First Asia-Pacific digital cable TV rollout for Taiwan, led by major local media, tech firms

Press release; Adam Connors, DigiTimes.com [Wednesday 17 April 2002]

Taiwan-based digital STB (set-top box) supplier Advanced Digital Broadcast (ADB) announced that it has signed an agreement with China Network Systems (CNS) ­ a Koos Group (Taiwan) and News Corp STAR TV joint venture ­ in wiring its Taiwan cable-subscriber households to digital TV by 2005.

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UMC, Trident Microsystems release samples of fastest 3D graphics processor for notebooks

Press release; Adam Connors, DigiTimes.com [Tuesday 16 April 2002]

Trident Microsystems, a US-based graphics chip maker, and its Taiwanese foundry partner United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) have released samples of Trident’s new XP4, a 3D graphics processor with a performance of one billion pixels/second with consumption of a maximum of three watts ­ performance-per-watt twice that of products from Nvidia and ATI Technologies, the companies claim.

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IDC: Asia smart handheld device market to grow at 36 per cent CAGR through 2006

Press release; Adam Connors, DigiTimes.com [Monday 15 April 2002]

Market intelligence firm International Data Corporation (IDC) predicts that sales of smart handheld devices (SHDs) in the Asia/Pacific region, excluding Japan, will continue to rise at a CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) of around 36.5% through 2006, with China continuing to lead the region in market share. China currently dominates the SHD market share with 68.5% of the market by shipments, and three vendors ­ Hi-Tech Wealth, Minren and Legend ­ comprise a full 42% of all SHDs sold across the region, IDC said.

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Hynix, Nanya return to profitability, a healthy sign for DRAM industry

Compiled from outside sources; Adam Connors, DigiTimes.com [Monday 15 April 2002]

First-quarter revenues reported by large chip manufacturers on April 15 point to a healthier state of the memory industry that hit historic lows throughout last year, with Nanya Technology and Hynix Semiconductor returning to profitability for the first time since late 2000.

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Benq, Philips partner for optical storage solutions

Press release; Adam Connors, DigiTimes.com [Monday 15 April 2002]

Taiwan-based Benq (formerly Acer Communications & Multimedia, ACM) has announced an alliance with European electronics leader Royal Philips Electronics to develop next-generation optical storage drives, initially focusing on DVD+RW drives, a joint statement from the companies said.

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Japan’s Elpida reportedly to move 12-inch fab to Taiwan

Compiled from outside sources; Adam Connors, DigiTimes.com [Friday 12 April 2002]

Elpida, the wafer manufacture joint venture between Japanese heavyweights Hitachi and NEC, is considering moving its 12-inch fab currently under construction to Taiwan, possibly teaming up with Taiwan-based Powerchip Semiconductor (PSC), said the Economic Daily News Chinese-language newspaper. Elpida reportedly was motivated by its need to increase competitiveness.

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Motorola joins ST, Philips and TSMC’s 0.09-micron party in Crolles

Compiled from outside sources; Adam Connors, DigiTimes.com [Friday 12 April 2002]

The world’s number six semiconductor supplier, US-based Motorola, has joined the massive R&D effort in 0.09-micron development led by STMicroelectronics (ST), Philips and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) in the Crolles, France plant of ST, contributing to a US$1.4 billion outlay over four years by the two European firms. TSMC will contribute technology but not funding to the venture.

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TSMC announces range of key initiatives, including Nexsys, through US roadshow

Compiled from outside sources; Adam Connors, DigiTimes.com [Thursday 11 April 2002]

A wide range of rapid-fire initiatives has already emerged from the beginning of a TSMC roadshow throughout the US, which began in San Jose this week and moves into the next, as the world’s largest foundry unveils some both unexpected and highly progressive directives.

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Micron offers samples of revised JEDEC-standard DDR333-based PC2700 DIMM modules

Press release; Adam Connors, DigiTimes.com [Thursday 11 April 2002]

Micron Technology announced on April 8 the availability of samples of its PC2700 TSOP (thin small outline package) DIMM (dual in-line memory module) utilizing DDR333 SDRAM, following validation of Silicon Integrated Systems (SiS) SiS S551 motherboards using the revised modules and positive results from VIA tests with the KT333 chipset.

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VIA achieves full validation for vendors’ DDR333 chipset modules | DigiTimes

Compiled from outside sources; Adam Connors, DigiTimes.com [Tuesday 9 April 2002]

Independent testing by industry certified validation group Advanced Validation Labs (AVL) has given major memory module vendors the green light in their integration of new chipsets from VIA Technologies ­ the Apollo KT333 for the Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Athlon XP processor and the Apollo P4X333 for the Intel Pentium 4 processor. According to a statement by VIA on April 4, Micron Technology and Kingston Technology have started to ship DDR333 (PC2700) modules following the successful validation.

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