LG Display Co., the world's second-largest maker of liquid crystal display (LCD) panels, reported Thursday a third straight quarterly operating loss for the second quarter as consumers held back TV purchases on an uncertain economic outlook.

Global sales of LCD televisions this year will be well below earlier market estimates of 220 million units, flat-screen maker LG Display's chief executive said, due to economic uncertainty.

Japanese consumer electronics giant Sharp Corporation and Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry Ltd - more famously known for its subsidiary Foxconn which manufactures some of the world's most popular products including the iPhone and iPad for Apple, as well as the Playstation 3 (PS3) for Sony - have joined forces to cut the costs of LCD TV panel supply. Both parties hope that this alliance will enable them to compete more effectively against South Korean rivals like Samsung and LG.

That Apple is making a follow-up to the iPad 2 is no surprise. That it might be sourcing one of the most important components from a company it's currently involved in a massive legal spat with makes for an interesting story.

Samsung Electronics and LG Display, the world's two largest makers of liquid crystal displays (LCDs), are close to securing big orders from Apple, industry sources said.

LG is seeking to prevent the importation of Osram LED products into Korea, while the ITC has agreed to investigate Osram's complaints against both LG and Samsung. Meanwhile, Nichia has filed a lawsuit against a DIY retailer in Germany.

South Korean consumer electronics giant LG Electronics has slashed its forecast for 2011 smartphone sales as the company struggles to compete against aggressive giants like HTC, Samsung and Apple.

Chipmaker Wolfson Microelectronics has lost a quarter of its value after it warned on profits after customers sold fewer products than expected and delayed new launches. The company supplies chips for smartphones and tablets for the likes of Samsung, LG and Research in Motion (but crucially, not Apple).

Siemens lightbulb unit Osram is suing the Samsung and LG groups of companies for alleged infringement of patents on light emitting diodes (LED) technology, the German group said on Monday.

The 3D technology seems to be catching the fancy of one and all and the current financial year will be the year of reckoning, believes LG.

HTC, Samsung, LG, Motorola and Sony Ericsson drove Android shipments in the first quarter, with each vendor shipping well over three million devices, said Canalys Principal Analyst Pete Cunningham.

South Korea's LG Electronics has diversified chip suppliers for home appliance products to Hynix Semiconductor and Panasonic away from Toshiba after Japan's devastating earthquake last month.

South Korea's LG Chem on April 6 completed what it described as the world's largest battery plant for electric cars and vowed to become a major producer by 2015. The company said the factory in Ochang, south of Seoul, has enough capacity to produce lithium-ion batteries for 100,000 of the green autos a year.

ZTE and Huawei both entered the ranks of the world's top 10 mobile phone manufacturers last year. ZTE, ranked fourth, saw its global market share rise from 2.3% in 2009 to 3.7% last year, while third-ranked LG Electronics' global market share slipped from 10.1% to 8.4%.

The company didn't even come close to its 2010 mobile phone target of 140 million units, shipping only 116.7 million, which was down slightly from the previous year.