PC-related IC suppliers see demand pick up

Mar 7, 12:08

Taiwan-based PC-related IC design houses have landed a pull-in of orders recently prompting them to boost wafer starts at foundries, according to industry sources.

Simplo, Dynapack February revenues down on month

Stockwatch - Mar 7, 11:13

Taiwan-based notebook battery pack maker Simplo Technology has reported February consolidated revenues of NT$3.108 billion (US$103 million), down 31.1% on month and 16.19% on year, while fellow maker Dynapack International Technology has announced NT$1.73 billion slipping on month by 10.65% but growing...

Lite-On Technology February revenues down on month, up on year

Mar 7, 10:44

Taiwan-based EMS provider Lite-On Technology on March 6 reported consolidated revenues of NT$15.389 billion (US$508 million) for February, decreasing on month by 13.19% but increasing on year by 16.29%, and NT$33.117 billion for January-February, rising on year by 10.39%.

Catcher Technology February revenues down sequentially

Mar 6, 13:33

Metal-alloy chassis maker Catcher Technology has announced consolidated revenues of NT$2.76 billion (US$91.2 million) for February, down 22.77% on month but up 34.56% on year, and NT$6.34 billion for January-February up 18.4% on year.

Largan February revenues down 34% sequentially

Mar 6, 11:16

Handset-use lens module maker Largan Precision has reported consolidated revenues of NT$1.601 billion (US$52.8 million) for February, decreasing 34.06% sequentially but increasing 30.08% on year, and consolidated revenues for January-February reached NT$4.029 billion, growing 15.87% on year.

Flytech extends to telematics

Mar 6, 11:08

Taiwan-based POS (point of sale/service) system and peripheral maker Flytech Technology has extended to telematics by acquiring a 60% stake in neoVideo Technology, a Taiwan-based maker of in-car navigation/entertainment digital TVs and vehicle tracking recorders, for NT$60 million (US$1.98 million).

HDD makers pushing enterprise products for growth

Mar 5, 22:04

Hard disk drive (HDD) makers have recently turned to focus on enterprise-level storage products, after seeing their consumer HDD shipments continue to suffer from weak PC demand, according to sources from the upstream supply chain.

AMD announces new AM1 platform

Mar 5, 15:24

AMD has announced the introduction of its AM1 platform featuring the AMD quad-core and dual-core Kabini APU into the component channel for system builders. Combined with motherboards from manufacturers worldwide, the new AM1 platform will deliver Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture and AMD Jaguar...

Global revenues for digital power supplies and digital power ICs to rise 65% in 2014, says IHS

Mar 5, 13:49

The global market for digital power is undergoing explosive growth, with revenues for digital power supplies and digital power ICs each projected to jump almost 65% in 2014, according to IHS.

China suppliers to compete for notebook cooling module orders in 2014

Mar 3, 21:46

The China supply chain has reportedly entered the notebook cooling module industry recently and is set to expand their supply to notebook brand vendors in 2014, according to sources from the upstream supply chain.

ASRock to showcase server and workstation products at CeBIT 2014

Mar 3, 21:33

ASRock is set to exhibit its latest server and workstation products at the CeBIT 2014 hosted from March 10-14 in Hannover, Germany, hoping to attract clients worldwide especially those in Europe. ASRock is also the only motherboard player to have rented a booth at the show.

Altek expects significant business growth beginning 2Q14

Mar 3, 10:28

Digital camera ODM Altek will start shipments of handset-use imaging solutions to several vendors in March and therefore expects business operations to significantly improve beginning the second quarter of 2014, the company said at a February 27 investors conference.

China battery pack makers reportedly to enter iPad mini supply chain in 2H14

Feb 27, 15:07

Apple has reportedly invited China-based battery makers to join its iPad supply chain, and the makers will start supplying orders in the second half of 2014, according to sources from the upstream supply chain.

Dell to enter home entertainment market via AlienWare

Feb 27, 13:55

Dell is planning to add new product lines under its sub-brand AlienWare and will expand from the PC industry to the home entertainment market, according to sources from the upstream supply chain.

Casetek to expand chassis capacity in China

Feb 26, 11:35

Taiwan-based metal-alloy chassis maker Casetek Holdings has revealed it will invest NT$2-3 billion (US$65.9-98.8 million) to expand production capacity at its factory in eastern China in 2014.

Waltop lands orders for pen-input modules from China-based smartphone vendor

Feb 25, 20:16

Waltop International has started shipments of EM (electromagnetic) pen-input modules to second-tier China-based smartphone vendor GiONEE, according to the company.

MWC 2014: One market focus will be Atom and LTE combo for Intel

Feb 24, 22:01

At an Intel news conference for Mobile World Congress (MWC), Intel president Renee James introduced two Intel Atom processors, an LTE-Advanced communications platform, and announced multiyear agreements with Lenovo, Asustek Computer and Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) to expand the...

AMD reportedly moves desktop headquarters to China to strengthen competitiveness

Feb 24, 21:47

AMD has reportedly moved its desktop business headquarters from the US to Beijing, China and has also assigned its desktop business general manager Steven Liu to the new office with the goal of strengthening the company's competitiveness in China's DIY channel. Through the move, the company is also...

Worldwide large format printer market continues to show growth in 4Q13, says IDC

Feb 24, 15:22

Most regional markets posted on-year growth during the fourth quarter of 2013, leading to a 4.1% on-year increase in the worldwide large format printer (LFP) market, according to IDC. Overall shipments in the worldwide large format market grew to 82,000 units in the fourth quarter, an increase of 4,000...

Taiwan makers to benefit from Samsung exit from microSD card market

Feb 24, 14:56

Samsung Electronics' move to no longer manufacture microSD cards in-house will eventually benefit Taiwan-based memory module firms and related packaging and testing houses, according to industry sources.

Gingy to release new fingerprint sensors in 2Q14

Feb 24, 11:42

Gingy Technology, an associate company of Holtek Semiconductor, is expected to deliver samples of its third-generation optical fingerprint sensors to clients in the second quarter of 2014, according to industry sources.

Chaintech steps into graphics cards, motherboards for medical, industrial PC use, says paper

Newswatch - Feb 24, 09:59

Taiwan-based graphics card and motherboard maker Chaintech Technology has extended business operations from IT to medical and industrial computing applications, according to a Chinese-language Commercial Times (CT) report.

Tatung to offer electric vehicle power charging stations

Feb 20, 14:01

Tatung, a Taiwan-based maker of electric machinery and consumer electronics, has developed power charging stations for electric vehicles and plans to launch the equipment in the US market in 2015, company president WY Lin said at the 2014 Smart City Summit & Expo taking place in Taipei during February...

VIA reportedly moving x86 CPU resources to new joint venture in China

Feb 19, 22:09

VIA Technologies is rumored to have started shifting its x86 CPU technologies and related personnel to its newly formed IC design joint venture with a China government-owned investment firm, according to market watchers, adding that VIA recently notified clients that it will stop supplying x86 processors...

Digitimes Research: AUO to be forerunner in notebook panel shipments in 2014

Feb 19, 14:29

As Samsung Display continues to shift its focus away from notebook panel production to AMOLED production, Taiwan panel makers such as AU Optronics (AUO) are expected to see increased orders for notebook panels in 2014, according to Digitimes Research.

Altek scores points in marketing mobile device imaging solutions

Feb 18, 21:37

Digital camera ODM Altek has extended development and production to imaging components and solutions used in mobile terminal devices and seen increasing orders, with the revenue proportion expected to rise from about 40% for the second half of 2013 to over 50% in the first quarter of 2014, according...

China crucial to global DIY market, say Taiwan motherboard makers

Feb 17, 16:01

The China market occupied about 40% of global DIY motherboard shipments in 2013 and 60% of shipments to China were for sale in smaller cities or towns, according to Taiwan-based motherboard makers.

Worldwide PELS shipments grow 13.6% in 2013, says IDC

Feb 14, 16:10

Worldwide personal and entry-level storage (PELS) shipments grew 13.6% on year in 2013, finishing the year with 75.2 million units, according to IDC. Annual shipment values were up on year, growing 6.2% to US$6.7 billion. Unit shipments were down slightly in the fourth quarter of 2013, declining 4.2%...

Intel to cut a deal with Apple for Fab 42?

Feb 13, 14:27

With shipments of desktop and notebooks in the doldrums since 2010, Intel's PC processor business has been in decline. Meanwhile, AMD and others are taking aim at the Intel-dominated server business with ARM-based MPUs. At the same time, Intel has struggled to gain access to the fast-growing market...

Intel postpones Broadwell availability to 4Q14

Feb 12, 22:05

Intel's upcoming 14nm Broadwell-based processors were previously scheduled for mass production at the end of the first quarter for release in the third; however, sources from the upstream supply chain say the processors have recently been delayed and will not be available until the fourth quarter.

Chi Mei Materials, BenQ Materials see decreased January revenues

Feb 12, 22:03

Polarizer maker Chi Mei Materials Technology saw January consolidated revenues of NT$1.258 billion (US$41.6 million), decreasing 3.36% on month and 27.54% on year, while fellow maker BenQ Materials had those of NT$1.415 billion slipping 3.09% and 4.15%, respectively, according to the companies.

Computer storage industry declines in 2013 despite robust growth of SSDs, says IHS

Feb 11, 14:54

A near-doubling of the market for solid-state drives was unable to help the computer-related storage industry in 2013, which slid 5% in shipments because of continuing contractions in the hard-disk drive and optical disk drive segments, according to IHS.

Taiwan suppliers concerned about competition from China in 2014

Feb 10, 21:39

With Acer rumored to be planning to outsource its tablet OEM orders to China-based makers, Asustek Computer has reportedly also been seeking partnerships with China component makers to strengthen its competitiveness in the mobile device market, according to sources from the upstream supply chain. The...

Gigabyte expected to ship over five million motherboards in 1Q14

Feb 10, 20:59

Gigabyte Technology is expected to ship over five million motherboards in the first quarter of 2014, having a chance to surpass Asustek Computer, which is expected to ship about five million units, according to sources from the upstream supply chain.

Largan sees nearly 24% sequential drop in January revenues

Feb 10, 10:24

Handset-use lens module maker Largan Precision has reported consolidated revenues of NT$2.427 billion (US$80.18 million) for January, decreasing on month by 23.96% but increasing on year by 8.14%.

China market: D-Link cooperates with Qihoo 360 to launch smart WLAN router

Feb 7, 14:18

D-Link has cooperated with China-based information security software solution provider Qihoo 360 Technology to launch a smart WLAN router, the D-Link 360Mini, for co-branded sale in the China market, according to D-Link.

Catcher Technology to expand capacity in China

Feb 7, 11:18

Taiwan-based metal-alloy chassis maker Catcher Technology will invest CNY496.54 million (US$82.1 million) to expand the production capacity at its two factories in eastern China, with the total number of CNC machines to increase to 18,000 by the end of June 2014, according to the company.

Digitimes Research: Global bit demand for standard DRAM to grow 9.7% in 2014

Feb 5, 12:14

Global demand for PC-use standard DRAM in 2014 is estimated at 1.795 billion GB, increasing 9.7% on year, according to Digitimes Research.

Data centers likely to adopt more Li batteries, say Taiwan makers

Feb 5, 11:02

While more than 80% of UPS (uninterruptible power supply) systems in cloud computing data centers are equipped with lead-acid batteries, use of lithium (Li) batteries is expected to increase, according to sources with Taiwan-based battery makers.

Digitimes Research: Taiwan IC design houses perform strongly in 4Q13

Jan 29, 11:36

Taiwan-based IC design houses performed better than expected in the fourth quarter of 2013, yielding production value of NT$125.01 billion (US$4.12 billion), up 0.5% from the prior quarter, according to Digitimes Research.

Intel rumored to question its future in smartphone market, say sources

Jan 27, 22:04

A rumor circulating in the upstream supply chain in Taiwan has Intel reportedly questioning whether it should quit the smartphone market in 2015 if it continues to see weak performance in its handset business in 2014, according to sources from the upstream supply chain, though Intel has not yet commented...

Largan Precision hits record profits for 4Q13, 2013

Jan 24, 10:32

Taiwan-based lens module maker Largan Precision generated net profit of NT$3.405 billion (US$114 million) for the fourth quarter of 2013 and NT$9.61 billion for the whole of 2013, its highest quarterly and annual levels on record, according to the company's financial report released on January 23.

AMD offers new 12- and 16-core additions to Opteron 6300 series

Jan 23, 10:52

AMD has announced the immediate availability of its new 12- and 16-core AMD Opteron 6300 series server processors, codenamed Warsaw. Designed for enterprise workloads, the new AMD Opteron 6300 series processors feature the Piledriver core and are fully socket and software compatible with the existing...

Nexcom chairman expects 5% revenues to come from IPcam business in 2014

Jan 22, 21:40

Industrial PC (IPC) maker Nexcom International is looking to have the IPcam business contribute 5% of its revenues in 2014 as the company is planning to integrate the product line with its other businesses, according to company chairman Clement Lin.

AMD to launch FS1B processors in February, say motherboard makers

Jan 22, 11:58

AMD will launch FS1B series processors consisting of the quad-core A6-5350 (2.05GHz), A4-5150 (1.05GHz), E2-3850 (1.3GHz) and dual-core E1-2650 for sale at US$30-60 in February, according to Taiwan-based motherboard makers.

Toshiba launches new subsidiary after completing acquisition of OCZ assets

Jan 22, 11:51

Toshiba has finalized the purchase of all assets of OCZ Technology, making it a wholly-owned subsidiary. Effective immediately, the subsidiary will operate independently as OCZ Storage Solutions specializing in high-performance solid state drives (SSDs) for computing devices and systems.

China white-box makers likely to launch array of wearable devices in 2Q14

Jan 21, 21:37

China-based white-box mobile device makers are likely to launch an array of wearable devices, including smartwatches, in the second quarter of 2014, using chipset solutions from Taiwan-based IC suppliers, according to sources at Taiwan's IC supply chain.

Taiwan component makers considering moving production out of China

Jan 21, 11:12

Taiwan-based component makers are mulling relocating their production lines in China to Brazil, Mexico and Southeast Asian countries, and some are even considering moving back to Taiwan, in an attempt to resolve issues they have encountered in China such as labor shortages and hiking wages, according...

New Kinpo Group to expand capacity in 2014

Jan 20, 14:50

Taiwan-based New Kinpo Group consisting of Cal-Comp Electronics, Kinpo Electronics and AcBel Polytech will expand production capacities in China, Thailand, the Philippines and Brazil with a total investment of about NT$3 billion (US$100 million), according to group president Rock Hsu.