http://www.digitimes.com DIGITIMES English version providing daily news about Asia's IT industry en-us Copyright 2013 DIGITIMES Inc. Tue, 21 May 2013 08:37:44 GMT 240 131 62 http://www.digitimes.com/ http://www.digitimes.com/images/NewWLogo.gif Tue, 21 May 2013 08:00:44 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130521PD211.html BenQ Materials, a subsidiary of AU Optronics (AUO) that largely focuses on producing polarizer products, expects its performance to improve on quarter during the second quarter 2013, according to industry sources. Displays Tue, 21 May 2013 07:54:11 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130521PR204.html A slowdown in notebook and desktop PC purchases coupled with strong growth in smartphones and tablets knocked AMD down to fourth place in microprocessor (MPU) sales in 2012 from second, where AMD had been perched behind Intel since the 1990s, according to IC Insights.
]]> Bits + chips Tue, 21 May 2013 07:42:42 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130521PD208.html Innolux may ship as high as one million touch on display (TOD) panel modules in 2013, according to industry sources. Displays Tue, 21 May 2013 07:26:39 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130521PD210.html TV panel pricing is expected to drop in the second half of May due to a slowdown in demand for TVs in the market, according to research firm WitsView. Displays Tue, 21 May 2013 07:22:46 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130521VL202.html In the China market, third-party e-payment services generated total sales transaction value of CNY1.253 trillion (US$201.2 billion) in first-quarter 2013, rising 3% on quarter and 64.9% on year, according to China-based consulting company Analysys International. IT + CE Tue, 21 May 2013 07:09:54 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130521VL201.html Providers of online advertising services in the China market generated total revenue of CNY18 billion (US$2.89 billion) during the first quarter of 2013, falling 14.5% on quarter but growing 28.3% on year, according to China-based consulting company Analysys International. IT + CE Tue, 21 May 2013 06:47:28 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130521PD205.html Packaging and testing firms Chipbond Technology and ChipMOS Technologies both expect orders for large-size LCD driver ICs to pull in during the second half of 2013 on booming demand for Ultra HD TVs. Bits + chips Tue, 21 May 2013 06:44:21 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130521PD204.html Touch screen controller IC vendors Elan Microelectronics and Egalax-empia Technology (EETI) have both seen their clients step up purchases of touch controller ICs for Haswell-based notebooks and ultrabooks, according to industry sources.
]]> Bits + chips Tue, 21 May 2013 06:40:53 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130521PD209.html TPK's market share for touch screen solutions used in notebook products is expected to drop to below 50% in the second quarter of 2013, according to industry sources. Displays Tue, 21 May 2013 04:28:35 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130521PR202.html AU Optronics (AUO) is participating in Display Week 2013, held by SID (Society for Information Display) in Vancouver from May 19-24. AUO's R&D team has submitted 13 papers to SID's Technical Symposium, including the paper debut of what it claims is the world's largest 65-inch Full HD OLED TV panel. Displays Tue, 21 May 2013 03:56:12 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130521PD201.html Seven main Taiwan-based networking/communication device makers saw the average ratio of pre-tax profit to R&D expenditure continually decline from 0.87 for 2010 to 0.45 for first-quarter 2013, their financial reports have shown. Mobile + telecom Tue, 21 May 2013 03:48:06 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130521VL200.html Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) approved 960 foreign direct investment projects (except from China) totaling US$1.558 billion in January-April 2013. The number of projects increased 34.08% on year but the value decreased 14.80%. Bits + chips Tue, 21 May 2013 03:38:45 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130521PD202.html Gallium arsenide (GaAs) wafer foundry Win Semiconductors expects to post double-digit revenue growth in 2013 thanks to its complete product portfolio and broader client base. Bits + chips Tue, 21 May 2013 03:35:57 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130520PD214.html LED epitaxial wafer and chip maker Epistar expects LED applications to account for 30% of total revenues in third-quarter 2013, up from the current 20-25%, due to increasing demand.
]]> LED Tue, 21 May 2013 02:42:10 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130521PR200.html Global revenues for LED driver ICs used in general lighting applications will more than triple from 2012 to 2015, as the market for solid-state illumination booms, according to IMS Research. Bits + chips Mon, 20 May 2013 14:50:54 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130520PD217.html A report has claimed that Samsung Electronics' combined production of chips using advanced 32/28nm process technologies accounted for roughly 50% of the global production of the same class chip foundry in the first quarter of 2013. Bits + chips Mon, 20 May 2013 13:55:18 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130520PD218.html Seeing the notebook industry suffering from weak demand, Taiwan-based keyboard maker Chicony Electronics has turned to its non-notebook businesses such as external keyboards and camera modules for tablets, for further growth in 2013. IT + CE Mon, 20 May 2013 13:46:35 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130520VL201.html Taiwan received export orders worth US$35.69 billion in total in April 2013, decreasing by 0.4% on month and by 1.1% on year, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) on May 20.
]]> Bits + chips Mon, 20 May 2013 13:45:19 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130520PR200.html Global large-sized panel shipments in April 2013 reached 65.2 million units, dropping 5% on month, according to research firm WitsView. Displays Mon, 20 May 2013 13:43:59 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130520PD216.html As Microsoft is expected to unveil its next-generation Xbox game console codenamed Durango on May 21 at the Xbox Campus, sources from the upstream supply chain revealed that they are already shipping related orders in small volumes and mass shipments are expected to start in the third quarter to reach the peak in the fourth quarter. IT + CE Mon, 20 May 2013 13:30:48 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130520PD215.html MediaTek is likely to report higher-than-expected sales for the second quarter of 2013 on a recent ramp-up in demand from China-based smartphone and tablet companies, according to market observers. Bits + chips Mon, 20 May 2013 13:28:30 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130520PD213.html China-based Lenovo jumped into the world's 10 largest smartphone vendors for the first quarter and has set an ambitious goal of shipping 60 million smartphones in fiscal year 2013 (April 2013-March 2014), which is expected to benefit Lenovo's existing Taiwan-based ODMs and EMS providers Compal Communications, Foxconn International Holdings, Wistron NeWeb and Qisda, according to Taiwan-based supply chain makers. Mobile + telecom Mon, 20 May 2013 13:26:03 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130520PD212.html Shipments of LCD driver ICs by Taiwan-based IC design houses for the first quarter of 2013 grew 21.6% from a year ago to NT$20.18 billion (US$673.8 million) in value, according to Digitimes Research. Shipments for small-size panel applications, such as smartphones, continued to register strong growth. Bits + chips Mon, 20 May 2013 13:24:54 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130520PD208.html Taiwan-based panel makers are continuing to see increased orders from China-based TV vendors for Ultra HD TV panels as the makers' pricing for the technology is continuing to drop.
]]> Displays Mon, 20 May 2013 08:37:49 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130520PD207.html More USB 3.0 device controller suppliers have launched crystal-less solutions designed for small, lightweight products, including startup M31 Technology. The design would also help to reduce overall BOM cost, due to the elimination of an additional quartz oscillator. Bits + chips Mon, 20 May 2013 08:35:48 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130520PD211.html Taiwan-based backlighting unit (BLU) maker Radiant Opto-Electronics has been seeking out orders from new customers in addition to Apple, which should help bump up the company's revenues in the second half of 2013, according to industry sources. Displays Mon, 20 May 2013 08:23:36 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130520PD204.html ChipMOS Technologies, which specializes in assembly and test services for LCD driver ICs and memory chips, expects its capex for 2013 to total NT$2.5-2.8 billion (US$83.6-93.6 million) and will use the funds mainly to ramp up its capacity for LCD driver ICs, logic/mixed signal ICs and MEMS devices, according to company chairman SJ Cheng. Bits + chips Mon, 20 May 2013 07:51:32 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130520PD210.html Following the release of various-sized 6-inch and larger handsets from Asia-based vendors such as Huawei Device and Samsung Electronics, Nokia is reportedly in discussion about making larger-size handsets that may be released in the next year, according to industry sources. Mobile + telecom Mon, 20 May 2013 07:48:52 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130520PD206.html Weak PC sales have impacted BIOS designers such as Insyde Software, Phoenix Technologies and American Megatrends (AMI), prompting them to start taking measures to deal with the impact, according to sources from the upstream supply chain.
]]> IT + CE Mon, 20 May 2013 07:33:04 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130520PD205.html As Apple is ready to release its new MacBook products in the near future, sources from the upstream supply chain has revealed that their orders for MacBook devices are estimated to grow 20% sequentially in the second quarter. IT + CE Mon, 20 May 2013 07:31:15 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130517PD213.html While many vendors and ODMs expect notebook shipments in the second half of 2013 to significantly increase from the first, Taiwan-based component makers generally hold conservative outlooks, saying that many new tablet and smartphone models will be launched in the second half and will have a negative impact on notebook demand. IT + CE Mon, 20 May 2013 07:15:39 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130517PD205.html Taiwan-based analog IC vendors are facing increasing competition from China-based rival companies, which are now aiming to replace Taiwan makers as the major analog IC suppliers in China, according to industry sources. Bits + chips Mon, 20 May 2013 05:55:23 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130520PD202.html Taiwan-based Capella Microsystems topped fellow analog IC design houses with the highest EPS of NT$3.48 (US$0.12) in the first quarter of 2013, according to market data. Bits + chips Mon, 20 May 2013 05:54:01 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130520PD201.html International LED firms such as Cree and Osram have introduced LED light bulbs priced below US$10/unit and EUR10/unit (US$12.83/unit), and price competition is expected to heat up in 2013.
]]> LED Mon, 20 May 2013 04:31:00 GMT http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130514PD206.html Apart from gradually replacing traditional lighting, LED lighting is targeting the high-end market with more value-added products. In addition, commercialization of OLED lighting has also started. LED