IBM, Samsung and Globalfoundries are working with STMicroelectronics to develop and standardize advanced, 28nm process technology to ensure consistent production worldwide for electronics and device manufacturers.

"We are targeting segments within the semiconductor market that are growing faster," said Infineon CEO Peter Bauer. "The wireless market is bigger than before the crisis, driven by smartphones and emerging market phones."

The latest estimate is up from a previous figure of $2billion. It includes $126 million already paid out in claims to those affected by the disaster, mainly workers in the fishing industry. So far, nearly 74,000 claims have been filed and more than 39,000 payments have been made.

Germany's LFoundry, an analog and mixed-signal foundry, has completed its previously-announced acquisition of Atmel's wafer fabrication operation in Rousset, France.

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.

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion on Thursday posted a 20% increase in first-quarter profit, but sales and handset shipments fell below Wall Street's forecast.

Apple has finally acknowledged that the way you hold the iPhone 4 can hinder the device's cellular reception.

Exporters have eyed Europe cautiously, with the safe-haven yen soaring in recent months on European debt worries, which if sustained will dent exporters' repatriated profits and make their goods more expensive overseas.

China Unicom and China Mobile both added around 1 million 3G subscribers in May, bringing the total number of 3G subscribers among the country's three largest telecom operators to more than 20 million.

China has started a massive open tender of utility-scale solar power projects after a smaller tender last year, in an effort, analysts said, to help Beijing set on-grid power prices for such projects.

SunPower announced Wednesday that it produced a full-scale solar cell with a sunlight-to-electricity conversion efficiency rate of 24.2%, a new world record.

Those holding out hope of getting a white iPhone this month, prepare for disappointment. Apple says that the white model won't be available to users until the second half of July.

Apple is not content with merely trying to outcompete its pesky Android competitors. It wants to prevent them from even being sold on the market.

It sounds like a lot, but it's actually below the industry average. Even more importantly, the iPhone is improving in this regard; the expected failure rate over two years was 33% one year ago, when SquareTrade only examined the iPhone and the iPhone 3G.

The rise of Asian millionaires is being tracked by the industry that manages the fortunes of rich individuals, with banks shifting senior staff to Singapore and Hong Kong to chase new clients.

Broadcom expects to close the acquisition of Innovision Research & Technology, which specializes in near-field communication (NFC) technology, in the third quarter of 2010.

GTronix' proprietary technology provides very low power solutions for noise cancellation in mobile applications such as wireless handsets and audio accessories, National Semi said in a statement. The analog chipmaker has acquired GTronix for an undisclosed sum.

ASIF chairman Javier Anta said the government proposed limiting the hours of output for which a solar plant could receive subsidies, instead of cutting the subsidies for plants themselves.

The race is now on between Italy, Czech Republic, United States, and potentially even Japan, to become just the third country member of the elite club to install 1GW of PV in a single year.

It's taken eight years, but the Black-Berry is finally widely available in China, although one of its key functions isn't.

Chinese wafer supplier Huantai Silicon has suspended its partnership with the country's solar cells and panels giant Suntech Power on their joint venture Glory Silicon, and will jointly build a new venture with U.S. veteran wafer producer MEMC Electronic Materials.