolet Volt and Opel Ampera. The two companies will work together in designing and engineering future electric vehicles, GM said. The launch of those vehicles will be announced closer to their "market readiness," GM said. "The definitive agreement signed Wednesday will help GM expand the number and types of electric vehicles it makes and sells by using LG's proven expertise in batteries and other systems," said GM in a statement for the two companies. Toshiba R&D Hub for renewable energy Toshiba Corp. (6502) and Panasonic Corp. (6752) are considering a research and development hub for renewable energy and agriculture in Fukushima, the Asahi newspaper reported today. About 20 companies have shown interest in joining the R&D hub project to be set up in two towns, Shimogo and Nishigo, west of the crippled Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant, the paper said citing consulting company A.T. Kearney. The project is intended to help develop new industries and create jobs, it said. The two towns plan to apply for the governments special zone for reconstruction to receive tax break by as early as the end of the year.
Panasonic Solar sponsorship Panasonic Corporation ("Panasonic") today announced its sponsorship of Tokai University's solar car team, the defending champion for the 2011 World Solar Challenge (WSC) in Australia, one of the largest solar-powered car races in the world. Under the sponsorship agreement, Panasonic will supply the Japanese university team with its HIT*1 solar cells boasting the world's highest level*2 of energy conversion
LG Electric Vechicles General Motors and LG Corp. will jointly develop new electric vehicles as the automaker faces stiff U.S. fuel economy standards, GM said on Thursday. The two companies are building on the relationship developed over the past several years as LG Group's LG Chem Ltd supplied batteries for GM's
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rate, as well as high-capacity lithiumion batteries. AUO Distribution of solar products AU Optronics Corporation (AUO) [NYSE:AUO] and SunWize Technologies have reached an agreement for distribution of AUOs solar PV products in North America. SunWize will distribute AUOs full line of solar PV products to its vast network of solar installers.
Cisco Smart Grid The hard-to-budge habits of the American energy consumer claimed another casualty in the smart-grid space last week as Cisco Systems decided to shut down its building energy management business. This adds Cisco Systems to the growing list of companies who tried and failed to convince energy consumers to conserve power. At the end of June, Googles PowerMeter and Microsofts Hohm similarly went the way of the stagecoach. The news was obscured by the more heavily publicized slings and arrows suffered Cisco encountered during recent months. Despite these problems, Ciscos stock price has recovered much of the ground it had previously lost as the companys performance continues to beat expectations. Cisco carved out a small corner in the equally small market for energy-management software and services after acquiring Arch Rock last year, which provided the catalyst for Ciscos Network Building Mediator and Mediator Manager products.
Foxconn Solar Energy Foxconn (Hon Hai Precision Industry) is reportedly developing cooperation with China-based polysilicon and solar wafer provider GCL-Poly and solar cell firm Hareon Solar to set up plants in Jiangsu and Shanxi with production to begin in February 2012, according to Chinabased media reports. Foxconn is looking to cooperate with GCL-Poly by co-investing in a material supplier firm to provide materials needed by Foxconn in the future, the reports claim. If Foxconn's alleged cooperation with Hareon Solar solidifies, it could mean increased competition for Taiwan-based solar cell makers. Industry sources noted the business model of combining upstream material suppliers with downstream solar cell firms is not new in China. Other Chinabased integrated solar firms such as Suntech, Yingli, Trina Solar, JA Solar and Canadian Solar have been operating with such business models, and most importantly, the firms already have strong customer bases and distribution channels. Furthermore, demand has been shifting to solar cells with higher conversion efficiencies, Foxconn needs to be able to produce such products to build its share in an already competitive market.
Ciscos stock performance
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Energy Market Taiwan-China Cooperation in solar energy As competition in the solar industry increases, many solar firms have been securing strong customer bases for survival. Market rumors indicate that some Taiwan-based solar firms have been discussing with China-based GCLPoly for closer cooperation. Taiwan's solar supply chain has been insufficient and the challenges for the solar industry have become more apparent after the recent fluctuations in demand. Solar firms have been focusing on building strong customer bases through various ways. According to industry sources, GCL-Poly is one of the leading integrated solar firms in China and has a supply chain from polysilicon production to end market systems. Hence, Taiwan-based solar firms have been eager to cooperate with GCL-Poly. Market rumors indicate that one Taiwan-based solar firm plans to set up a 500MW solar module production plant in Suzhou, and GCL-Poly will be the solar wafer supplier.
IHS. "Next year, new solar installations will reach an estimated 3.1GW, on the way to some 5.5GW by 2015. And while a downturn next year is forecast for Europe, growth will be good stateside because of healthy support from the US Department of Energy in the form of loan guarantees to help stimulate the market and help secure a lower cost of capital for large projects."
Solar Energy in US US photovoltaic (PV) installations in 2011 will rise 166 % to a total of 2.4GW, with California leading the country in the amount of power derived from renewable solar energy, according to IHS iSuppli.The number of US PV installations in 2011 is projected to climb to approximately 49,000, up from 39,000 in 2010. Of the 2.4GW in solar power expected to be installed this year, ground installations will contribute approximately 1.4GW, commercial installations 710MW, and residential installations 270MW."Thanks to the implementation of many utilityscale projects this year, the US growth rate in 2011 will be more than double the 80% expansion level of 2010, when PV installations amounted to just slightly over 900MW," said Mike Sheppard, analyst for photovoltaics at
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2011

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY REPORT

Prepared by Ferhat nlkal 9/4/2011

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY REPORT

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY REPORT

Samsungs stock performance

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY REPORT

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY REPORT

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Sonys stock performance

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY REPORT

Panasonics stock performance

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY REPORT

Toshibas stock performance

Haiers stock performance

Hitachis stock performance

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY REPORT

Foxconns stock performance

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY REPORT

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY REPORT

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HPs stock performance

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Apples stock performance

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY REPORT

Googles stock performance

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY REPORT

Ciscos stock performance

Acers stock performance

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY REPORT

HTCs stock performance

Compals stock performance

Pegatrons stock performance

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY REPORT

TPVs stock performance

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY REPORT

LG Displays stock performance

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY REPORT

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AUOs stock performance

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BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY REPORT

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY REPORT

Intels stock performance

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY REPORT

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BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY REPORT

Tridents stock performance

TIs stock performance

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MStars stock performance

Mediateks stock performance

Silicon Laboratories stock performance

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY REPORT

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY REPORT

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Verifone stock performance

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY REPORT