As several WiMAX operators and developers of WiMAX chip solutions have stepped into LTE, it has increasing potential to become a dominant global 4G standard and therefore WiMAX operators are recommended to venture into LTE for dual-mode business operations, according to Rohde & Schwarz Taiwan at a forum in Taipei.

Forcecon Technology, a Taiwan-based maker of notebook cooling modules, saw consolidated revenues of NT$1.82 billion (US$55.5 million) for the first half of 2010, rising 24.95% on year, but the corresponding gross margin of 17.57% dropped 10.05pp due to falling prices and increased production costs, according to the company.

VIA Technologies has reported a net loss of NT$1.44 billion (US$45.011 million) or NT$1.89 per share for the first half of 2010, versus NT$786 million in losses a year ago. Revenues for the period were NT$2.55 billion and gross profit came to NT$1.04 billion on 40.67% gross margin. Operating loss was NT$135 million.

As Intel has recently supplied Hewlett-Packard (HP) a large volume of its dual-core Atom N550 processor with a price of only US$65, 25% lower than Intel's official quote of US$86. HP is set to start pushing netbooks strongly and plans to become the second-largest netbook brand in 2011, surpassing Samsung Electronics and Asustek Computer, according to sources from netbook players.

Panel makers AU Optronics (AUO), Chimei Innolux (CMI) and Chunghwa Picture Tubes (CPT) are transferring their small- to medium-size production capacity to other production such as OLED, e-paper or touch panels to ease the oversupply of small- to medium-size panels, according to market sources.

Wintek has announced consolidated revenues of NT$6.17 billion (US$192.87 million) for August, up 17% sequentially and 150% on year. Consolidated revenues for January-August totaled NT$32.14 billion, up 96% on year.

Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) is providing flexible quotes to clients based on where production takes place amid increasing quotes and production costs due to surging labor costs in China, according to sources from PC players.

The DRAM spot market saw some traders dumping more inventory to channels during the week (August 30-September 3), resulting in sharper price drops in the white-brand DDR3 segment, according to inSpectrum.

Taiwan-based Apacer Technology, a supplier of memory modules and other storage solutions, saw net profits grow 40.3% on year to NT$209 million (US$6 million) in the first half of 2010. The earnings translated into an EPS of NT$1.90, the second highest among publicly-listed DRAM module companies in Taiwan, behind only Transcend Information's NT$2.15.

ITO glass supplier Applied Vacuum Coating Technology (AVCT) and ITO film supplier Ushine Photonics have posted net loss of NT$133.56 (US$4.18 million) and NT$8.13 million, respectively, for the first half of 2010, while fellow film supplier Join Well Technology posted a net profit of NT$854,000 for the period.

Acer has adopted Nvidia's shutter glass solution for its latest 3D notebook, the Aspire 5745DG, which features a 15.6-inch panel and GeForce GT 425M GPU, and is manufactured by Quanta Computer, targeting mainly the entry-level gaming market, according to sources from notebook players.

Arcadyan Technology, a Taiwan-based maker of broadband networking/communication equipment, plans to begin volume production of LTE routers and IADs (integrated access devices) in the second half of 2011, said company president HY Lee at an investors conference on September 2.

Taiwan-based GaAs foundry Win Semiconductors and Presto Engineering, a semiconductor product engineering company, have announced a strategic collaboration to deliver characterization and testing services for companies developing products utilizing GaAs technology from Win Semi.

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) is in talks with Micron Technology about taking over the operation of a 12-inch fab in Wuhan, China, according to a

Nvidia expects to gain back its leading position in the graphics card market in the second half of 2010 with its new Fermi-based notebook graphics cards, the GeForce 400M series, according to company general manager of notebook product business, Rene Haas.

As Taiwan-based Asia Optical is a supplier of VGA lens modules used in iPhone 4 and fellow maker Genius Electronic Optical supplies VGA and 5-megapixel lens modules for iPhone 4, the two companies are likely to obtain orders for VGA and 691,200-pixel lens modules for the new version of iPod touch, according to industry sources.

Vibo Telecom, a 3G mobile telecom carrier in Taiwan, will invest NT$2.0 billion (US$62 million) to procure 3,576 HSPA+ (3.75G) base stations from China-based ZTE and install the equipment to reinforce its existing 3G network of about 6,000 base stations around Taiwan within one year, according to the company.

Powerchip Technology and ProMOS Technologies have both posted sequential revenue gains in August 2010, despite recent reductions in DRAM prices. Powerchip's revenues were up 3.2% from July to NT$8.89 billion (US$277.68 million), while ProMOS saw August revenues grow 9.8% on month to NT$2.41 billion.

Solid capacitor maker Feei Cherng has reportedly entered the component supply chain for Hewlett-Packard (HP) notebooks, which will increase the company's shipments in the second half of 2010, according to industry sources.

Apple's iPod touch manufacturer Quanta Computer, iPod nano manufacturer Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) and iPod shuffle manufacturer Inventec Appliances are expected to benefit from the latest announced Apple products and see shipment growth in the fourth quarter, according to market watchers.