Battle for the next stage of TV heats up August 26, 2010 DESPITE the ubiquity of the internet, television viewing habits on both sides of the Atlantic remain doggedly traditional. However, the battle for control of the next generation of TV viewers is hotting up. Manufacturers, such as Samsung are already rolling out internet-ready TVs as they prepare for a monumental shift in viewing habits. BBC’s hugely [...]
Microsoft shows Apple does not have monopoly on tablet PCs July 12, 2010 Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer showed off new tablet-style devices running the Windows 7 operating system from a host of top manufacturers yesterday, underlining the giant software company’s eagerness to counter the explosion of interest in Apple’s iPad. New Windows-powered tablet or slate devices — small, hand-held, wireless computers — are in the pipeline from [...]
Visa pushes new mobile phone payment systems September 19, 2010 VISA will roll out a network that will allow its customers to pay for goods using their mobile phones in time for the 2012 Olympics. The world’s biggest payment processing firm hopes the new technology will allow it to corner the small transactions market, which is still dominated by cash purchases. The firm believes the [...]
BP and energy peers propel the FTSE while banks drag September 8, 2010 EENERGY stocks led by BP pushed Britain’s top shares higher yesterday, outpacing falls in banks that were weighed down by European recovery concerns. The FTSE 100 closed up 21.92 points, or 0.4 per cent, at 5,429.74, after breaking a seven-session winning streak to close down 0.6 per cent on Tuesday at 5,407.82. Meanwhile the FTSE [...]
Smartphone sales to double May 20, 2010 GLOBAL shipments of smartphones may grow 50 per cent this year and drive explosive expansion in high-end display sales over the next five years, according to Samsung. Samsung has gone into overdrive producing seven times the number of ultra-thin mobile screens used in high-end smartphones than it did last year. But the firm’s mobile display [...]
ARM sees 167pc profit spike after surge in demand for smartphones July 27, 2010 Rising demand for smartphones, netbooks and tablet computers saw chip designer ARM Holdings deliver a remarkable 167 per cent year-on-year spike in profit. The British company, whose designs are in more than 95 per cent of the world’s mobile phones, posted record pre-tax profit of £43.5m on revenue of £100m, both ahead of expectations. The [...]
Domestic demand adds to South Korea’s roar July 28, 2010 FROM shipbuilding and car manufacturing to world-class information technology and high-tech white goods, South Korea has gone from strength to strength since the 1960s. In the 1990s, South Korean multinational firms made a deliberate shift towards more high-technology goods and it is now home to well known household names such as Samsung, Hyundai, Daewoo and [...]
Chip makers fined for price fixing in new EU procedure May 19, 2010 NINE memory chip makers, including world leader Samsung Electronics, were fined a total €331m (£284m) by EU regulators yesterday for illegally fixing prices. The EU antitrust watchdog levied its biggest penalty of €145.73m against Samsung, while Infineon was fined €56.70m and Hynix Semiconductor €51.47m for a cartel of Dram (Dynamic Random Access Memory) chip makers [...]
Yahoo and Nokia set their sights on dual dominance May 25, 2010 YAHOO and Nokia yesterday unveiled a wide Internet services deal, including maps and e-mail service, as the two battle new rivals on the wireless market. The role of mobile services and software has increased sharply since Apple and Google entered the industry, forcing traditional phonemakers like Samsung and Nokia to hurry to build up their [...]
Photo purists will adore this retro gem July 21, 2010 THE X1 is the first in Leica’s new compact digital camera series and arrives in a cabinet-like black box complete with two sliding drawers of accessories and manuals (the latter, with an English-language section of 50 pages, will no doubt soon join the recycling pile). The camera itself handles beautifully; it sits gracefully in your [...]