Panasonic and Toshiba warn of a slowdown October 31, 2012 JAPANESE electronics giants Toshiba and Panasonic both admitted trading had been disappointing in the last few months yesterday, and warned that prospects continued to be stormy. The two heavyweights have struggled to move as quickly as more nimble competitors such as Samsung in key markets like televisions. Panasonic said it would lose around ¥765bn (£5.9bn) [...]
Digital economy jobs leap as clamour for engineers grows October 30, 2012 DEMAND for IT jobs leapt by more than a fifth in the last few months, as firms increasingly invested in app and website development, and internet retail and advertising picked up. Figures from online job website Freelancer.co.uk showed that adverts for the world’s 50 most popular digital jobs grew from 230,614 in the third quarter [...]
Wolfson back in the black October 30, 2012 ■ British chipmaker Wolfson Microelectronics delivered its first profitable quarter since the end of 2010 as its technology was used in Samsung’s popular Galaxy SIII smartphone and Microsoft’s Surface tablet. The company yesterday reported an underlying operating profit of $3.4m (£2.1m) against a $0.7m loss a year ago and a $1.3m loss in the last [...]
Google and Microsoft unveil Nexus and Windows Phone 8 October 29, 2012 GOOGLE and Microsoft both unveiled challengers to the iPhone yesterday ahead of the crucial Christmas shopping period. Although Google’s proposed New York launch event was blown off course by Hurricane Sandy, it still announced a new smartphone and 10-inch tablet to its Nexus range yesterday, adding to the seven-inch device it unveiled earlier in the [...]
Samsung makes record profit on smartphone sales October 26, 2012 Samsung saw record third quarter revenues of 52.18 trillion Korean won (£29.5 trillion), up 26 per cent year on year, it said today. The South Korean electronics company posted record profit of 8.12 trillion won over the quarter, a 91 per cent increase. Revenue was boosted by sales of Samsung’s smartphones, particularly by the new [...]
Smartphone sales boost LG October 24, 2012 LG shipped a record number of smartphones in the third quarter, fuelling confidence it may have a future in the lucrative market as its peers are fading fast. The South Korean firm and rivals such as Nokia and HTC have struggled with losses or razor-thin profits in recent years as consumers have swarmed to the [...]
The top five 7-inch tablets on the market October 24, 2012 Amazon Kindle Fire HD The HD version of Amazon’s original design is ideal for people who use their tablet for watching movies and online shows. Considering the affordable price, the features on offer provide great value for money and the speakers are pretty good too. Google Nexus 7 by Asus Despite it being made of [...]
Nokia seeks €750m from bond issue to fund turnaround plans October 23, 2012 FINNISH mobile phone manufacturer Nokia yesterday said it would issue €750m (£609m) of convertible bonds, with the proceeds used to fund an ambitious turnaround plan. Nokia’s cash reserves have tumbled this year as the company – which was once the world’s biggest mobile phone manufacturer – continues to struggle in the face of tough competition from [...]
CSR to return Samsung cash to investors October 23, 2012 SHAREHOLDERS in British chipmaker CSR will get a special payout before the end of the year after the completion of the sale of its handset technology to South Korean electronics leader Samsung. Details of the $285m (£178.5m) tender offer to shareholders will be announced during the fourth quarter, the company said yesterday. The group booked [...]
FTSE 100 down while Trinity Mirror tumbles October 23, 2012 The blue chip index was down in early trading today, while Trinity Mirror sustained heavy losses on the FTSE All-Share. The newspaper publishing group lost 11.5 per cent in early trading, after four people filed legal claims accusing the group’s newspapers of hacking phones. Defence equipment firm Chemring fell 7.6 per cent, as it announced [...]