Toshiba has said that it will concentrate on three fields: analog, automotive and communications in 2013.

At a recent event in San Jose, California, TSMC CEO Morris Chang said that company sales will rise at a percentage in the teens this year.

Lenovo, which has maintained a small IC design team consisting of about 10 people over the last decade, is now committed to expanding this team to about 100 engineers by the middle of 2013, according to a China-based industry source with direct knowledge of the company's recruitment of chip designers.

The deal aims at building a long-term, mutually beneficial relationship between Renesas and J-Devices as strategic partners in the semiconductor production business. The two companies intend to complete the transfer on June 1, 2013.

ARM has announced that CEO Warren East has decided to retire from the company, effective 1 July 2013. Simon Segars, currently president of ARM, will become the company's new CEO.

Fab equipment spending for front-end facilities is expected to be flat in 2013, remaining around US$31.7 billion, increasing to US$39.3 billion in 2014 - a 24% increase.

"Led by continuing strength in the Americas, the global semiconductor industry has built on its momentum from the end of 2012 with an encouraging start to 2013, but ongoing economic uncertainty is holding back more robust growth," said Brian Toohey, president and CEO of Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA).

Qualcomm has announced a pair of new mobile processors designed for entry-level and mid-range smartphones. Expected in handsets later in 2013, the Snapdragon 200 and 400 balance the high-end 600 and 800 processors introduced in January.

Wireless is set to be the leading growth segment for semiconductor spending among original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in 2013, with expenditures rising by a double-digit margin to support the burgeoning markets for smartphones, tablets and mobile infrastructure gear, according to IHS iSuppli.

Cymer and ASML continue to expect the transaction to close in the first half of 2013.

As expected, Qualcomm cashed in on smartphone sales and the chipsets that go with them. In a statement, Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs said the company is positioned for strong growth courtesy of its Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 and 600 processors.

Worldwide microprocessor sales are expected to regain strength in 2013 and grow 12% to US$65.3 billion after rising just 5% in 2012 to US$58.2 billion due to weakness in standard PCs and the shaky global economy, according to IC Insights.

Just three short years after the technology's original deployment, worldwide subscribers to the 4G wireless standard known as Long Term Evolution (LTE) are projected to surpass the 100-million mark this year.

Sony has announced a new smartphone that can be used in the shower or bath without the risk of damage.

Imagination Technologies has announced that its CEO, Hossein Yassaie, has been awarded a knighthood by the Queen in Her Majesty's New Year Honours 2013.

Processors, memory, manufacturing processes, chip architecture, EDA, MEMS, RF, touch screens, servers and the Internet of Things are markets where startups can still make a difference.

or most of the last two decades personal computers have accounted for a third or more of annual IC sales, but standard PCs are now on the brink of being replaced as the largest end-use product category for ICs.

Taiwan's TSMC will produce the LG-designed chips with using a finer 28-nanometer processing technology.

ARM's market share for traditional or tablet computers will rise to "double digits" in 2013, with market share for traditional PCs alone exceeding 10% by 2015, according to Ian Drew, company executive VP for marketing and business development. Drew said the company's traditional PC market share is in single digits now.

A tectonic shift from PCs to mobile devices is remaking the DRAM market, moving a historically volatile business onto firmer, safer ground.

Gold will probably rally to a record above US$2,000 an ounce in 2013 as central banks ramp up stimulus to sustain the recovery, according to Raymond Key, London-based global head of metals trading at Deutsche Bank.

Microsoft's instant messaging and video chat are set for a major shake-up, with Microsoft announcing today that the Windows Live Messenger brand and client will be retired in the first quarter of 2013. They'll be replaced by the Skype client and Skype name everywhere, except for China, which will retain the Messenger naming.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's (TSMC) share in the 28nm contract chipmaking sector may drop from 80% to 50% next year on fierce competition from Samsung, according to research firm Topology.

A HP executive recently said that the company has decided to postpone manufacturing commercial memristor-based ReRAM products until late 2013. The company originally planned to go into production during 2Q/3Q 2013.

For the first quarter of fiscal year 2013 Infineon expects a revenue decline of up to 10% relative to the fourth quarter of the 2012 fiscal year. The management board will define and implement measures to improve profitability beyond the first quarter of the 2013 fiscal year.

"Samsung's 2013 semiconductor capex will be conducted in a very conservative way. Opinions are gathering into a significant cut in facility investment next year," a senior official at Samsung was quoted as saying.

Samsung Electronics plans to unveil the latest in its Galaxy line, the S4, at a European technology exhibition in February, according to company officials and local parts suppliers for the technology giant.

Micron Technology CEO Mark Durcan said he expects the market for chips that store files in mobile devices to improve in the first half of 2013 as manufacturers rein in supply increases.

Struggling Japanese chip firm Renesas Electronics has forecast it will make a net loss of JPY150 billion (US$1.91 billion) driven by restructuring costs for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2013, as it published sales down 11% sequentially for the first fiscal quarter, ended June 30.

RIM announced that during its most recent financial results that BlackBerry 10 would be delayed until the beginning of 2013. On top of that, RIM announced that further layoffs at the company would be necessary, with thousands of jobs already having been cut. A source speaking to Cantech Letter has now revealed that 3,000 employees at RIM will lose their jobs on August 13th.

The BCM4335 is now sampling to Broadcom's early access customers, with full production expected in the first quarter of 2013.

Sony has announced plans to invest in Sony Semiconductor's Nagasaki Technology Center from the first half of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2013 through the first half of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2014, to increase the production capacity for stacked CMOS image sensors.

As a result of the planned changes announced today, Nokia plans to reduce up to 10,000 positions globally by the end of 2013.

ARM chips made with an advanced, 20-nanometer manufacturing process could appear in smartphones and tablets by as soon as the end of next year, the head of ARM's processor division said Monday.

Micron Technology has announced development of its first fully functional DDR4 DRAM module. The company has begun sampling and has received feedback from major customers to support quick implementation for applications in 2013.

With DDR4 DRAM set to hit the market in 2013, two manufacturers took the opportunity at this year's ISSCC to demonstrate their DDR4 DRAM.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. plans to announce 3D IC assembly service as a general offering at the beginning of 2013, according to Maria Marced, president of TSMC Europe.