Carmakers emerging from a savage crisis hope to lure drivers to electric cars in the coming years, but cost, range and safety considerations mean many are still cautious, holding back from predicting an early sales boom.

Kingston has announced it will replace certain secure USB flash drives with new units designed with an improved security architecture. It was notified in December by a third-party security consulting firm that certain models contained a potential security flaw.

Vendors were hit hard by the downturn. 2010 looks better, but fab tool makers still face a number of challenges.

"We didn't buy immersion from Nikon according the filing. We still buy from ASML...

Having recently completed the acquisition of Singapore's Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing, Globalfoundries is expected to launch the new, combined entity this week.

Answer: Yes and no.

Kingston Technology is recalling certain models of its DataTraveler secure USB flash drives in order to update firmware on the drives after a security company found a flaw that could allow a hacker to gain access to a user's password.

Seeking to claim a generous share of the e-reader chip market, Texas Instruments will try to entice prospective e-reader OEMs with a chip set and software that the company claims will reduce the size and increase the battery life of e-book mobile devices.

For years, TSMC has primarily used ASML as its lithography vendor. But in a surprise move, TSMC has procured a new 193nm immersion lithography scanner from Nikon.

A recent research by SEMI indicates China is committed to narrow the gap between its IC production and consumption. "In addition to investments in the macro economy, the Chinese government also remains the biggest investor in the semiconductor industry in China..."

Tessera Technologies, which licenses miniaturization technology for electronic devices, has said its fourth-quarter revenues were going to fall below its previous guidance due to lower royalties.

Globalfoundries will initially provide Qualcomm with access to 45nm LP and 28nm LP technologies with an intended collaboration on future advanced process nodes.

The world's largest manufacturer of computer memory chips and flat screen TVs has predicted an operating profit of up to US$3.44 billion for the fourth quarter of 2009 after racking up its first ever loss a year earlier. It did not give a net profit estimate.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) government is mulling plans to buy a stake in South Korea's Hynix Semiconductor, according to Dow Jones.

Citing the fab tool recovery, Barclays Capital has raised its immersion lithography unit shipment estimate from 95 units to 105 units for 2010.

MO-300 defines the dimensions, layout and connector position for very small form factor (50.8x29.85mm) SSDs with the new mini-SATA interface connector. Supporting 1.5Gb/s and 3.0Gb/s data transfer rates, the mSATA connector is designed especially for netbooks and other portable electronics devices.

Flash memory vendor Spansion Inc. Thursday (Dec. 31) reported its first quarterly profit since going public—despite declining sales—and said it plans to emerge from bankruptcy early in 2010.

Copper on the London Metal Exchange traded above US$7,300 a tonne on Wednesday (Dec. 30, 2009) - its highest level since September 2008.

Semiconductor makers must take the lead in evolving the tools and business processes that allow the electronics industry to benefit from the efficiency improvements and risk reduction associated with truly collaborative supply chain management.

"The ITC affirmed the validity of our asserted patents. We are disappointed, however, with the determinations regarding our infringement methodology and patent exhaustion," said Tessera CEO. "We will have an opportunity to appeal this ruling..."

South Korea's antitrust agency on Dec. 30, 2009 said it has found no evidence to back allegations that makers of flash memory chips were engaged in international price fixing, after investigating the issue for nearly three years.

The lawsuit, initiated by Infineon in November 2008, focus on 14 patents related to super-junction power transistors along with trench power MOSFETs and IGBT power transistors.

Lee Kun-hee is to be pardoned so he can return to the International Olympics Committee and help South Korea's bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics. The former chairman of Samsung was convicted of embezzlement and tax evasion.

Stock market insiders say Samsung Electronics will easily achieve an operating profit of more than two trillion won (US$1.71 billion) and Hynix of more than 600 billion won for the quarter.