GreenPeak lands at Austin to attack U.S. market
(07:22 AM EDT, 05/09/08)
Wireless sensor network startup GreenPeak Technologies, (Utrecht, the Netherlands) has established an office in Austin, Texas to expand its activities and opportunities in the U.S. market.

Energy-efficient Ethernet standard gains traction
(06:46 PM EDT, 05/08/08)
An energy-efficient Ethernet standard to slash the power consumption in networking is gaining traction and could be in a draft form suitable for building products as early as September, having already settled on an approach for use on 100 Mbit and Gbit chips.

Sony OLED TV not what it's cracked up to be
(05:26 PM EDT, 05/08/08)
It's been hyped, analyzed and taken apart. Yet the SonyXEL-1 TV--a first of its kind using organic electroluminescence technology--might not live long enough for anyone to see.

DuPont and Dainippon Screen to gun for large-screen OLED
(04:51 PM EDT, 05/08/08)
Dupont and Dainippon Screen will join forces for the development of manufacturing technologies for printed large-screen OLED displays.

Ultra-fast laser goes searching for planets
(02:56 PM EDT, 05/08/08)
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), in cooperation with the University of Konstanz, claims to boost planet-searching capabilities by 100 times with a new ultra-fast, ultra-short-pulse laser with a "gap-toothed" frequency comb.

ARM adds VLSI test at Indian design center
(02:53 PM EDT, 05/08/08)
ARM, which has 350 engineers in India and recently opened a second design center there, has set up a VLSI test lab, one of the few such labs to be set up by overseas design companies in the country.

Blog: IEF puts Dubai in electronics spotlight
(12:44 PM EDT, 05/08/08)
The 17th International Electronics Forum kicks off today in Dubai, an Emirate energetic in its efforts to become a high-tech hub in a region stereotyped as awash with oil.

Newcomer delivers innovative FETs for less-visible, fragmented market
(12:20 PM EDT, 05/08/08)
New RF FET structure promises major improvements for L-band users

Samsung seeks TKO in memory market
(11:58 AM EDT, 05/08/08)
Samsung is pushing an aggressive slate of leading-edge technology, product differentiation and investment initiatives that will likely result in a winnowing of the memory market as weak competitors abandon the business due to negative gross margin growth and the prospects for additional losses if supply continues to exceed demand.

Freescale begins consultation on future of Scottish plant
(11:51 AM EDT, 05/08/08)
Almost a year after announcing that it was looking to sell its wafer fab in East Kilbride, Scotland, as a going concern, Freescale Semiconductor has told staff that no buyer has come forward and that it is about to start a consultation process to consider options for the facility, including closure.

Return of the consumers
(10:55 AM EDT, 05/08/08)
The consumer electronics industry has a massive and escalating problem on its hands in the realm of product returns.

Hands-on management delivers results
(10:50 AM EDT, 05/08/08)
Cruise control has no place in today's electronics market. Tech executives adopted a hands-on management strategy in guiding their companies through the first quarter by monitoring end- market demand closely, managing production and inventory tightly and tamping down on costs to raise employee productivity.

Actual data shows March global chip market up 7.3%
(10:21 AM EDT, 05/08/08)
The global market for semiconductors was $25.51 billion in March according to data from World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS), up 7.3 percent on March 2007 and up 35.8 percent from $18.78 billion in February 2008.

Nujira seeks funds as it extends power saving opportunities
(09:29 AM EDT, 05/08/08)
Power amplifier technology specialist Nujira (Cambridge, England) is looking to raise further and "substantial" funding as it extends plans to commercialize its patented envelope tracking power saving technology by wireless infrastructure gear suppliers to include companies developing digital broadcast transmission equipment and next generation mobile handsets.

ARC licenses IP to Taiwanese group and flash storage designer
(07:23 AM EDT, 05/08/08)
ARC International has licensed its multimedia IP to Taiwanese group TM Technology, a subsidiary of Etron, one of the country's main fabless design houses that specializes in memory products.

Bosch to invest billions in Asia
(06:12 AM EDT, 05/08/08)
Industry and vehicles electronics giant Bosch GmbH (Stuttgart, Germany) has added 6 percent to its global sales in FY 2007. The strongest growth was achieved in Asia — and that's why Bosch plans to in invest particularly high sums in that region.

GPON startup expands in Asia, secures $7 million
(06:04 AM EDT, 05/08/08)
Optical networking company Iamba Networks Inc. (Cupertino, Calif.) has closed a $7 million round of financing.

Aixtron reports flat sales, strong order entry
(03:36 AM EDT, 05/08/08)
Despite the weak dollar, semiconductor equipment manufacturer Aixtron (Aachen, Germany), managed to maintain sales and profit figures stable. In the first quarter, order entry doubled, driven by high demand from LED manufacturers.

AMD discloses 12-core server chip
(04:00 PM EDT, 05/07/08)
Advanced Micro Devices disclosed a conservative road map for 45nm server processors using six and twelve cores through 2010, and lifting a page from the playbook of archrival Intel, the 12-core CPU will use two six-core die in a multichip package.

RIT sustainability institute gets Xerox funding
(02:18 PM EDT, 05/07/08)
The Rochester Institute of Technology is a national leader in sustainability with its Golisano Institute, funded in part by Xerox Corp.

Indian semiconductor ecosystem changing, panelists say
(12:04 PM EDT, 05/07/08)
Several far-reaching changes are set to happen in the Indian semiconductor ecosystem, and Synopsys chief Art de Geus sees collaboration as one of the main changes.

NXP, Mentor swap DFT developers, technology
(11:52 AM EDT, 05/07/08)
Mentor Graphics is taking on an unspecified number of engineers from NXP Semiconductors' Design for Test operation and establishing an R&D facility in Hamburg , Germany, as part of a deal that also sees the chip maker adopting certain Mentor tools.

Analysis: Is asset-lite a smart move for AMD?
(11:11 AM EDT, 05/07/08)
AMD could improve its competitiveness against rival Intel Corp. if the microprocessor vendor were to spin off its manufacturing operations. Such a move, though, would still leave the company vulnerable by further distracting the management as they manage through the transition.

Commentary: Who'll survive the leap from DRAMs?
(10:49 AM EDT, 05/07/08)
It's no surprise that two DRAM specialists--Elpida and Qimonda--have separately expanded into new markets, or that Hynix, Micron and others are scrambling to follow suit. But which companies are moving in the right direction? Mark LaPedus shares his hunches.

ARM, not Intel, to dominate MID design-ins in short term
(09:25 AM EDT, 05/07/08)
ARM rather than Intel is expected to win out in the short term amongst designers of Mobile Internet Devices in a market that will take off gradually because of high prices but for which global demand will eventually build towards annual sales of 69 million units, exceeding $17 billion by 2014.

Hyundai-Kia selects Microsoft for Infotainment
(08:57 AM EDT, 05/07/08)
Microsoft will supply Hyundai-Kia with its Microsoft Auto system software platform for infotainment solutions. Beginning 2010, the Korean automotive OEM plans to roll out cars that have the Widows CE-based operating system inside.

Sprint, Clearwire form WiMax venture
(08:29 AM EDT, 05/07/08)
Sprint Nextel Corp, and Clearwire Corp. are planning a $14.5 billion venture to build a wireless high-speed Internet network based on the emerging WiMax technology.

Opinion: Infineon not so easy to swallow
(07:13 AM EDT, 05/07/08)
Rumors that Samsung and possibly Intel might be interested in taking over Infineon yesterday drove Infineon's share price. But while Infineon might be an attractive takeover candidate, the reality looks somewhat different.

Clearwire, Sprint Nextel announce WiMAX deal
(06:52 AM EDT, 05/07/08)
Clearwire Corp and Sprint Nextel Corp said Wednesday they would combine their next-generation wireless broadband businesses to form a new $14.5 billion communications company.

Mac clone offered on EBay
(06:41 AM EDT, 05/07/08)
The unauthorized Apple desktop was flaunted with an Intel Core 2 Duo chip, 2 GB of memory, 250 GB 7200 RPM serial ATA hard drive, and Intel 3D graphics chip.

Wafer shipments steady in first quarter '08
(06:32 AM EDT, 05/07/08)
Shipments of silicon wafers worldwide declined by 1 percent during the first quarter of 2008 compared to the last quarter of 2007 according to the SEMI Silicon Manufacturers Group (SMG).

Splashpower to make bigger wireless splash at Fulton Innovation
(02:30 AM EDT, 05/07/08)
Wireless power specialist Splashpower (Cambridge , England) has been acquired by U.S. group Altcor Inc. for an undisclosed sum from the administrators. The British start-up has been struggling to create a product since 2001, and went into administration last month, having failed to secure more funding.

IETF kicks off routing effort for sensor nets
(12:00 AM EDT, 05/07/08)
The Internet Engineering Task Force has kicked off the Routing Over Low-power and Lossy Networks group, a new effort that could deliver a key building bock for wireless sensor networks as early as next summer.

HP Labs calls for university proposals
(12:00 AM EDT, 05/07/08)
Hewlett Packard is looking for a few good university researchers with hot ideas that need funding as the computer giant officially releases a call for proposals from academia, a new process in the restructuring on the company's storied R&D division.

AMD says Intel paid PC makers to boycott rival
(05:22 PM EDT, 05/06/08)
The add-on to the 2005 antitrust suit claims Intel paid off Acer, Dell, Gateway, major Japanese manufacturers, and system builders to block out AMD.

Cisco quarterly results top expectations
(04:56 PM EDT, 05/06/08)
Cisco Systems Inc. reported stronger-than-expected quarterly profits as rising Internet traffic fueled sales of its network equipment, despite concerns of a slowing U.S. economy.

RFMD cuts jobs, exits select wireless areas
(04:33 PM EDT, 05/06/08)
Amid a loss for the quarter, RF Micro Devices Inc. is eliminating all product development expenses in select wireless areas, including cellular transceivers and GPS solutions. The move will impact about 350 jobs at the chip maker.

HTC tries to cut Apple with smartphone
(03:44 PM EDT, 05/06/08)
The device, which runs on Microsoft's Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, includes a 2.8-inch VGA touch screen and supports carriers' 3G broadband-like networks.

IBM rolls plan to attract more Hispanics in technology
(03:13 PM EDT, 05/06/08)
IBM hosted a summit this week to harness and share best practices for recruiting the growing Hispanic population into scientific, technology, engineering, and math careers.

NASA to launch names into space in search for planets
(02:58 PM EDT, 05/06/08)
NASA plans to launch millions of names into space as part of the Kepler Mission to find planets in a habitable zone beyond our solar system.

ASIC specialist eSilicon expands strategy, seeks acquisitions
(02:32 PM EDT, 05/06/08)
After hitting a few speed bumps along the road, fabless ASIC vendor eSilicon Corp. appears to have regained its momentum and has expanded its strategy.

Apple to sell iPhone through multiple networks in same country
(01:34 PM EDT, 05/06/08)
Having missed out or opted out of the first round of selling Apple's iPhones in major territories , the world's largest mobile operator in terms of revenues, Vodafone plc (Newbury, England), will include the handset in its line-up in ten countries. At the same time it has emerged that for the first time at least two mobile carriers will offer the device to subscribers in a single country. Both Vodafone and Telecom Italia will offer the iPhone in Italy,

Major leagues draft electronics for performance-boosting mouthpiece
(11:51 AM EDT, 05/06/08)
Athletes including the Red Sox's Manny Ramirez are optimizing their performance by submitting to a dental procedure that combines electronic stimulation, measurement and analysis to create a custom "pure power mouthpiece" (PPM), according to its orthdondist inventor and others certified to use the technology.

Vehicles to drive M2M to 37.9% CAGR, says analyst
(11:17 AM EDT, 05/06/08)
The number of cellular network connections used for machine-to-machine communication will grow from 37.5 million in 2007 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 37.9 percent to 186 million connections in 2012, according to Berg Insight (Gothenburg, Sweden).

AmberWave acquires IC materials integrator Aonex
(11:06 AM EDT, 05/06/08)
Semiconductor materials specialist AmberWave Systems said it has acquired Caltech spinout Aonex Technollogies Inc.

What's for lunch? Purdue supercomputer ready by noon
(09:38 AM EDT, 05/06/08)
It may have taken "seven days" to create the world, but Purdue University engineers assembled their new supercomputer by lunchtime on the first day.

Samsung steams into foundry top ten, says IC Insights
(09:22 AM EDT, 05/06/08)
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. increased its foundry sales fivefold in 2007 to achieve $385 million in revenue and grab tenth spot in IC Insights' ranking of the leading IC foundries for 2007.

NXP reports 7.5% sales decline in Q1
(08:55 AM EDT, 05/06/08)
NXP Semiconductors BV (Eindhoven, The Netherlands) reported sales of $1.52 billion for the first quarter 2008, down by 7.5 percent on a sequential basis.

Did Apple invest in P.A. Semi prior to acquisition?
(08:53 AM EDT, 05/06/08)
Word on the street is that there is still a little more light to be shed on the saga of P.A. Semi and Apple.

Infineon up on talk of interest from Samsung, Intel
(08:50 AM EDT, 05/06/08)
Shares in Infineon rose more than 7 percent as traders cited market talk that Samsung Electronics and Intel could be interested in the German chip maker.

Pols: Put nanotech research on fast track
(08:03 AM EDT, 05/06/08)
Two key legislators have called for the quick reauthorization of the National Nanotechnology Initiative.

Commentary: What's the deal with embedded Linux?
(07:00 PM EDT, 05/05/08)
Is Linux a delight or a disaster? Different vendors have different answers--all of them self-serving. Here's my attempt to set the story straight.

Mobile NFC moves closer to the money
(06:06 PM EDT, 05/05/08)
A technology that has the potential to replace money is bound to excite interest. Near Field Communications is such a technology, but the security, software complexity and vested interests surrounding the hardware engineering have kept the technology from making its way into commercial applications-until now.

Ethernet Alliance honors paper by Florida student
(05:45 PM EDT, 05/05/08)
The first recipient of the Ethernet Alliance award for research is Francisco Blanquicet of the University of South Florida at Tampa, who developed a method of using the Pause command in 802.3 standards to reduce the power dissipation of Ethernet switches.

Amazon's CreateSpace puts out-of-print music back on the market
(05:40 PM EDT, 05/05/08)
The online retailer works with Sony BMG and EMI Music to make hundreds of out-of-print albums available.

SID targets 'green' display food chain
(02:49 PM EDT, 05/05/08)
Energy-efficient displays will be showcased at this year's Society for Information Display international symposium and exhibition.

Net vendors demo improved security protocol
(02:36 PM EDT, 05/05/08)
A handful of vendors have demonstrated a technique to help companies more easily secure a rising number of Internet Protocol devices accessing their private business networks.

Femtocells off to slow start this year
(02:27 PM EDT, 05/05/08)
ABI Research says that shipments of the units, which soup up cellular phone coverage, will grow from just 100,000 to tens of millions in the next two years.

MEMS vibration sensor debuts
(01:05 PM EDT, 05/05/08)
Analog Devices' micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) chip senses high-frequency vibrations, enabling repairs to be made to equipment before failure, thereby causing serious damage.

Report: T-Mobile considers Sprint acquisition
(12:47 PM EDT, 05/05/08)
Such a deal would leapfrog rivals AT&T and Verizon Wireless to create the largest cell phone service provider in the U.S.

Top 25 global distributors for 2008
(11:43 AM EDT, 05/05/08)
2008 Top 25 Global Distributors

SID features '3D in cinema' update
(10:49 AM EDT, 05/05/08)
Three-dimensional technologies will be probed at the Society for Information Display conference this year.

Your computer keyboard is covered with germs
(10:12 AM EDT, 05/05/08)
Computer keyboards are so dirty they could cause symptoms of food poisoning and other illnesses, says a British computing magazine.

ARM job-cutting moves on to tools group
(09:50 AM EDT, 05/05/08)
Having embarked on a restructuring of its physical intellectual property division (PIPD), processor licensor ARM Holdings plc (Cambridge, England) is now moving on to restructure its development systems business, according to Warren East, CEO and president.

Duo to devise MPUs for 'exascale systems'
(09:28 AM EDT, 05/05/08)
Tensilica Inc. and the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have formed a collaboration to explore new, low-power processor designs for scientific computer systems.

KPCB commits $1.2 billion to green venture funds
(06:24 AM EDT, 05/05/08)
Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (Menlo Park, Calif.), the Silicon Valley venture capital firm, has announced two venture capital funds, the $500 million Green Growth Fund and the $700 Million KPCB XIII Fund.

EC urged to allocate 25% of UHF spectrum for mobile broadband
(06:15 AM EDT, 05/05/08)
The European economy would receive a financial boost of at least 95 billion Euros over the next 20 years if just one quarter of the UHF band were allocated for mobile broadband services, according to consultancy group Spectrum Value Partners (London).

Qimonda to enter photovoltaics business
(04:10 AM EDT, 05/05/08)
Ailing DRAM manufacturer Qimonda AG (Munich, Germany) is entering the solar cell business. In a joint venture with solar system integrator Centrosolar group (Munich, Germany), the company plans to build a new fab in Portugal.

GSA contends fabless is more
(12:00 AM EDT, 05/05/08)
Success in the $268 billion semiconductor industry depends on outsourcing, partnerships, financial performance, software and, most of all, innovation and flexibility, according to presenters and panelists at the Global Semiconductor Alliance's recent Israel Executive Forum, held in Tel Aviv.

Microsoft yanks Yahoo bid
(09:14 PM EDT, 05/03/08)
"After careful consideration, we believe the economics demanded by Yahoo! do not make sense for us," Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said in withdrawing the $44.6-billion bid.

External hard drives buyer's guide
(07:00 AM EDT, 05/03/08)
We assess 25 of the hottest external hard disk drives from Cavalry, Iomega, LaCie, Maxtor, Seagate, Western Digital, and more.