Casetek Holdings sees 2Q14 decline

Stockwatch - Jul 28, 10:26

Tablet and notebook chassis maker Casetek Holdings saw its financial performance for second-quarter 2014 slip on quarter and on year, according to the company.

Digitimes Research: China sees increased tablet AP shipments in 2Q14

Jul 28, 10:23

A total of 30.6 million tablet APs (application processors) were shipped to the China market in second-quarter 2014, increasing 10.5% sequentially and 39.1% on year, according to Digitimes Research.

Notebook cooling module makers eye business opportunities from electric vehicles

Jul 25, 15:13

Notebook cooling module makers including Taiwan-based Chaun-Choung Technology and Japan-based Furukawa Electric, in view of the large potential demand for heat dissipation solutions from electric vehicles (EV) and EV power charging stations, have talked with EV makers in an attempt to compete for orders,...

Intel to launch Core M for use in notebook/tablet 2-in-1 models in 4Q14

Jul 25, 14:00

Intel will launch 14nm-based Core M series processors specifically for use in fanless notebook/tablet 2-in-1 models in the fourth quarter of 2014, with many models to be exhibited at the Intel Developer Forum to take place in San Francisco September 9-11, 2014, according to supply chain makers.

Small- to medium-size China smartphone component makers under pressure of being forced out in 2H14

Jul 25, 10:35

Due to oversupply of smartphone components and price-cut pressure from China-based smartphone vendors, many small- to medium-size China-based smartphone component makers are likely to be forced out of the market in the second half of 2014, according to supply chain makers.

Chassis makers doubtful about rumors Samsung to release metal chassis smartphone

Jul 24, 13:58

With Apple's next-generation iPhones expected to appear in the market soon, rumors that Samsung Electronics is planning to release a metal-chassis smartphone in September to defend its position have been circulating in the market; however, sources from chassis makers pointed out that Samsung may not...

Apple to become largest client for TSMC, say sources

Jul 23, 22:50

Apple is expected to become the largest client for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) as the Taiwan-based foundry house has begun to ramp up production of A8 processors and is likely to continue to fabricate the vendor's A9 CPUs in 2015, according to industry sources.

Digitimes Research: Optical-use sapphire demand to reach 12.44 million mm of 2-inch equivalents in 2014

Jul 23, 10:48

There will be an estimated demand for 12.44 million mm of 2-inch-equivalent sapphires for optical purposes in 2014, mainly consisting of 54.3% for use in smartphone button covers, 24.1% iWatch covers and 17.4% smartphone camera lens covers, according to Digitimes Research.

Advantech partners with Hiwin for robot business

Jul 22, 14:27

Taiwan-based industrial PC (IPC) maker Advantech has announced it will establish a strategic alliance with Taiwan-based automated product maker Hiwin Technologies, looking to gather Taiwan-based IT players to enter the robot industry.

NMT process gaining popularity in smartphone industry

Jul 21, 21:43

With Samsung Electronics starting to adopt the nano molding technology (NMT) for its smartphone chassis in 2014, while other Japan- and China-based vendors are also onboard, chassis makers including Catcher Technology, Chenming Mold and Coxon, which are able to produce related products, are expected...

China unlikely to get out of US-supply issues in short term

Jul 21, 16:23

Because of IT security conflicts between China and the US, the China government has been trying to abandon the use of US-made IT products such as servers and storage from players such as IBM, Oracle and EMC; however, sources from the upstream supply chain believe the target may be hard to achieve in...

ASRock lands IPC orders from Turkey

Jul 21, 14:20

ASRock reportedly has landed procurement orders for industrial PCs (IPCs) from the government in Turkey with volumes around 300,000-400,000 units, according to market watchers, adding that ASRock's IPC and server product lines are expected to contribute 20% of its revenues in 2015.

Largan reports strong profits for 1H14

Jul 18, 10:47

Handset-use lens module maker Largan Precision has reported net profit of NT$6.722 billion (US$223 million) in first-half 2014, 5.01 times its paid-in capital of NT$1.341 billion.

Motherboard players see profits decline in 2Q14

Jul 17, 12:07

Most Taiwan-based motherboard players saw their second-quarter 2014 profits drift downwards due to price-cutting competition led by Asustek Computer and Gigabyte Technology, according to sources from motherboard players.

Intel reports 2Q14 revenues of US$13.8 billion

Jul 16, 22:09

Intel has reported second-quarter 2014 revenues of US$13.8 billion, operating income of US$3.8 billion, net income of US$2.8 billion and EPS of US$0.55. The company generated approximately US$5.5 billion in cash from operations, paid dividends of US$1.1 billion, and used US$2.1 billion to repurchase...

ASMedia, Asustek executives suspected of insider trading

Jul 16, 15:50

Several Asustek Computer and ASMedia's top executives under investigation by both companies for insider trading on ASMedia stock.

TCA inks ICT cooperation in Myanmar

Jul 16, 15:09

The Taipei Computer Association (TCA), in a bid to promote ICT cooperation between Taiwan- and Myanmar-based enterprises, on July 15 set up an office and signed a cooperation MoU with the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry and second-stage APEC Digital Opportunity Center...

Apple orders for new iPhones to benefit Taiwan component maker revenues but not gross margins

Jul 16, 14:34

Taiwan-based component makers are reducing the thickness of components including panels, chassis and battery packs for upcoming iPhones, and are facing technological difficulties maintaining or hiking yield rates. Consequently, Apple orders will contribute to component makers' revenues but will not...

Foxconn June revenues increase

Jul 11, 18:20

Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) on July 10 reported consolidated revenues of NT$316.99 billion (US$10.56 billion) for June, growing 18.3% on month and 4.06% on year. Its consolidated revenues of NT$879.401 billion for the second quarter inched down 0.41% on quarter and NT$1.76 trillion...

Casetek June revenues up on month, down on year

Stockwatch - Jul 11, 18:01

PC chassis maker Casetek Holdings on July 10 reported consolidated revenues of NT$2.420 billion (US$80.6 million) for June, increasing 3.68% on month but decreasing 3.96% on year, and NT$14.476 billion for January-June, dipping 14.85% on year.

Delta Electronics June revenues up on year

Jul 10, 10:15

Power management solution provider Delta Electronics has 9 reported consolidated revenues of NT$15.52 billion (US$517 million) for June, decreasing 2.27% sequentially but increasing 9.51% on year.

Lite-On Technology sees increased June revenues

Jul 9, 14:30

EMS provider Lite-On Technology has reported consolidated revenues of NT$20.242 billion (US$674 million) for June, increasing 2.79% sequentially and 17.64% on year. Second-quarter consolidated revenues totaled NT$58.85 billion, growing 14.51% sequentially, while the January-June period saw NT$110.241...

Digitimes Research: Hisilicon AP to give Huawei cost advantage in high-end mobile device market

Jul 9, 14:13

Hisilicon, an affiliate of Huawei, has been developing application processors for many years. The company's early products had issues that caused resulted in poor power consumption-performance ratio. But Huawei's strategic support and continuous R&D resource investments have helped improve Hisilicon's...

Taiwan components suppliers see decreased smartphone orders from Samsung, says paper

Newswatch - Jul 9, 14:00

With Samsung Electronics' Galaxy smartphone sales having been seriously impacted recently, Taiwan component makers' orders for the Galaxy S5 have greatly reduced to only 15 million units for the third quarter, down from 21 million in the second, while the Galaxy S4's orders also dropped from six million...

Foxlink sees decreased June revenues

Jul 9, 13:48

Connector maker Foxlink (Cheng Uei Precision Industry) saw its consolidated revenues of NT$5.32 billion (US$177 million) for June 2014 drop 8.97% on month and 12.78% on year, NT$17.47 billion for the second quarter dipped 26.78% on quarter, and NT$41.34 billion for January-June declined 12.4% on yea...

Syncmold Enterprise 2Q14 revenues hit record

Jul 9, 13:45

Hinge/stand maker Syncmold Enterprise on July 8 reported consolidated revenues of NT$878 million (US$29.3 million) for June 2014, resulting in a record quarterly figure of NT$2.66 billion for the second quarter with an on-year growth of 10.24%.

Pegatron to see over NT$1 trillion in 2014 revenues, say analysts

Jul 9, 12:19

Pegatron is expected to see 2014 consolidated revenues and net profit exceed NT$1 trillion (US$33.3 billion) and NT$10 billion respectively, mainly due to shipments of new-generation iPhones and iPads beginning in the third quarter, according to market analysts.

Notebook component makers have no role to play in smart wearable devices

Jul 9, 12:11

While notebook makers Quanta Computer, Compal Electronics, Wistron and Inventec have stepped into production of wearable devices, there is no role for battery pack, heat-dissipation module and hinge makers to play because smart watches and bracelets do not contain such components, according to supply...

Primax Electronics has 35-40% of revenues coming from CCMs

Jul 8, 14:06

PC peripheral and CCM (compact camera module) maker Primax Electronics has had 35-40% of consolidated revenues coming from CCMs mainly due to shipments of models used in smartphones launched by China-based Xiaomi Technology and Huawei Device as well as Amazon, according to the company.

Asustek June revenues down sequentially

Jul 8, 11:51

Asustek Computer on July 7 reported consolidated revenues of NT$33.91 billion (US$1.13 billion) for June, decreasing on month by 7.97% but increasing on year by 0.37%, while its sales of 105.19 billion for the second quarter represented a five-quarter low with a sequential drop of 4.66%, and its sales...

Largan June revenues hit record for 3rd time straight

Jul 7, 23:28

Taiwan-based handset-use lens module maker Largan Precision on July 7 reported consolidated revenues of NT$3.411 billion (US$113.6 million) for June, hitting a monthly record for the third consecutive time with growth of 0.54% on month and of 73.02% on year.

Should Apple watchers be taking note of a UK IPO?

Jul 7, 23:08

On July 3, England-based Intelligent Energy offered up 16.2 million shares, or 8.76% of the company's capital, to raise approximately US$92 million and put the overall value of the company at more than US$1 billion, making it one of the UK's biggest green energy debut's ever. The IPO is interesting...

Phison Electronics to offer 28nm SSD controller chips at end of 2014

Jul 4, 12:09

In view of fast growing SSD demand, IC design house Phison Electronics will start producing its 28nm SSD controller chips at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) by the end of 2014, according to industry sources.

Taiwan component makers to enhance competitiveness through vertical integration and automated production

Jul 2, 22:12

Having almost no advantages competing against China-based component makers in terms of price and volume, Taiwan-based notebook component makers have recently started organizing their resources and are turning to focus on increasing their vertical integration and automating production.

Supply chain turning optimistic about PC market in 2H14

Jul 2, 21:42

The PC industry has recently started regaining momentum with Intel, AMD as well as Taiwan-based upstream component suppliers aggressively preparing for potential demand in the second half of 2014, according to sources from the upstream supply chain.

Most Taiwan makers unlikely to enter Android One supply chain

Jul 1, 15:41

While Google is ambitious to boost sales of its planned Android One-based smartphones to emerging markets, most Taiwan-based handset component makers are unlikely to obtain orders for Android One smartphones because they are less price-competitive compared to China-based rivals, according to industry...

Digitimes Research: Japan seeing increased exports to ASEAN

Jul 1, 11:58

Trading activities between Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are growing rapidly with the two sides' import and export values both exceeding US$100 billion each year for the past five years. In 2013, the combined amount of import and export values between the two reached...

Foxconn to invest in Korea-based SK Group

Jun 30, 22:03

Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) has announced it will invest KRW380.98 billion (US$376.49 million) in SK C&C, an affiliate of Korea-based SK Group, to acquire 2.45 million shares or a 4.9% stake in the company.

Battery cell prices stabilize in 2Q14, price uptick expected in 3Q14, says EnergyTrend

Jun 30, 15:49

Following cylindrical cell price and volume usage declines, supply and demand is expected to remain flat in the second quarter of 2014 due to lowered supply coupled with slight demand increases. Additionally, makers estimate prices will stabilize, ending roughly a two-year decline, according to recent...

Transcend unveils 1TB portable SSD

Newswatch - Jun 27, 15:56

Transcend Information has introduced its latest USB 3.0 portable solid state drive, the ESD400, which features storage capacities up to 1TB, transfer speeds up to 410MB/s read and 380MB/s write.

Digitimes Research: Fierce price competition revives GG touch panel demand

Jun 26, 16:17

Generally, the touchscreen technology used in a tablet is related to the device's specifications: high-end models usually adopt cutting-edge technologies, first-tier brand vendors' mid-range/entry-level models mostly adopt GFF-based touch panels, and white-box products normally use lower-end technologies...

Foxconn files lawsuit in US against Japan IT vendors for LCD patent violations

Jun 26, 15:57

MiiCs & Partner, an affiliate of the Foxconn Group has filed a lawsuit in the US against Toshiba, Funai and Mitsubishi for violating its patents over TFT LCD products.

Foxconn sees profit growth in 2013; expects better performance in 2014

Jun 26, 14:16

Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) has announced consolidated revenues of NT$3.95 trillion (US$131.82 billion) for 2013, a new historic high, with EPS growing to NT$8.16, up from the NT$8.03 of 2012. Company chairman Terry Guo expects the company's profits to grow on year in 2014.

Glory Science to set up lens module factory in central Taiwan

Stockwatch - Jun 26, 11:40

Taiwan-based lens module maker Glory Science on June 25 announced the acquisition of an existing factory in the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP) for establishing production lines for 8-megapixel and above lens modules.

Casetek expects surging performance in 2H14

Jun 25, 14:53

Chassis maker Casetek Holdings expects its revenue performance in the second half of 2014 to be far better than in the first as clients will start releasing new products, according to company chairman TH Tung.