IF / News

MediaTek expects  after 5 years IoT will contribute 10% revenue to the company; MediaTek launches its fast battery charging technology Pump Express 3.0; Qualcomm launches Snapdragon Wear 1100 targeting a simpler class of devices; Touch panel maker TPK Holding has prepared to adopt nano silver technology; Apple is likely to adopt silver nanowire-based flexible touch displays for future iOS devices; etc.

Chipsets

MediaTek indicates that IoT business currently only is 5% of the company’s business, but it expects to grow in the coming 3-5 years, and after 5 years it will contribute 10% revenue to the company. (Business Next, China Times, IOT Home)

Qualcomm launches Snapdragon Wear 1100 targeting a simpler class of devices including fitness trackers, kid’s smartwatches (and trackers), elderly location and assistance devices, and even smart headsets. (Android Authority, CN Beta, Venture Beat)

Touch / Display

With demand for tablets gradually weakening, upstream panel suppliers such as China-based DPT that used to rely on tablets for growth, have started turning to look for opportunities elsewhere and some have entered the car-use electronics market. (Digitimes, press)

Panasonic has decided to withdraw from LCD panel production for televisions amid fierce competition. Its sole LCD TV panel manufacturing plant in Himeji will stop by the end of Sept 2016. (TechNews, 4-Traders)

Touch panels used in hand-held devices are transitioning from rigid to flexible models based on metal thin film or nano silver technology. Touch panel maker TPK Holding has prepared to adopt nano silver technology, according to company president and CEO Michael Chung. (Digitimes, press, 163, eNorth, Phone Arena)

Apple is likely to adopt silver nanowire-based flexible touch displays for future iOS devices. (Phone Arena, Patently Apple, EE Focus)

Samsung files patent for foldable phone. The foldable design allows this future Galaxy smartphone to fold and reveal a hidden port connector bar. The smartphone will charge in the folded position. (Phone Arena, Android Authority, Patently Mobile)

Battery

MediaTek launches its fast battery charging technology Pump Express 3.0. It can charge a smartphone battery from 0 to 70% in as little as 20 minutes. It is the world’s first solution to enable direct charge through Type-C USB power delivery, and will be available in the MediaTek Helio P20. (CN Beta, EE Trend, CNET, Yahoo)

Sensors

University of Wisconsin-Madison has developed “the world’s fastest stretchable, wearable integrated circuits” that could let hospitals apply a temporary tattoo and remove the need for wires and clips. With its snake-like shape, the new platform supports frequencies in the .3GHz-300GHz range. (Engadget, Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison, Science News Journal, East Day)

Biometrics

Israeli start-up Faception, a facial personality profiling company says “a homeland security agency” has signed a contract to use Faception to help spot terrorists. Faception has built 15 different classifiers, and allegedly can evaluate certain traits with an 80% accuracy. (Computer World, Digital Trends, CN Beta, Washington Post, Faception)

Connectivity

Caltech sues Apple and its Wi-Fi chip suppliers Broadcom (and its subsidy Avago Technologies) for violating several patents on Wi-Fi technology. (The Verge, Mac Rumors, Apple Insider, iFeng, TechWeb, Patently Apple)

Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) of China indicates that MIIT and other government sectors has set up an initiative group of 5G, aiming to fully pushing 5G development, and collaborating with Europe, US, Japan and Korea on 5G standards. (CN Beta, Hexun, CNFOL)

Smartphones

As Chetan Sharma Consulting highlights, 32 %of new accounts of activation with wireless carriers were connected cars in US during 1Q16.. This outpaced new smartphone connections, which represented just 31% of the pie. (CN Beta, Tech Spot, Chetan Sharma, report)

Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said her ministry is discussing with the Finance Ministry on Apple’s proposal seeking exemption from 30%  local sourcing norms on FDI in single brand retail. (CN Beta, Yahoo, The Hindu)

India’s minister of commerce and industry, Nirmala Sitharaman says the government not in favour of Apple selling refurbished iPhones in India. (Apple Insider, Live-Mint, Sina, Tencent, iMobile)

ASUS has mentioned that over 30 million people used the ZenFone-branded devices in the last 2 years, which essentially means they have sold over 30 million ZenFone smartphones in the last two years. (Android Headlines, My Drivers)

The study, conducted in South Korea by Ajou University based on a survey of 1,236 students at six colleges in Suwon, Gyeonggi province, noted that 52% of the women in the survey used their smartphones for 4 hours a day or longer -far higher than the comparable ratio of 29.4% among men. The ratios of respondents who use smartphones for six hours a day were also 22.9% for women and 10.8% for men. (First Post, Korea Times, CN Beta)

InFocus S1 is announced with Tencent OS 2.0 – 5.5” FHD display, MediaTek Helio P10 MT6755M processor, 13MP PDAF+8MP cameras, 4GB RAM, 32GB storage, Tencent OS 2.0, LTE (VoLTE), dual-SIM, 2900mAh battery, CNY999. (CN Beta, InFocus)

Doogee subrand HomTom HT17 is officially released – 5.5” HD display, MediaTek MT6737 processor, 13MP + 5MP cameras, 1GB RAM, 8GB storage, fingerprint sensor, LTE, 3000mAh battery, USD69.99. (Gizmo China)

Tablets

ASUS announces new Transformer 2-in-1:Transformer 3 Pro – 12.6” 2880×1920 display, Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB RAM, 1TB PCIe SSD, USB Type-C, Thunderbolt 3 port, HDMI ports, Harmon Kardon speakers, Transformer Cover keyboard, priced from USD999.Transformer 3 – 12.6” 2880×1920 display, Intel Core “Kaby Lake” processor, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD, USB Type-C, Thunderbolt 3 port, HDMI ports, Harmon Kardon speakers, Transformer Sleeve keyboard, priced from USD799. (The Verge, Windows Central, CNET, India Times, Beta News, Pocket Now)

Wearables

A startup called Meta, its goal is to make interactions with virtual objects a seamless extension of the real world. Meta 2 has been offered as developer edition with USD949 (Microsoft HoloLens develpper edition costs USD3000). (Bloomberg, Yahoo, 199IT)

ASUS VR is officially unveiled with goggles part of it is a shiny silvery metal and its straps seem to be made out of leather. (Engadget, GSM Arena, Qudong, IT Home)

A team of doctors at the University of Massachusetts Medical School may have discovered a killer app for Google Glass—performing emergency medicine consultations. (EE Sage, IEEE, CN Beta)

MSI unveils Backpack PC specifically for VR use. It packs an Intel Core i7 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX980 graphics card. It  offers a battery life of 60-90 minutes and the battery can be replaced. (TechNews, IGN, PC World)

Internet of Things

MIT spinoff NuTonomy, which is pioneering self-driving technology for cars, has announced a USD3.6 million seed round in Jan 2016, which included input from Ford chairman Bill Ford’s Fontinalis Partners fund, and today it revealed its USD16 million Series A round. (CN Beta, Silicon Angle, WSJ, TechCrunch)