4-14: Samsung is intent to stretching its DRAM shares to close to 50%; Merger of Micron and Inotera is approved; Huawei aims to ship 140 million smartphones this year; BlackBerry stops supporting BB10; etc.
Samsung is intent to stretching its DRAM shares to close to 50%; Merger of Micron and Inotera is approved; Huawei aims to ship 140 million smartphones this year; BlackBerry stops supporting BB10; Greer acquires new energy companies because they want to make cars; LeEco announces LeSee super car brand; Samsung hires self-driving car experts; IMF forecasts 3.2% global economy growth in 2016; etc.
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Chipset |
| Diane Bryant, senior vice president and general manager of Intel’s Data Center Group announces, AliCloud, Alibaba Group’s cloud computing arm; together with Intel and BGI, a Beijing-based genomics research center, launched Asia’s first cloud platform that focuses on precision medicine and its applications. (CN Beta, Intel, Fierce Biotech, CIO)
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Memory |
| Bernstein Research analyst Mark Newman indicates that Samsung rather than sitting back and enjoying elevated profit margins with 40% market share in DRAM, Samsung is intent to stretching its shares to close to 50%. (Barron’s, press, HC360) |
| Micron completes data center SSD portfolio with the introduction of Micron NVMe 9100 and 7100 PCIe SSDs, complementing existing SATA and SAS drives. (CN Beta, Micron, NASDAQ, AnandTech)
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| The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) approves merger between Micron and Inotera. Micron already owns a 33% stake in Inotera, and will spend an estimated NTD130 billion to acquire the remaining 67%. (TechNews, Sohu, Times of News, Focus Taiwan) |
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Camera |
| Columbia Engineering researchers have developed a novel sheet camera that can be wrapped around everyday objects to capture images that cannot be taken with one or more conventional cameras. They designed and fabricated a flexible lens array that adapts its optical properties when the sheet camera is bent. (Gizmodo, TechXplore, Columbia)
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Connectivity |
| ABI Research projects that mobile broadband operators will reap 5G revenues of USD247 billion in 2025 with North America, Asia-Pacific, and Western Europe being the top markets. (Digitimes, ABI Research, press, C-Fol) |
| Apple iPhone 7 series rumored to feature Smart Connector, but no stereo speakers or thinner design. (iDownloadBlog, Mac Rumors, Maco Takara, CN Beta)
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Smartphones |
| Global growth continues, but at a sluggish pace that leaves the world economy more exposed to risks, says the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) latest World Economic Outlook. The IMF’s World Economic Outlook 2016 forecasts global growth at 3.2% in 2016 and 3.5% in 2017, a downward revision of 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively, compared with the January 2016 update. (199IT, IMF report, WSJ, Sofia Globe, The IUSB Preface)
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| Goldman Sachs analyst Simona Jankowski conducted an online survey of over 1000 U.S. consumers above 19 years old. A second question “If you plan to get a new Apple iPhone 7 in the fall, what is the current phone you’ll be replacing,” Jankowski observes that 44% of those answering said they plan to get an iPhone 7, which she deems a “remarkably high” percentage. (CN Beta, Barron’s, press) |
| Huawei aims to ship 140 million smartphones in 2016, 44% of which will be mid-to-high end. (Android Headlines, Digitimes)
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| BlackBerry CEO John Chen indicates that it will continue to support BB10 for owners of existing devices “for a minimum of two years” but it will not be utilizing the OS on future devices. (Pocket-Lint, The National, EEPW, ZOL) |
| Meizu Pro 6 is launched – 5.2” FHD Super AMOLED display with 3D Press, MediaTek Helio X25 processor, 21MP PDAF + 5MP cameras, 4GB RAM, 32/64GB storage, Android 6.0, USB Type-C, fingerprint sensor, mCharge 3.0, 2560mAh battery, CNY2499 / CNY2799. (Android Authority, Android Central, China So, Hexun)
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| CREO unveils Mark 1 smartphone – 5.5” QHD LTPS display, MediaTek Helio X10 processor, 21MP PDAF + 8MP cameras, 3GB RAM, 32GB storage, Android 5.1 (Fuel OS), dual-SIM, LTE, 3100mAh battery, INR19,999. (Android Headlines)
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Wearables |
| Research firm SuperData Research released a new report suggesting early glitches in the technology are causing some to be turned off the products. SuperData now estimates hardware and software sales will reach USD2.6 billion this year, down some 22% on its forecasts in March. (CN Beta, WSJ, Proactive Investors) |
| SuperData has found that more Americans know about Sony PlayStation VR than other rival products. PSVR will be this year’s winner when it comes to high-end devices, taking on 69% of PC and console’s combined shipment totals this year. (The Sixth Axis, SuperData Research, blog, GYWB)
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| Japanese mobile gaming outfit GREE will support VR startups with USD12 million investments. (Android Headlines, Fortune) |
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Internet of Things |
| Global sales of industrial robots rose 8% in 2015, driven by demand from the automotive industry and China, says the World Robotics Federation. Articulated robots – robots with rotary joints (cobots) – were the most in demand. The number of robots sold exceeded 240,000 for the first time. China cemented its position as the leading market with a rise of 16% to 66,000 units. (CN Beta, Fortune, Business Times) |
| Samsung Electronics has been accelerating its push into the autonomous vehicle segment by trying to attract seasoned researchers in the field. (CN Beta, Korea Herald) |
| Greer CEO Mingzhu Dong indicates that the reason the company acquiring new energy corporations because Greer wants to make cars. (CN Beta, Sohu)
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| LeEco announces its super-car brand and logo, dubbed “LeSEE” – LeEco Super Electronic Ecosystem. The meaning behind the brand is all-electric, smart, internet, social, and the complete auto ecosystem. (CN Beta, Tencent, 163)
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| Foxconn Technology Group announces investing USD240 million acquiring shares of TeleEye Holding, controlling 50.07% stake, aiming to enter the IoT market. (TechNews, AA Stocks) |
