8-4: MediaTek announced consolidated revenues of NTD72.53 billion; Samsung Galaxy Note 7 sales could reach 12 million for 2H16; etc.
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Chipset |
| MediaTek announced consolidated revenues of NTD72.53 billion (USD2.29 billion) for the 2Q16, up 29.7% sequentially and 54.2% on year. The company credited the positive performance to rising chip demand for smartphones and recognition of revenues from acquired companies such as Richtek Technology. (EEPW, TechNews, Digitimes, press)
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| Thanks to China Mobile relaunch its subsidy program, OPPO / vivo’s high demand, MediaTek enjoys hot sales of its mobile phone chipsets until it falls under tight supply. Its 2Q16 shipment reached 145 million units, 45% increase on-quarter. However, because the tight supply of 28nm from TSMC and UMC, MediaTek forecast that 3Q16 shipments of chips for mobile will fall in a range of 145-155 million units, 6.9% increase on-quarter. (52RD, Laoyaba, EE World, EE Times, press) |
| Faraday Technology, a leading ASIC design service and IP provider, and UMC announced the availability of Faraday’s 12.5Gbps programmable SerDes PHY IP on UMC’s 28HPCU process technology. (TechNews, Yahoo) |
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Battery |
| ABB has received a commercial order from transit bus operator Tosa for its 15s, 600kW flash charge technology, which will be installed along the bus route 23, between suburban Geneva and the airport. (Breaking Energy, Business Wire, ABB, TechNews, GreenTech Media)
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Memory |
| According to Digitimes, the memory chip industry is set for an upturn in 3Q16 as inventories in the market have almost been cleared in the last two quarters and price hikes have become more apparent. Apple new iPhone is reportedly going to use 3GB RAM. (Apple Insider, CN Beta, Digitimes, press)
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Sensory |
| Intel’s Perceptual Computing Lab has made a prototype attachment featuring six camera holes that could be used for a hand-tracking system or something similar for HTC Vive. (The Verge, Digital Trends, Upload VR, HNR, JRJ)
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Biometrics |
| President of Samsung mobile division DJ Koh indicates that mid-end phones may get iris scanning technology later once costs are controllable. (CN Beta, ZDNet) |
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Connectivity |
| China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) released 38th “China Internet Development Status Report”. It shows that till June 2016, China Internet users have reached 710 million people, indicating the internet penetration reaching 51.7%. Mobile Internet population has reached 656 million people, a 36.56 million increase from end of 2015. Among the Internet users, the share of using mobile phone to get online has increased from 90.1% in end of 2015 to 92.5%. (199IT, CN Beta, CNNIC report)
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| According to Speedtest, fixed broadband customers have seen the biggest jump in performance with download speeds achieving an average of over 50Mbps for the first time ever. This improvement is more than a 40% increase since July 2015. Comcast Xfinity (125Mbps) is the fastest ISP. (CN Beta, Geek Wire, Speedtest, report)
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| BlackBerry has filed a lawsuit against Avaya, accusing the multi-national tech company of infringing on 8 of its U.S. patents related to mobile communications. (Phone Arena, Crackberry, Toutiao) |
| Apple and Broadcom have jointly filed counterclaims against the California Institute of Technology in an ongoing Wi-Fi-related lawsuit, denying any alleged infringement of the technologies and urging the court to invalidate the asserted patents. (CN Beta, The Loop, Apple Insider, Mac Rumors) |
| Qorvo, a supplier of RF components to Apple, is offering strong guidance for the September quarter that hints at a healthy “iPhone 7” ramp. Wells Fargo’s Maynard Um noted the company is guiding revenue forecasts over USD100 million higher than Wall Street consensus—a sequential growth of 19%— stronger even than the 15 percent seen with the iPhone 6 launch in 2014. (Apple Insider, CN Beta) |
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Smartphones |
| Central bankers from the U.S., India and Malaysia pointed to debt as a key factor holding back the global economic recovery from the financial crisis. Governments, consumers and businesses in many economies had borrowed funds both prior to and after the global financial crisis, but later needed to trim their debts. This collective deleveraging has been acting as a headwind to global growth, with the World Bank cutting its global economic growth forecast to 2.4% from January’s estimate of 2.9%. (TechNews, CNBC) |
| Earlier this year, ZTE announced plans to release a crowdsourced “mobile product” in 2017, dubbed Project CSX. The manufacturer is soliciting ideas and feedback from the community over the hardware, design, and overall development of a phone, tablet, or a smartwatch. (Android Central, Z-Community, Android Headlines, GYWB) |
| According to Hyundai Securities analyst Kim Dong-won, Samsung Galaxy Note 7 sales could reach 12 million for 2H16. (Android Headlines, Geeky Gadgets, Pocket Now, Korea Herald, My Drivers) |
| Apple App Store has paid over USD50 billion to developers since launched in 2008. (The Verge, Tencent, IT Home)
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| Samsung Z2, its third Tizen-powered is scheduled to be announced in full in Kenya on the 26 August. (CN Beta, Slash Gear, Techweez, India Times) |
| OPPO F1s ‘selfie expert’ is unveiled in India – 5.5” FHD display, MediaTek MT6750 processor, 13MP PDAF + 16MP cameras, 3GB RAM, 32GB storage, Android 5.1 (ColorOS 3.0), LTE, dual-SIM, fingerprint sensor, INR17990. (GizChina, India Times, Mobile Indian, CNMO, My Drivers)
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Wearables |
| Facebook opens a giant hardware lab to build its future. Dubbed Area 404, which will develop VR, networking technology and more. (Engadget, Facebook Code, Android Authority, East Day)
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| Baidu announced DuSee, a new augmented reality (AR) platform developed for smartphones. DuSee is a collaboration between Baidu Research’s Institute of Deep Learning (IDL) and Baidu’s search products, sales and marketing teams. (CN Beta, Venture Beat, Yahoo)
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| BaDoinkVR has announced Virtual Sexology, a new content initiative that broadens the scope of erotic entertainment. Utilizing VR technology and teledildonic connectivity, this VR experience features sex education and therapy to help enhance sexual pleasure and performance—both solo and with partners. (CN Beta, Digital Trends, Digital Spy, Yahoo)
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| Sport watch Polar M600 is official – 1.3” 240×240 TFT display, MediaTek MT2601 processor, 512MB RAM, 4GB storage, Android Wear, optical heart rate, GPS, IPX7 rated, 500mAh battery, USD329.90. (CN Beta, Android Headlines, Android Authority) |
| Xiaomi VR Glasses Toy version is official, using zip design and lycra fabric material. By opening the zip, the smartphone could be “slide in” and stabilize inside when the zip is closed. (163, Gfan, DoNews, CN Beta)
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IoT |
| According to CB Insights, looking at an annual scale, IoT is on track to see a fall in funding this year, as well as a dent in dollar funding. At the current run rate, IoT will see a roughly 30% fall in deal activity and a 7% fall in funding year-over-year. (CB Insights, press)
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| Samsung Electronics is reportedly interested in acquiring Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ auto-parts affiliate Magneti Marelli, in a deal worth more than USD3 billion. Samsung is particularly interested in Magneti Marelli’s lighting, in-car entertainment, and “telematics”, or connected-car systems. (CN Beta, USA Today, Bloomberg, Motley Fool, The Street) |
| DJI has already opened physical stores in China and South Korea, now it opens its first ‘drone arena’. The 1,395-square-meter arena will open later Aug 2016 in Yongin, a city in the south of Seoul. (The Verge, DJI, Tencent, CN Beta)
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| For 2Q16, Tesla reported revenues of USD1.56 billion, up 31% from a year ago. It posted a loss of USD293 million in the quarter, nearly 60% wider than a year ago. Tesla adjusted its delivery count for the quarter slightly to 14,402. Tesla said it is on track to build 50,000 vehicles in 2H16, after delivering just under 30,000 in 1H16. (CN Beta, CN Beta, NY Times, Inside EVs, Money Control, WSJ, Market Watch, The Verge, Tesla)
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| Tesla plans to unveil the new vehicles in early to mid 2017, according to the CEO Elon Musk. (CN Beta, The Verge, CNN, Jalopnik)
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