Amazon.com introduced two new versions of the device today, including a US$139 model that works with Wi-Fi. A second version, with 3G mobile technology as well as Wi-Fi to download books, costs US$189.

SK Telecom posted a net profit of 364 billion won (US$306.5 million) in the three months ended June 30, largely thanks to increased sales of its wireless data services. Its net profit was 311.6 billion won in the same period a year earlier.

"Because of this law, the American people will never again be asked to foot the bill for Wall Street's mistakes..."

China has passed the U.S. to become the world's biggest energy consumer, according to new data from the International Energy Agency, a milestone that reflects both China's decades-long burst of economic growth and its rapidly expanding clout as an industrial giant.

Renesas Electronics and Nokia are deepening their collaboration by forming a strategic business alliance to develop modem technologies for HSPA+/LTE and its evolution, according to Renesas. As part of this alliance, the companies have entered into an agreement whereby Renesas is to acquire Nokia's wireless modem business for US$200 million.

The US unemployment rate fell to 9.5% in June 2010 from 9.7% in May. Analysts say that high unemployment has kept consumer confidence low, preventing retail sales from growing rapidly.

Toshiba plans to expand manufacturing capacity at its plant in Houston, Texas for production of high-performance drive motors for hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and electric vehicles (EVs).

Thirty-three states, including California, have reached a US$173 million settlement with six DRAM makers alleged to have fixed prices for their products between 1998 and 2002. The companies named in the lawsuit are Micron Technology and NEC Electronics America as well as Infineon Technologies, Hynix Semiconductor, Elpida Memory and Mosel Vitelic.

Scientists in the US claim to have extended the operating life of plastic solar cells from mere hours to eight months.

The company said it will incur restructuring charges of about US$5 million in its fiscal second quarter, and the staff reduction was one of several cost-cutting actions.

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington has rescheduled hearings for Oct. 7. Rambus has been involved in long-standing disputes with Hynix and Micron over patent infringement as well as antitrust issues.

Samsung Electronics has said due to projected heavy demand for its advanced logic chips, it will invest US$3.6 billion to expand capacity at its plant in Austin, Texas, and hire 500 more workers there by 2011.

The euro kept falling against the dollar on June 7, after plummeting below US$1.20 and posting fresh four-year lows late last week.

North Korea's ban on all ties could also bar South Korean aircraft from North Korean airspace, adding fuel cost and time to many international flights. Tensions on the peninsula are hitting the currency and stock markets of Asia's fourth-biggest economy.

Elpida plans to withdraw its patent lawsuits filed with the Virginia US district court while Infineon and its US subsidiary have agreed to abandon a patent infringement complaint against Elpida and other respondents filed last February with the US International Trade Commission in Washington D.C.

Apple questions research that says smartphones using Google's Android OS have surpassed iPhone sales in the US.

The 23.3 trillion Korean won (US$21 billion) investment is aimed at developing five new businesses that the company expects to create 45,000 new jobs and generate 50 trillion won in annual revenue for affiliate companies by 2020, Samsung said in a statement Tuesday.

The German parliament yesterday approved long-expected cuts to solar energy incentives prompting US shares in solar companies to tumble amid fears that demand from one of the world's largest markets for soalr panels will now fall.

Chinese authorities may announce a currency policy change before the second US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue in May.

Goldman Sachs, the Wall Street powerhouse, has been accused of defrauding investors by America's financial regulator.

Spansion has received approval and confirmation of its plan of reorganization from the US Bankruptcy Court, which clears the way for Spansion's emergence from Chapter 11.

Chip equipment maker Novellus Systems now expects to earn US$0.43 per share, US$0.04 above the high end of the range it had forecast in March. The company is scheduled to report first-quarter earnings on April 21.

China-based Huawei is considering negotiating a "mitigation agreement" with the US government - as Alcatel of France did when it bought Lucent in 2006 - in order to show its willingness to co-operate with the US. It is making the lobbying push in preparation for a potential bid for a unit of Motorola.

Avago Technologies has filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas against STMicroelectronics, alleging that certain STMicroelectronics products infringe four of Avago's patents covering optical navigation technology.

Avnet announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Bell Microproducts, which mainly distributes storage products, in an all cash merger for US$7 per share.

Ford Motor has signed a US$1.8 billion deal to sell its Volvo brand to Geely in a move seen as emblematic of the shift in the global car industry's centre of gravity from the US and western Europe to China.

China has overtaken the US for the first time in the race to invest in wind, solar and other sources of clean energy.

Mobile analytics firm Flurry has attempted to measure Apple's influence on the portable gaming market, and its analysis concludes that iPhone games now account for about one-fifth of all revenues for portable game software in the US.

Renewable energy investment may rise by 23% this year as government stimulus funds mainly in the US and Europe are spent wind turbines and solar panels.

The US Federal Reserve has repeated its pledge to keep interest rates at record lows in order to nurture the economic recovery.

MagnaChip Semiconductor has filed to raise up to US$250 million in an initial public offering of common stock under the proposed trading symbol of MX on the New York Stock Exchange.