http://www.digitimes.com DIGITIMES English version providing daily news about Asia's IT industry en-us Copyright 2012 DIGITIMES Inc. Wed, 16 May 2012 08:50:49 GMT 240 131 62 http://www.digitimes.com/ http://www.digitimes.com/images/NewWLogo.gif Wed, 16 May 2012 08:47:51 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120516PD204.html Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) has announced a second phase of subsidies for consumer electronics, with a total budget of NT$700 million (US$23.7 million), that will last three months starting May 17 to August 16, 2012. The subsidies are mainly for energy-saving consumer electronics such as air conditioning systems, TVs, and 30-inch and larger displays. Displays Wed, 16 May 2012 08:28:30 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120516PR205.html After suffering a temporary dip in market share in the fourth quarter of 2011, Apple's iOS is expected to reassert its leadership of the worldwide tablet space in 2012, according to an IHS iSuppli Worldwide Tablet Market Tracker report from information and analytics provider IHS. IT + CE Wed, 16 May 2012 08:24:00 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120516PR204.html Nvidia has unveiled a new family of Tesla GPUs based on the Nvidia Kepler GPU computing architecture, which, according to the company, makes GPU-accelerated computing easier and more accessible for a broader range of high performance computing (HPC) scientific and technical applications. IT + CE Wed, 16 May 2012 08:06:19 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120515PD218.html Ledtech reported that its LED lighting revenues in April were at an all-time high and is expected to grow even more in May with the possibility of its gross margin reaching 50% for the year.
]]> LED Wed, 16 May 2012 08:04:51 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120516PD206.html The local government of Chongqing, western China, has offered financial prizes of CNY150 million (US$23.8 million) in total to encourage notebook shipments, with a recipient required to have monthly shipments in May or June 2012 exceeding shipments in any month in January-April, according to sources from Taiwan-based supply chain makers. IT + CE Wed, 16 May 2012 08:01:01 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120516PD211.html Ardentec, a Taiwan-based provider of wafer and mixed-signal IC testing services, has received increasing orders for logic IC testing including MCUs, controllers and application processors, according to the company. Bits + chips Wed, 16 May 2012 07:58:39 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120516PD207.html Foxconn Technology on May 15 released its financial report for the first quarter of 2012, recording consolidated revenues of NT$20.82 billion (US$705 million), gross margin of 14.16%, net operating profit of NT$1.79 billion, net profit of NT$2.54 billion and net EPS of NT$2.16. IT + CE Wed, 16 May 2012 07:53:19 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120516PR202.html Lighting Science Group, an LED lighting company, recently joined Washington DC Mayor Vincent C Gray and officials from the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) and the Department of the Environment (DDOE) to celebrate the completion of the first phase of the relighting project that will save the city tens of thousands of dollars each year in energy costs. Part of the mayor's larger vision for a sustainable DC, Lighting Science Group's energy-efficient, long-lasting street lights have replaced old, inefficient lights and will cut the district's annual carbon dioxide emissions by 719 tons.
]]> LED Wed, 16 May 2012 07:42:44 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120515PD210.html Billion Products said it will be producing a series of high pressured LED drivers that will meet the technical demands of the Taiwan government's so-called "CNS 15233" project to replace street lighting fixtures with LED lighting. LED Wed, 16 May 2012 07:26:27 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120516PD208.html Given that spot market prices for 2Gb DDR3 chips are currently hovering over US$1.05, contract prices for commodity DRAM parts are set to rise 5-10% in March, according to industry sources. Bits + chips Wed, 16 May 2012 07:23:03 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120515PD209.html Taiwan-based LCD panel makers may have to wait till the third or fourth quarter before returning to quarterly profits, lagging their Korean competitors. Displays Wed, 16 May 2012 07:18:40 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120516PD210.html There were 60.40 million large-sized TFT-LCD panels shipped globally in April 2012, decreasing 1.4% on month, according to WitsView. Displays Wed, 16 May 2012 07:06:11 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120514PD201.html Thin-film solar products have been marginalized since the price of mainstream silicon-based solar products has fallen drastically in the past year. Before, when the ratio of solar modules and balance of system (BOS) for mainstream silicon-based solar PV systems was 1:2, thin-film solar PV systems were considered more competitive on the per watt basis. However, as the ratio turns to 3:1, thin-film solar products have lost their edge, said industry sources.
]]> Green energy Wed, 16 May 2012 07:02:08 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120516PD200.html Microelectronics Technology (MTI), a Taiwan-based maker of satellite and microwave communication devices, on May 15 signed with an international networking solution vendor for the supply of next-generation outdoor IP-based radio equipment used in LTE and small cell backhaul solutions, with shipments to begin in June 2012, according to the company. This is MTI's second order for such equipment. Mobile + telecom Wed, 16 May 2012 06:47:05 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120516PR200.html The market for DRAM is expected to partially reverse the drastic losses it incurred in 2011 and achieve revenue growth in 2012, as the result of balanced supply and demand following the exit of major manufacturer Elpida Memory, according to IHS iSuppli. Bits + chips Wed, 16 May 2012 06:15:01 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120516PD201.html An array of new smartphones launched by HTC, Samsung Electronics and Nokia as well as by local brands in China in the second quarter of 2012 will help ramp up revenue growth at Taiwan-based IC design houses in May-June and possibly into the third quarter, according to industry sources. Bits + chips Wed, 16 May 2012 06:04:45 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120516VL201.html NXP led the 2011 market for near-field communication (NFC) phone chips with a 52% share, followed by Inside Secure with 44%. The pair took a combined 96% share of the market, leaving only 4% for all remaining players. Bits + chips Wed, 16 May 2012 03:34:42 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120516VL200.html Providers of information technology services in the Taiwan market generated total revenues of NT$35 billion (US$1.17 billion) during the second half of 2011, growing by 7.1% on year, according to IDC Taiwan.
]]> IT + CE Wed, 16 May 2012 03:17:24 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120515PD206.html Taiwan home appliance brands can expect to see revenues improve in the second quarter as Taiwan's government is about to issue its second wave of subsidiaries for electronic products. Displays Wed, 16 May 2012 02:54:24 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120515PR205.html NTL Electronics India recently announced sales of 2.19 million LED lamps for nine months within 2011-2012. LED Wed, 16 May 2012 02:46:36 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120515PR206.html Luminus Devices recently announced its Certified Solutions Partner Program, which assists customers in integrating Luminus LEDs into product designs. The network of independent partners provides expertise in optical, electrical, thermal, light engine development and production, thereby reducing product development cycle time and expense, while accelerating speed to market, the company said. Companies around the world are now certified by Luminus as having the technical capability and experience to deliver quality solutions to its customers. LED Wed, 16 May 2012 02:43:10 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120515PR207.html Carsem, a provider of turnkey packaging and test services to the semiconductor industry, announced that they are now entering a partnership with a key customer to assemble and further develop LED packaging technologies. LED Tue, 15 May 2012 17:35:00 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120515PD217.html The ex-factory price of LED light bulbs has been falling to US$1/W, according to Jason Wu, chairman of Taiwan-based high-power LED packaging firm Edison Opto. A continuous fall in LED light bulb costs has been stimulating demand. The price of Everlight's 8W LED light bulb has fallen to NT$299/unit (US$10.13/unit).
]]> LED Tue, 15 May 2012 17:30:00 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120515PD215.html China-based TFT-LCD panel maker BOE plans to build its second 8.5G plant in Hefei, China. BOE has one 8.5G plant in Beijing. Industry sources noted that BOE plans to use half of the 8.5G plant capacity for Oxide TFT and half for TFT LCD. Displays Tue, 15 May 2012 17:25:00 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120515PD214.html One member of Chi Mei Corporation's board of directors (a subsidiary of the Chi Mei Group) and two supervisors simultaneously resigned their positions at LCD panel maker Chimei Innolux (CMI) on May 15, 2012. The motion will be effective from June 28. This means the conflict between the two biggest shareholders of CMI, Chi Mei Group and Foxconn (Hon Hai), has finally come to an end. Displays Tue, 15 May 2012 17:20:00 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120515PD216.html Ko Ja (Cayman), a Taiwan-based maker of membrane touch switches (MTS) mainly used in notebook keyboards, will establish a factory in Chongqing, western China, with production to kick off in the second quarter of 2013, according to company chairman Lin Chih-feng. IT + CE Tue, 15 May 2012 17:15:00 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120515PD213.html Walton Advanced Engineering, a Taiwan-based provider of memory IC packaging/testing services, is expected to see revenues for the second quarter of 2012 increase 15-20% on quarter mainly because of strong demand for specialty DRAM and mobile DRAM, according to industry sources.
]]> Bits + chips Tue, 15 May 2012 17:10:00 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120515PD212.html Wah Lee Industrial, a Taiwan-based distributor of electronic materials, has obtained growing orders for silicon wafers, photo resist and other materials used by wafer foundries arising from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's (TSMC) and United Microelectronics Corporation's (UMC) full utilization of advanced foundry processes, according to industry sources. Bits + chips Tue, 15 May 2012 17:05:00 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120515PR204.html AMD has announced the launch of its second-generation AMD A-series accelerated processing units (APUs) for mainstream and ultra-thin notebooks, all-in-one PCs and traditional desktops, home theater PCs and embedded designs. IT + CE Tue, 15 May 2012 17:00:00 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120515PD211.html Holy Stone Enterprise, a Taiwan-based supplier of multi-layer ceramic capacitors, is increasing in-house production from 33% of its total revenues currently to a target of 40% in the second half of 2012, according to the company. Bits + chips Tue, 15 May 2012 08:40:23 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120515PD202.html Global Mobile, a WiMAX operator in the northern Taiwan region, has revealed it will launch the HTC EVO Shift, a WiMAX smartphone customized for the carrier, in late May. Mobile + telecom Tue, 15 May 2012 08:35:35 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120515PD200.html Mirle Automation, a Taiwan-based maker of panel production and industrial automation equipment, is talking with China-based makers of TFT-LCD panels about orders for equipment used in 5G, 6G and 8G production lines, according to industry sources. Displays Tue, 15 May 2012 08:33:15 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120515PB200.html Apex Circuit International, a Thailand-based PCB maker listed in the Taiwan stock market, posted net earnings per share (EPS) of NT$1.79 for the first quarter of 2012, the highest among all listed PCB makers, according to Chinese-language newspaper Commercial Times.
]]> Bits + chips Tue, 15 May 2012 08:31:21 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120515PD205.html The Germany government's solar feed-in tariff (FIT) reductions, which took effect on April 1, may have to be revised because Germany Bundesrat (Federal Council) last week did not consent to the cuts. Green energy Tue, 15 May 2012 08:27:36 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120515PD208.html HTC is confident of returning to the status of the largest smartphone vendor in the Taiwan market in the second quarter of 2012 with the launch of HTC One series models, according to HTC North Asia president Jack Tong. Mobile + telecom