The use of tablet computers among Australian businesses is set to increase by at least 50% in the next 12 months, according to a new survey from market research group Roy Morgan. However, some industries continue to drag their feet.

For a limited time, and while supplies last, Best Buy has the refurbished Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 tablet for US$126.99 shipped, plus sales tax where applicable.

There is no question that Microsoft's computing empire is in trouble. In 2008 Microsoft's Windows OS ran on 95% of all computing devices. According to Forrester estimates, Microsoft Windows software now runs on about 30%.

Admitting it was a mistake to launch the first BlackBerry tablet without native email or sufficient apps, chief Thorsten Heins told the Australian Financial Review he wouldn't want to repeat those errors, but will be aiming for profits.

China, forecast to become the largest solar-power market this year, may abolish subsidy programs for some of its largest projects and target the money instead to smaller ones, an industry official said.

STMicroelectronics and Ericsson have agreed to split up their unprofitable ST-Ericsson chip venture after failing to find a buyer for the business, cutting about 1,600 jobs as they divide the assets.

According to the security company Sophos, techie types are carrying more devices with them at all times. Looking at 2,226 users worldwide, they found that Germans carried the most devices with 3.1 per person. The next was the US, with a round 3.0 devices per person and last was Australia at 2.6 per person. This equates a (very roughly) global average of 2.9 devices, though the highest they found was a whopping 12 devices.

A Gartner analyst believes the opportunities for companies in phablets category might not be huge, as they might be thinking.

If ever there was a piece of technology that promised so much, yet failed so miserably, it is the universal remote. Year after year we were introduced to newer, more advanced remotes, each touted as the device that would end the angst we had endured for ages. Instead, these devices inevitably presented a new set of problems, along with further confirmation that it wasn't the equipment, but the approach that was flawed.

Each time in recent years that the Federal Reserve has paused in its efforts to stimulate the economy, it has come to regret the decision as premature.

"We are proud to say that the newest Snapdragon 600 processor is at the heart of the GALAXY S 4 in select regions," Qualcomm said in a blog post.

Seven O-S-D product categories and device groups reached record-high sales in 2012 compared to 14 new records being set in 2011.

The trustee administering US$541 million in bonds from Suntech Power sent the solar company a notice of default yesterday as the deadline to redeem the notes passed, a person familiar with the matter said.

Suntech Power Holdings said it didn't make a required payment on US$541 million of bonds that matured Friday.

Microsoft has sold about 1.5 million Surface devices, people with knowledge of the company's sales said, a slow start in its bid to crack the fast-growing tablet market to make up for slumping personal-computer demand.

There used to be a clear divide: Taiwanese contract manufacturers made the well-known tablets like Apple Inc.'s AAPL +0.97%iPad, while Chinese companies made imitations for little-known brands. But with Hewlett-Packard Co.'s HPQ +2.86%newest device, the line is blurring, a sign Chinese companies are becoming more serious competitors.

Research and development of flexible display screens has been a growing trend amongst consumer electronics manufacturers attempting to commercialize the technology. The market prospects look promising for the prospective players in the flexible display screen devices ecosystem.

The International Touch Panel and Optical Film Exhibition 2013 (Touch Taiwan 2013), one of the most important exhibitions for the display and touch panel industry in Asia, is scheduled to be held Aug. 28-30 in Taipei, the event organizers recently said.

The EUR11.8 million (US$15 million) pan-Europe NEWLED project is aiming to develop a new generation of 50-60% energy efficient white light-emitting LED lights, which would be more than twice as efficient as existing LED-based bulbs.

It was a record year for solar installations in the US in 2012, boosting an industry still struggling with consolidation and bankruptcies.

Cadence Design Systems has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Tensilica, a leader in dataplane processing IP, for approximately US$380 million in cash.

In a rare interview a day before Samsung Electronics's launch of a new flagship smartphone, Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller on Wednesday played down the expected competition from the device. He also discussed how he believes products that run Google's Android software, such as Samsung's phone, are inferior to Apple's iPhone.