ANALYSIS
Satellite, cable, internet offers enough HD options to keep buyers on fence
Wall Street Journal Oct 15, 08 2:43 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Blu-ray might have won the battle against Toshiba’s HD DVD, but it may still be losing the high-definition war as it is forced to compete with other sources of HD content, the Wall Street Journal reports. With cable and satellite TV providers offering more HD channels and video-on-demand services, some viewers are holding off on buying expensive players.
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But S. Korean court hands Lee Kun-hee suspended sentence
Associated Press Jul 16, 08 6:20 AM CDT
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A South Korean court convicted former Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee of tax evasion today, but handed the country's iconic business figure a 3-year suspended sentence, leaving him free from prison, reports the AP. The Seoul court found Lee, who resigned in April when the charges were brought, guilty of not paying about $46 million in taxes and fined him $109 million.
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product review
Sprint's touchscreen phone's no giant killer, but it's a contender
New York Times Jun 12, 08 10:25 AM CDT
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It isn’t an iPhone. But, says New York Times technology writer David Pogue, Samsung’s soon-to-be released touchscreen phone, called Instinct—while a little less sleek than the iconic iPhone—isn’t a bad effort. The newest iPhone wannabe debuts June 20 when Sprint Nextel rolls it out at half the price of a $199 iPhone, after the $100 rebate.
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Clearer picture, wider viewing angle
MIT Technology Review Jun 6, 08 3:01 PM CDT
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Watch out, plasma TVs. A new kind of LCD screen in development at Samsung overcomes the weaknesses of ordinary LCD displays. A prototype of the blue-phase liquid crystal screen has a wider viewing angle and doesn’t blur fast-moving images as much. What’s more, it could wind up being less expensive than current LCDs, reports MIT Technology Review.
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Intel, competitors stake out mobile internet device market
Wall Street Journal Jun 2, 08 10:16 AM CDT
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Following the lead of Intel, builders of high-tech microchips are shifting their focus to portable gadgets dubbed MIDs—mobile internet devices that are bigger than cell phones but smaller than computers. industry leaders like Samsung and Nvidia are dashing to release the more powerful chips that boost battery life and performance, reports the Wall Street Journal .
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Lee steps down amid tax evasion scandal
Wall Street Journal Apr 22, 08 7:00 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The chairman of Samsung, Korea's leading exporter, has resigned after being indicted on multiple counts of tax fraud and breach of duty. Lee Kun-hee, whose resignation speech was carried live on all of South Korea's TV networks, has controlled the Samsung consortium since 1987. Lee, his wife, his son, and nearly a dozen other execs have been implicated in the scandal.
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Electronics giant vows reform as chairman faces trial
Bloomberg Apr 17, 08 6:43 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The chairman of electronic giant Samsung will stand trial for tax evasion and breach of duty after special prosecutors alleged corruption in South Korea's largest industrial corporation. Lee Kun-hee was indicted in Seoul today for evading $114 million in taxes and for incurring losses at Samsung while installing his son in leadership positions, Bloomberg reports. Nine other execs at Samsung were also charged with crimes.
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Computer maker invested $100M; 'didn't anticipate' brouhaha
Wall Street Journal Apr 14, 08 10:42 AM CDT
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Lenovo execs were hoping for some major branding momentum from winning the Olympic torch design competition—not to mention from plunking down some $100 million as sponsors of the 2008 Beijing Games. What they got was anti-China vitriol that has accompanied the torch around the globe, and a marketing campaign fast going up in smoke, reports the Wall Street Journal .
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Companys says it will launch 80-160GB solid state chips in the second-quarter
CNET Mar 8, 08 10:43 AM CST
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Intel will bring a bigger—and faster—solid state drive to market in the second quarter that will heat up the competition between chipmakers and launch a new generation of laptops and PCs based on SSDs rather than hard drives, reports CNET. Intel’s 80-160GB SSDs are twice as fast as current hard drives and outpace rival Samsung’s 100mbs SSD.
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Mobile-phone maker loses market share to Apple, Samsung
Bloomberg Jan 23, 08 7:25 AM CST
(Newser)
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Motorola, blaming loss of market share to Apple and Samsung, today reported a fourth-quarter profit plunge of 84%. The nation’s largest mobile-phone maker said phone shipments fell 38%, and sales fell 18.2%. Reviving its ailing cellphone unit will take longer than expected, Motorola said, forecasting a loss next quarter. New CEO Greg Brown said the first quarter would be “challenging.”
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Profits booming in latest entertainment tech sector
Wall Street Journal Jan 21, 08 11:30 AM CST
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Manufacturers are ramping up production of LCD TVs, which are selling so well there's a supply shortage, reports the Wall Street Journal . Profits are at their highest since 2004, but production cutbacks in 2006 left companies unprepared to meet demand. LG Philips reported record quarterly profits last week, at $806 million. Samsung made $974 million.
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Finds niche in developing countries, but boom may not last
Reuters Jan 11, 08 6:58 PM CST
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Plasma TV's rollercoaster ride continues as the technology given up for dead more than a year ago has made a booming sales comeback, Reuters reports. Demand in the developing world, especially in China, is driving the upswing. LCD technology seemed until recently to have trampled plasma, but it turns out many consumers prefer plasma's crisper image quality.
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4 gig chip weighs less than a drop of water
MIT Technology Review Dec 18, 07 10:30 AM CST
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Intel has unveiled a new flash-memory hard drive smaller than a fingertip and lighter than a drop of water; the 2- or 4-gig Z-P140 is a play to compete with Samsung in storage technology for handheld devices. Conventional magnetic hard drives aren’t small, rugged, or efficient enough to power smartphones, but the new drive could eventually bring the power of a desktop to a handheld.
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Joins competitors in effort to create demand for flash memory
Reuters Dec 10, 07 3:05 PM CST
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Toshiba will start making flash-based solid-state drives for laptops, the company said Monday. The Japanese memory chip maker is trying to create more demand for flash chips, reports Reuters . Solid-state drives, which offer a faster boot-up than hard disk drives, are used in portable devices, but aren't mainstream yet in PCs due to their high cost.
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South Korean giant sees booming market for Huge TVs
Wall Street Journal Nov 23, 07 9:33 AM CST
(Newser)
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Samsung Electronics will invest $2.2 billion next year in LCD panels to cash in on the growing market for bigger flat-screen TVs, the Wall Street Journal reports. The world's leading LCD producer aims to expand its eighth-generation line, which makes screens for TVs in the 46- to 52-inch range.
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