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NEWS & VIEWS |
Taipei,
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
12:21 (GMT+8)
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Subject: Systems > Storage, peripherals |
Taiwan market: price-cut competition for BD devices at IT Month fair Dec 1, 16:35 At the annual IT Month fair taking place in Taipei from November 29 to December 7, 2008, Taiwan-based maker Forward Electronics offers a self-produced Blu-ray Disc (BD) player and a self-produced BD-ROM drive for bundled sale at a low price of NT$12,000 (US$360), while Samsung Electronics has lowered the retail price for its BD player, BD-P1500, by 25.1% from NT$19,900 to NT$14,900. Read more |
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Pioneer showcases 16-layer 400GB optical disc Dec 1, 16:19 Pioneer is exhibiting its super multi-layer read-only optical disc which features 16 separate layers on a single side with 25GB storage capacity on each layer for a total capacity of 400GB at the IT Month fair taking place in Taipei. Read more |
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Thermaltake 4Q sales to fall short of goal, but optimistic about 2009 Dec 1, 16:11 Affected by global financial crisis, Taiwan-based chassis and cooling module maker Thermaltake expects its revenues in the fourth quarter this year will fall short of the company's original forecast, according to the company. Read more |
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Taiwan to become WTO GPA member Dec 1, 14:31 The World Trade Organization (WTO) is expected to announce on December 9 of Taiwan's accession to the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA), which will allow Taiwan exporters of goods and services to participate in government procurement market worldwide, according to Teng Cheng-chung, vice minister of Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA). Read more |
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Taiwan market: Canon launches EOS 5D Mark II Dec 1, 14:26 Canon has unveiled its DSLR (digital single-lens reflex) camera, EOS 5D Mark II, in Taiwan at a recommended retail price of NT$79,900 (US$2,399). The company aims at a 50% share of the local DSLR market in 2008, according to Canon Marketing (Taiwan). Read more |
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Cooling module maker Sunon benfiting from netbooks, says paper Newswatch - Dec 1, 14:05 Although most of current netbooks do not feature cooling design, Taiwan-based cooling module maker Sunonwealth Electric Machine Industrial (Sunon) has noted that the company has landed orders from both Acer and Asustek Computer for netbooks next year, according to a Chinese-language Commercial Times report. Read more |
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Taiwan IT makers not affected by Thailand protests Nov 28, 16:43 Although protesters have paralyzed Bangkok's air transportation, several Taiwan-based IT companies who have operations in Thailand have reported that their businesses remain unaffected. Read more |
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Optical disc makers benefit from polycarbonate price drops Nov 28, 10:38 International prices of optical-grade polycarbonate (PC) have dropped by 11-17% from US$2.8-2.9/kg in the third quarter of 2008 to US$2.4-2.5/kg in the fourth quarter due to falls in prices of crude oil, which will help Taiwan-based OEM makers of blank optical discs reduce their production costs, according to industry sources. Read more |
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Top-three Taiwan digital camera OEMs benefit as vendors look to increase production efficiency Nov 27, 16:56 As inexpensive digital cameras have been selling well worldwide, vendors have put more emphasis on ODM/OEM makers' economies of scale in an attempt to minimize production costs, according to industry sources in Taiwan. As a result, the top-three Taiwan-based makers, Foxconn, Altek and Ability Enterprise, are seeing the greatest benefits. Read more |
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Preliminary report: Taiwan digital cameras – 3Q 2008 Nov 27, 11:02
Introduction Read more |
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Preliminary report: Taiwan ODD sector – 3Q 2008 Nov 27, 10:54
Introduction Read more |
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Taiwan market: LG and Buffalo to launch new Blu-ray drives Nov 26, 14:42 LG Electronics has unveiled a network Blu-ray Disc (BD) player, a BD Combo drive and a 8x BD burner while Japan-based vendor Buffalo debuted an external 8x BD burner and internal 8x BD burner on November 25. The new BD models are to be launched in the Taiwan market at the IT Month fair scheduled for November 29-December 7, 2008 in Taipei, according to LG Electronics Taiwan Taipei (LGETT) and Buffalo Technology (Taiwan). Read more |
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Mitac International sues SingTel for alleged Mio trademark infringement Newswatch - Nov 26, 10:31 Taiwan-based Mitac International has filed a charge against Singapore Telecom (SingTel) over alleged infringement of its trademark Mio in Singapore, and the High Court of the Singapore Supreme Court held an initial hearing on November 25, according to the Chinese-language newspaper Economic Daily News (EDN). Read more |
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Taiwan PND makers face growing competition from other GPS applications Nov 25, 14:16 Taiwan-based ODM/OEM GPS PND makers are under increasing competitive pressure because various portable devices, including handsets, netbook, MIDs (Mobile Internet Devices) and digital cameras, are increasingly coming equipped with GPS navigation and/or location-based services, according to the Taiwan representative office of Switzerland-based u-blox. Read more |
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Taiwan market: Epson aims at 45% inkjet MFP share in 2008 Nov 25, 11:33 Seiko Epson has unveiled its new inkjet MFP (multi-function peripheral) model, Stylus Office TX600FW, in the Taiwan market at a recommended retail price of NT$6,990 (US$210), with aims to occupy 45% of the total sales volume of inkjet MFPs in Taiwan in 2008, according to Epson Taiwan Technology & Trading. Read more |
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Taiwan ODD shipments to continue falling in 4Q08, says Digitimes Research Nov 25, 01:25 Taiwan makers shipped 18.6 million optical disc drives (ODDs) in the third quarter, down 3% sequentially and down 17% on year, as the Taiwan sector felt the impact from the global economic downturn more acutely than its foreign competitors, according to a recent Digitimes Research report. Shipments will go further down in the fourth quarter, as no economic recovery is in sight to boost Taiwan's ODD shipments. Read more |
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Enterprise HDDs shifting from 3.5 inches to 2.5 inches in mainstream size, says Western Digital Nov 24, 16:36 The mainstream size of enterprise-grade hard disk drives (HDDs) is developing from 3.5 inches currently toward 2.5 inches because a 10,000rpm 2.5-inch HDD consumes 35% less power than a 3.5-inch one, according to Paul Martin, Western Digital (WD) senior director for Worldwide Channel Marketing and Enterprise. Read more |
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Taiwan market: Fierce competition for 2.5-inch external HDDs may lead to price war Nov 21, 17:05 In the Taiwan market, growing demand for 2.5-inch external hard disk drives (HDDs) due to increasing use of portable consumer electronics has attracted many new vendors since the second quarter of 2008, resulting in increasingly intensive competition which is on the verge of sparking a price war, according to local retail channels. Read more |
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Firich trialling low-cost POS in the US, Japan and China Nov 21, 16:39 Taiwan-based POS device maker Firich Enterprise is trialling low-cost POS products with potential clients in the US, Japan and China, according to the company. Read more |
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Waffer expects to see losses this year Nov 21, 15:20 Taiwan-based magnesium-aluminum alloy chassis maker Waffer Technology has confirmed previous reports that the company is feeling the impact of the economic downturn, saying it expects to see losses this year due to decreased notebook demand. The company said it hopes to return to profitability in 2009. Read more |
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Samsung claims best PC performance with its new 256GB SSD Nov 21, 13:28 Samsung Electronics has announced that it has begun mass producing 256GB solid state drives (SSDs) for use in notebooks and desktop PCs. With the addition of the high-speed 256GB drive, Samsung now offers SSDs in 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB for low-density designs and 64GB, 128GB and 256GB alternatives for the higher densities. Read more |
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Taiwan market: Sony to launch first 8x Blu-ray Disc burner Nov 20, 09:52 Sony will launch BWU-300S, its first model of 8x Blu-ray Disc (BD) burners, in the Taiwan market on November 29 at a recommended retail price of about NT$11,000 (US$332), according to Sony Taiwan. BWU-300S will be sold with a free Cyberlink BD editing/burning software. Read more |
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Magnesium-aluminum alloy chassis makers to be impacted by dropping notebook demand in 4Q08 Nov 20, 01:20 Demand for mid-range and high-end enterprise notebooks is expected to see a sharp drop in the fourth quarter as the dropping global economy has impacted spending among enterprises, according to sources at notebook chassis makers. Read more |
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Taiwan market: BenQ launches 10-megapixel DSCs Nov 19, 16:56 BenQ has announced the launch of two 10-megapixel digital still camera (DSC) models, E1050 and E1050t, in the Taiwan market at recommended retail prices of NT$6,990 (US$211) and NT$8,990 respectively. Read more |
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Blu-ray Disc Combo drives to go mainstream in 2009, BD burners in 2011, says Lite-On IT Nov 19, 15:12 Blu-ray Disc Combo drives will be the mainstream PC-use BD drive format in 2009 and BD burners will become the mainstream format in 2011, according to Lite-On IT. Read more |
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IC design houses look to medical applications to drive revenue growth in 2009 Nov 19, 12:16 Two Taiwan-based IC design houses, Holtek Semiconductor and Sonix Technology, have voiced optimism about the growth potential for the medical electronics market. Holtek and Sonix estimate they will see a 10% and 7-8% sales contribution from medical applications, respectively, to their total sales, according to the companies. Read more |
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Blu-ray-R disc market to reach critical mass in 2009, says Ritek Nov 19, 01:20 Blu-ray Disc-R (BD-R) discs are expected to reach a crucial market size of 20 million units in 2009 that will give the format momentum for sharp growth thereafter, according to Ritek, one of Taiwan's leading optical disc makers. Read more |
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TSMC reportedly invests in Accton subsidiary, eyeing SiP-module market Nov 18, 15:27 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has reportedly invested in Taiwan-based Aiconn, a subsidiary of network-equipment maker Accton Technology, via the foundry's venture capital affiliate VentureTech Alliance. Industry sources have speculated that TSMC is looking to enter the wireless SiP (system in package) module market due to growing demand for portable consumer and wireless connectivity devices. Read more |
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Kodak says Samsung and LG cameraphones infringe its digital camera patents Nov 18, 11:29 Eastman Kodak announced that it has filed complaints against Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and other related entities for infringement of Kodak patents. The Kodak actions specifically allege that Samsung and LG camera phones infringe Kodak digital camera patents. The patents in question cover technology related to image capture, compression and data storage and a method for previewing motion images. Read more |
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Lite-On IT dismisses layoff rumors Nov 18, 10:35 Rumors have spread that Lite-On IT, the largest Taiwan-based maker of optical disc drives (ODDs), will downsize its personnel by 5-10% and reduce salaries for its high-level executives to cope with the worldwide economic depression. Read more |
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Taiwan IC distributor Koryo sees positive order visibility Nov 17, 16:42 IC distributor Koryo Electronics recorded after-tax profits of NT$10.44 million (US$315,000) in October, the highest for 2008. Orders placed by its major notebook customers have not been affected by the industry downturn, according to the company, adding that profit contributors also included micro-controller unit (MCU) and MOSFET product lines. Read more |
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Nanya DDR2 800MHz ready for AMD 45nm CPUs Nov 17, 11:50 Nanya Technology has announced that shipments of the company's 800MHz DDR2 registered dual in-line memory module (RDIMM) designed specifically for the new quad-core AMD Opteron processors have begun. Read more |
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KWorld TV tuner card to use Lamborghini brand Nov 14, 15:36 KWorld Computer, a Taiwan-based maker of TV tuner cards/sticks, on November 13 unveiled UB385-T, a DVB-T (digital video broadcasting-terrestrial) TV stick model under design licensing from Tonino Lamborghini, for sale under its brand KWorld at US$70, according to KWorld. Read more |
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Microsoft PlayFX wins adoption amid top digital music player vendors in China Nov 13, 15:23 Microsoft began cooperating with Fuzhou Rockchip Electronics, a China-based multimedia IC design house, in 2007 in order to promote its self-developed sound enhancement solution PlayFX. As a result Fuzhou Rockchip integrated PlayFX technology into its audio-processing SoC (system-on-chip) solutions which have been widely adopted among more than 10 leading own-brand digital music player vendors in China, according to industry sources in Taiwan. Read more |
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Lite-On IT offers digital photo frame with built-in scanner Nov 13, 14:03 Lite-On IT, on November 12, unveiled Memoir, a 8-inch digital photo frame featuring a built-in scanner, for sale in Taiwan and overseas markets under its new brand Skyla. Shipments will begin later in November, according to the company. Memoir is the first scanning-enabled digital photo frame to be launched worldwide, Lite-On IT claimed. Read more |
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Global IT spending will grow in 2009, but not by much, says IDC Nov 13, 11:37 Worldwide spending on information technology will slow significantly in 2009 as a direct result of the global financial crisis that began in September 2008. According to a newly revised forecast from IDC, worldwide IT spending will grow 2.6% year over year in 2009, down from IDC's pre-crisis forecast of 5.9% growth. In the United States, IT spending growth is expected to be 0.9% in 2009, much lower than the 4.2% growth forecast in August. Read more |
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Delta reportedly forming strategic alliance with LED player Nov 13, 01:15 Taiwan-based power supply unit (PSU) maker Delta Electronics is reported to have formed a strategic alliance with Taiwan-based LED player Lustrous. Delta will invest to take an around 10% stake in the LED company. Read more |
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Sunrex and Chicony expect keyboard shipments in 4Q08 to hold level, says paper Newswatch - Nov 12, 16:05 Taiwan-based notebook keyboard supplier Sunrex Technology expects its keyboard shipment sin the fourth quarter this year to maintain at 13-14 million units, the same level as in the third quarter. 15-18% of shipments will be for netbooks, according a Chinese-language Apply Daily report. Read more |
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Quanta might cut component orders to Foxconn, says paper Newswatch - Nov 12, 15:47 Due to Foxconn Electronics' (Hon Hai Precision Industry's) aggressive deployment into the notebook OEM market, including taking orders for Apple's MacBooks from Quanta Computer, Quanta is considering canceling part of its component orders to Foxconn, according to a Chinese-language Economy Daily News (EDN) report citing a report by JP Morgan. Read more |
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Paragon expects to see on-quarter revenues growth in 4Q08 Nov 11, 15:32 Taiwan-based sputtering solution specialist Paragon Technologies expects consolidated revenues in the fourth quarter this year to grow 5-10% on quarter, according to the company. Read more |
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Synnex October revenues down from September Nov 11, 14:57 Synnex Technology International, the largest 3C (computer, communication, consumer electronics) channel distributor in Taiwan, reported consolidated revenues of NT$15.38 billion for October, representing a drop of 20.5% from the record high level the company posted in September but up 13.4% on year. Read more |
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Taiwan digital camcorder maker Aiptek to spin off ODM/OEM business Nov 11, 14:47 Taiwan-based digital video camcorder (DVs) and digital camera maker Aiptek International will spin off its ODM/OEM manufacturing business as a wholly owned subsidiary (not yet named in English) in order to focus operations on own-brand marketing, according to a company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE) on November 10. Read more |
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Phison: Easing inventory to help improve 4Q profits, despite negative outlook for NAND flash market Nov 11, 11:45 NAND flash controller IC design house Phison Electronics will see sequentially-improved profits in the fourth quarter of 2008, buoyed by easing low-priced inventory plus currency exchange gains from its non-core business sector, according to company general manager Khein-Seng Pau. Phison expects recovery to take place progressively from this quarter, noted Pau, adding that the company will concentrate on contribution from its new-technology product line. Read more |
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Lite-On IT, Quanta Storage see October consolidated revenues down on month Nov 11, 11:26 Lite-On IT and Quanta Storage, the top two Taiwan-based ODM/OEM makers of optical disc drives (ODDs), have both reported consolidated revenues for October 2008, with both companies seeing sequential declines. Read more |
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Record sales for Foxconn and its subsidiary in October Nov 11, 01:15 Despite a weakening global economy, Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) and company subsidiary Foxconn Technology reported October sales that beat market expectations and hit respective company records. Read more |
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Blu-ray player prices may drop to US$150-200 range for holiday season, says ABI Research Nov 10, 16:57 The need for healthy holiday sales in a bear market, competitive pressure from movie download services, and media speculation about the future success of the Blu-ray format itself has resulted in falling Blu-ray Disc (BD) player prices across a range of current and older models, according to ABI Research. Read more |
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Taiwan PSU makers saw on-month drop in October Nov 10, 16:39 With the power supply unit (PSU) sector being impacted by a weak global economy, Taiwan-based PSU makers Delta Electronics and Lite-On Technology both saw October sales drop. Read more |
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Foxconn to issue up to NT$12 billion convertible bonds Nov 10, 16:38 Foxconn Electronics' (Hon Hai Precision Industry's) board of directors has approved the issuance of unsecured convertible bonds to raise up to NT$12 billion (US$365.63 million) in funding, according to the company. Read more |
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Taiwan digital camera makers Altek and Ability suffer drops in October revenues Nov 10, 14:48 Taiwan-based ODM/OEM digital camera makers Altek and Ability Enterprise recently reported revenues for October 2008, with respective figures slipping on month and on year. Read more |
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Ritek October revenues up slightly on month Nov 10, 14:42 Optical disc maker Ritek has reported revenues of NT$1.221 billion (US$37.3 million) for October 2008, rising by 0.91% on month but decreasing 6.18% on year. Revenues for January-October 2008 stood at NT$11.006 billion, dropping by 32.59% on year. Read more |
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