Media, Entertainment and Gaming
ò Fuji Television Network Inc announced that it has filed a damages suit estimated at 34.5 billion yen ($292.7 million) against Livedoor Co, claiming that the company's securities fraud sharply cut the value of the TV broadcaster's shareholdings in Livedoor. Fuji TV, one of Japan's largest private broadcasters, said in a statement that it had obtained Livedoor shares for 44 billion yen ($373.3 million) before selling them to Yasuhide Uno, the president of cable broadcaster Usen Corp, for only 9.5 billion yen ($80.6 million). Fuji bought a 12.7 percent stake in Livedoor to end a high-profile battle with the Internet company to gain control over radio broadcaster Nippon Broadcasting System Inc in 2005, but the sharp fall in Livedoor shares and the company's delisting last year prompted Fuji to sell the stake at a loss.
ò Sega and Nintendo, two former rivals, announced they were teaming up to put their two popular mascots ù Sonic the Hedgehog and Mario the plumber ù against each other in a game called Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games. The game, to be released in time for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, will include table tennis, swimming and running, among other events. The game to be released for Nintendo's Wii console and DS handheld system by the end of the year will also include other popular characters such as Luigi and Yoshi (from Nintendo's Mario games), as well as Knuckles and Tails (from the Sonic games), all competing in sports found in the summer Olympics.
Mobile/Wireless
ò NTT DoCoMo revealed the termination of its pager services, which has been running for almost forty years, a decision the company ascribed to a rapid flight of subscribers to cell phones, leaving only two regional beeper service operators in business in Japan. Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corp, predecessor of NTT DoCoMo, began pager services in 1968, an offering that created demand from hospitals, fire departments, businesses and central and local government offices especially because of a function to page a large number of people simultaneously.
Hardware
ò Konica Minolta Holdings and General Electric announced they were entering into a strategic alliance agreement to accelerate the development and commercialisation of OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) devices for lighting applications. The company said their aim is to bring OLED lighting to market within the next three years. The company considered saving such unprecedented attractive features as flexible, thin, light weight, and sheet form, OLED lighting is considered one of the most promising new business opportunities, given its thin and flexible features. The company described OLED as a revolutionary new lighting technology.
ò Hitachi announced that it would soon release its Wooo series, 8 types of digital HDD TV with a built-in iV pocket which allows attaching an Information Versatile Disk for Removable usage (iVDR) for expanding its memory storage. The iVDR enables users to easily record and save the userÆs favourite programmes. The device comes in two types û 80 GB and 160 GB, which can record 8 HDD movies of 2 hours each. The LCD line-up also features the world's first smooth movie that allows smoothness on the screen by adding extra frames between each frame, which enhances the frame rate from 24 frames per second to 60 frames per second.
Information Technology
ò Matsushita Electric Industrial Co announced its move to initiate a telecommuting system next month for some 30,000 white-collar workers. The company said it looks to the strategy as providing a more flexible working environment, one that will enhance worker motivation and productivity. The employees will be allowed to work at home one or two days a week on average, using personal computers equipped with high-speed Internet connection and teleconferencing cameras loaned out by the company. The approach is also seen as enabling people to remain employed even if they have to stay at home longer to take care of their family.
Korea
Internet
ò Domestic PC sales in South Korea showed a rise as Windows Vista became compatible with more internet web sites. The surge has also been ascribed to the opening of the new school semester. Earlier, VistaÆs strong security features created compatibility problems. In the country, it was noted how Microsoft`s latest operating system, did not support the Active X technology, a security tool used by most Korea-based Internet shopping, government and online gaming web sites. An increasing number of web sites of local commercial lenders, brokerages, Internet shopping malls, portals, software/game developers, newspapers and broadcasters are supporting the Active X technology.
Mobile/Wireless
ò SK Telecom Co. announced the launching of its new high-speed mobile phone network nationwide even as SK has to deploy yet devices that function only on HSDPA. The high speed downlink packet access, or HSDPA, service allows users to download data seven times faster than the current network. Industry observers note that with this move, SKÆs rivalry with KTF will rise. The smaller company launched its nationwide HSDPA service earlier this month. According to SK Telecom, six new DBDM handsets and three new SBSM handsets are slated to launch in May. With the nationwide HSDPA launch, SK Telecom said it has slashed multimedia message rates by up to 75 percent. Multimedia messaging allows users to send text, video, music and photo messages. The company will also offer mobile financial services on its new network. SK Telecom has teamed up with local brokerages Tong Yang Investment & Securities and SK Securities to offer a USIM M Stock transaction service, which will launch next month.
ò Pantech & Curitel Communications, a handset maker facing a financial crisis, and affiliate Pantech expressed some positive assessment of the company following PantechÆs move to ask for a debt workout programme in December. To this request, 9 of 10 creditor banks led by the state-run Korea Development Bank agreed to put the business of the handset maker back on track. Under the measure, the creditors will perform an equity swap for a debt of 455.8 billion won ($486.8 million) and provide an additional loan of 120 billion won ($128.1 million). The measure requires Pantech and Pantech & Curitel to reduce their capital to 20:1 and 30:1 respectively. With the debt-for-equity swap and the injection of new capital, the debt repayment will be delayed until the end of 2011. The report said creditor banks will also consider restructuring or selling the company. Industry observes also see the workout program as giving the countryÆs third-largest phone maker a chance to stand on its feet again once non-banking and individual creditors approve the measure.
ò LG Electronics announced entering into an agreement with Google to offer the leading online search engine's products on its mobile phones. An official of the LG Electronics Mobile Communications Co. said LGÆs mobile devices, combined with Google, will provide consumers with easy access to their favourite internet services even without a PC. LG said it plans to start shipping globally select handsets with Google products and services including Google Maps, Blogger Mobile and Gmail during the second quarter of this year. LG, the world's fifth-largest mobile phone maker, also said it plans to offer 10 new handsets this year installed with Google functions.
Media, Entertainment and Gaming
ò Gravity Co., Ltd. posted revenues for 2006 of 34.6 billion won ($37.3 million), representing a 29.6 percent decline from 49.2 billion ($52.9 million) for 2005. This decline was primarily attributed to decreased revenues from Ragnarok Online, which faced intense competition in the global online gaming markets. The company said its subscription revenues went down 17.6 percent to 5.6 billion won ($ 6.1 million) for 2006 from 6.8 billion ($7.3) for 2005. Based in South Korea, Gravity is a developer and publisher of online games. Gravity's principal product, Ragnarok Online is a popular online game in many markets, including Japan, Taiwan and Thailand, and is currently commercially offered in 21 markets.
Semiconductors
ò Pixelplus, a leading fabless semiconductor company in South Korea that designs, develops, and markets CMOS image sensors for various consumer electronics applications, announced its move to completely withdraw its claims in its preliminary injunction and lawsuit for defamation against MagnaChip Semiconductor in Seoul Central District Court. Pixelplus is a South Korea-based developer of high-performance, high- resolution, and cost-effective CMOS image sensors for use primarily in mobile camera phones. In addition to mobile phones, Pixelplus provides CMOS image sensors and SoC solutions for use in webcams and notebook embedded cameras, toys and games, as well as security and surveillance system applications.
Hardware
ò LG. Philips LCD announced that its flat screen assembly plant in Poland had begun mass production, with the firm planning to produce 11 million modules annually by 2011 to meet the surging demand for flat TVs in Europe. LG.Philips, a joint venture between LG Electronics Inc. and Philips NV, plans to expand the annual production capacity of the plant from an initial 3 million units to 11 million units by 2011. The plant will mainly assemble liquid crystal display (LCD) panels over 32 inches in order to supply makers of flat screen TVs. LG.Philips invested 429 million euros ($572.9 million) in the factory. Japan's Toshiba Corp. took a 19.9 percent stake in the LG.Philips plant in order to ensure a stable supply of panels for its TV sets. With global demand for LCD panels skyrocketing, especially in Europe, central and eastern European countries have become locations of choice for flat screen makers thanks to their cheap and well-educated workforce and convenient location.
China
Internet
ò East Star Air, a private airline company in China, has announced plans to enter into a partnership with the online third-party payment service provider YeePay to introduce the latter's e-payment platform to its ticket distribution network. The cooperation between the two parties is expected to enable users to easily book an air ticket online or through a phone call. The introduction of YeePay's online payment service is seen as putting the company in a more advantageous position in the aviation travel market.
ò Sohu.com announced the media collaboration and other key programmes the company has set up in relation to Sohu's role as the Official Internet Sponsor of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. As the sole Internet Sponsor and operator of the official website of the Beijing Olympics, Sohu thus becomes the only Chinese online media company to have exclusive access to premier Olympic content. Under this plan, Sohu is announcing an exclusive collaborative agreement with the nation's top 15 newspapers in setting up a media alliance for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. The members of the alliance can thus be part of Sohu's journalist team and share their resources to provide extensive Olympics-related coverage and reporting.
Media, Entertainment and Gaming
ò A group led by China Mobile that includes a number of wireless value-added service providers such as Sina.com, Tom.com and Kongzhong.com, announced the formation of a non-profit institution called Monternet Credit Consensus Alliance. The group said they have released a public letter expressing their aim to promote the healthy and sustainable development of Monternet through this alliance. Monternet Credit Consensus Alliance will implement three concrete measures following their foundation. One of these measures is the creation of a complete agent supervision mechanism to keep track of and identify problems existing in the industry and hand over the supervision results to the alliance members for a solution. The group also aims to keep their information transparent and to be open to the media and the public.
Semiconductors
ò STMicroelectronics announced entering into a five-year agreement with the Chinese Academy of Science's Institute of Computing Technology (ICT) to sell China's homegrown Loongson processor in markets around the world. Under the agreement, the first chip to be offered by STMicroelectronics will be ICT's Longsoon-2E, a 1GHz processor that is manufactured using a 90-nanometer process. Before the agreement, ICT relied on a spin-off company, BLX IC Design Co., to market the Loongson chips to customers. Marketed as offering the same performance as Pentium III and Pentium 4 processors, the Loongson processor family has been having difficulty finding its niche in the market, partly because the chips do not use the x86 instruction set used in chips from Intel and Advanced Micro Devices. Instead, the Loongson chips use an instruction set based on MIPS, which is not able to run the full version of Microsoft's Windows operating system and other software commonly used on PCs. Over and above this hitches, STMicroelectronics has signed a licensing agreement with MIPS Technologies for the MIPS64 architecture as part of plans to sell the Loongson chips around the world.
ò Following the announcement in the media about IntelÆs plans for Dalian, the global chip maker made a formal announcement for its plans to build a 300-millimeter wafer fabrication facility in the coastal city. According to Intel president, the $2.5 billion investment for the factory designated Fab 68 will become Intel's first wafer fabrication facility in Asia. Intel has been involved in China for more than 22 years and over that time the company has invested more than US$1.3 billion in assembly test facilities and research and development. This new investment will bring IntelÆs total investment to just under US$4 billion, making Intel one of the largest foreign investors in China. Construction on Fab 68 is scheduled to begin later this year with production projected to begin in the first half of 2010. Initial production will be dedicated to chipsets to support Intel's core microprocessor business. When completed, Fab 68 will become part of Intel's manufacturing network that includes eight 300mm factories in 2010 with other fabrication facilities located in the United States, Ireland and Israel.
ò ON Semiconductor announced its decision to set up a joint power laboratory to develop efficient and energy-saving power solutions for LCD, plasma and CRT TV series with China's Hisense. The laboratory is located at Hisense's research and development center in Qingdao, the lab will focus on leveraging ON Semiconductor's strengths, expertise and experience in innovative, energy-saving solutions for Hisense TV products, especially LCD TVs. ON Semiconductor will assign resident field application engineers to the joint lab to work closely with Hisense product R&D and power supply teams to enable timely TV power solutions to be developed and utilized. Hisense is a top brand in electronics and ON Semiconductor says Hisense has recognized that power management is one of the key technology enablers for future success.
Taiwan
Hardware
ò Asustek Computer announced plans to launch a PC motherboard soon with an interface that will enable users to watch high definition (HD) movies on either the Blu-ray Disc or HD-DVD formats. The ASUS M2A-VM-HDMI comes with an HDMI (high definition multiple interface) slot, which is where users can plug in a high definition player and enjoy cinema-like films on their PC monitors. The interface, however, can only take place in monitors is also high-end LCD products. HDMI can also be used with other disc formats, such as DVD. The board, which is aimed at home theater PC users, is priced at NT$3,190 ($96.4).
Hardware
ò Industry sources said handset-chassis maker Taiwan Chi Cheng Enterprise has plans to acquire more than 51 percent stake in LCD TV chassis maker Comsmart Industrial for NT$1-1.3 billion ($30-41 million). The planned acquisition is expected to help Taiwan Chi Cheng expand its production lines to include chassis, back panels and other related pressed components for LCD TVs, in addition to its current production of chassis for handsets and DSCs. The sources said that Taiwan Chi Cheng is looking to acquire up to an 80-90 percent stake in Comsmart.
Semiconductors
ò A-DATA Technology, a Taiwan-based producer of memory modules that go inside desktops, laptops and multimedia gadgets, revealed its move to enter the market in mainland China in its bid for expansion. The company sells dynamic random access memory modules, USB flash drives and memory cards to computer makers and end-users worldwide. Its sales reached $1.3 billion last year, a massive rise from $38 million when the company was established six years ago. A-DATA Technology has about 600 employees in a Chinese factory and 530 staffers in Taiwan. The Chinese factory focuses on the local market and the Taiwanese factory in the overseas markets. The company maintains close ties with South Korea IT businesses, which are close and stable, Samsung Electronics and Hynix as the two largest suppliers to A-DATA Technology.
Internet
ò Taiwan's Executive Yuan announced that it has approved a programme budget of NT$55.6 billion ($1.6 billion) for the 2007-2011 period to help Taiwan remain a leading region for internet infrastructure and services. For the five-year budget, NT$26.5 billion ($800.8 million) has been set aside for expanding and upgrading wireless high-speed broadband networks, NT$8.8 billion ($266 million) for establishing platforms of innovative e-Government services and NT$11.3 billion ($341.4 million) for new applications of information/communications to daily life, according to government sources.
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