Hynix Semiconductor said in a regulatory filing that it would spend KRW637 billion (US$567.7 million) by March to expand and upgrade its existing plant and conduct R&D.

China's Huawei has won a preliminary injunction that blocks technology giant Motorola from transferring particular mobile phone networking technology to Nokia Siemens in a $1.2 billion deal that's been percolating for the better part of a year.

For years, Verizon customers were clamoring for the iPhone, but now that the phone is here, evidence is mounting that it's more of a dud than a hit.

"We have identified a technical issue with the Windows Phone update process that impacts a small number of phones," a Microsoft spokesperson wrote in a Feb. 23 email to eWEEK. "In response to this emerging issue, we have temporarily taken down the latest software update for Samsung phones in order to correct the issue."

Hans Stork joins ON Semiconductor after three years with Applied Materials as Group VP of the Si Systems Group and six years with Texas Instruments as the company's CTO and Senior VP of Si Technology Development.

"Recent data points have circulated in the past weeks suggesting OmniVision's BSI (backside illumination) yields have been adversely impacted out of TSMC, which could be backed-up on strong demand for general CMOS image sensors into smartphones and tablets," said analyst Doug Freedman of Gleacher & Co. in a new report.

Toshiba has developed a new flip-flop circuit using 40nm CMOS process that the company claims will reduce power consumption in mobile equipment. Measured data verifies that the power dissipation of the new flip-flop is up to 77% less than that of a conventional flip-flop and that it achieves a 24% reduction in total power consumption when applied to a wireless LAN chip.

Today FTC Chairman John Leibowitz wrote a letter to Rep. Ed Markey saying he would review the way Apple is marketing in-app purchases, in particular apps aimed at children.

Eurozone manufacturing and service activity in February 2011 hit levels last seen in July 2006 but inflation, an increasing concern, also jumped sharply, a closely watched survey has shown.

The firm said an internal investigation had discovered more than 1,000 fraud cases in both 2009 and 2010. Chief executive David Wei Zhe and chief operating officer Elvis Lee Shi-Huei were not involved in the frauds but were taking responsibility for a "systemic breakdown".

Shares of wireless chipmaker Anadigics are down US$0.57, almost 8%, at US$5.96, after the company reported 4Q results ahead of expectations, but forecast a surprise net loss this quarter and much lower-than-expected revenue, citing "softness in China" and an inventory pile-up.

CSR and Zoran have entered into a merger agreement under which Zoran will merge with CSR for an equity value equivalent to approximately US$679 million. The merged company will provide differentiated, integrated technology that addresses the rapidly-growing market for connected, location-aware multimedia devices including handsets, digital cameras and home entertainment equipment.

TomTom said consumer business revenues would "contract modestly" in 2011 due to a decline in the size of the market for personal navigation devices. To compensate, the firm expects to sign more agreements with car manufacturers and license its products to more commercial customers.

"Leading-edge capacity excess, driven by Globalfoundries' expansion primarily, means pricing is going to come down," said Intel CEO Paul Otellini. "As leading-edge pricing comes down, so does the trailing-edge [pricing], hollowing out the business. That means real trouble for Globalfoundries and TSMC over the next few years." He conceded that Samsung was a different case with its memory and logic operations.