ASUSTek to Supply EeePC for $200 in 2009
AT&T Unleashes Pantech Slate
Nokia to Market Budget Phones in Emerging Markets
Fujifilm Markets Compact DSC with Image-Processing Capability
Renesas to Ship 90nm MRAM in 2009
Sony to Reduce Equity in Joint LCD Plant with Sharp
Fujitsu Siemens Computers to Become Fujitsu Subsidiary
EMOBILE to Introduce 1.4Mbps Uplink Communication Card

ASUSTek Computer of Taiwan announced that it would reduce the price of its Eee PCs, reported CNET Japan in November 2008.

The president of ASUSTek, Jerry Shen, said his company would begin offering entry-level Eee PCs for $200.

The company sold 1.7 million Eee PCs in the third quarter of this year and forecasts that it will sell about 1.8 million in the fourth quarter. That’s up from the 350,000 units sold in the fourth quarter of 2007, when the Eee PC initially went on sale. Shen said that ASUSTek will continue to produce 10-inch models but will discontinue production of the 7-inch and 8-inch "netbook" versions in the near future.

ASUSTek supplies Eee PCs equipped with either HDDs or SSDs, but almost 70% of all shipments are equipped with HDD. As for operating system, 70% of all shipments are equipped with Windows XP and 30% with Linux. [M. Robertson, Portelligent]

AT&T of the U.S. rolled out the world's thinnest candy-bar cell phone with a full QWERTY keyboard, the Pantech Slate, reported Digital Times in November 2008.

The 0.99cm-thick phone is part of AT&T’s “quick message” mobile phone line and features quad-band GSM/EDGE radios, 2.2-inch TFT-LCD display, 1.3-megapixel camera with 2x zoom, Bluetooth connectivity, as well as support for video recording, text messaging, mobile instant messaging, and AT&T's Mobile E-mail service.

The extra-thin phone can be easily carried in purse or pocket. The raised and tactile buttons, easy-to-read screen, and rubberized back panel give the Pantech Slate an easy-to-use look and feel. What's more, it's priced at a super affordable $49.99, after a 2-year commitment and mail-in rebate. [M. Robertson, Portelligent]

Nokia, the world’s largest cell-phone supplier, announced that it would start supplying ultra-low-price phones and related services to emerging markets, reported Impress Watch in November 2008.

Handset prices will range from 25 to 90 euros ($31.89 to $114.80 @ euro 0.78/$US 1). Nokia will also offer special Internet services like e-mail and information about agriculture and education to users in outlying areas of the target markets.

The Nokia 1202, which sells for 25 euros ($31.89) handset, is targeted at users in remote regions. The phone features a flashlight, long-life battery, high-volume ringtones, and an address book that can register up to five contacts. The Nokia 1661, priced at 30 euros ($38.27), has a color screen and supports FM radio. The Nokia 5130 XpressMusic retails for 90 euros ($114.80) and features a digital music player, FM radio, and 2-megapixel camera.

Nokia plans to begin offering special Internet services to users of these models in India in early 2009 and in Asia and Africa later in the year. [M. Robertson, Portelligent]

Fujifilm of Japan announced that it would begin marketing the Finepix Z250fd digital still camera (DSC) in November 2008, reported IT+PLUS.

The new DSC allows users to turn images into illustrations and automatically zoom in on faces. Responding to the needs of bloggers, the Finepix Z250fd supports mosaic processing of faces detected by the face-recognition feature. Processed images can then be transferred to a cell phone via IrDA and uploaded to a blog site via the cell phone.

Image quality is also very high. The Finepix Z250fd supports an effective pixel count of 10 million. The Finepix Z250fd also supports handshake compensation and optical 5x zoom. Fujifilm plans to produce 50,000 units a month, with an expected retail price of 37,000 yen ($379.88 @ yen 97.40/$US 1) each. [M. Robertson, Portelligent]

Renesas Technology of Japan plans to introduce MRAM based on 90nm technology in 2009, reported Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun.

MRAM, or magnetoresistive RAM, is a type of NVRAM that uses magnetic material as a hard disk, using an electric-current magnetic field data-write-in method. Semiconductor companies have studied it as a candidate for next-generation memory.

According to EETimes, Renesas is said to have already devised 130nm MRAM, a four-level-metal technology with a cell size of 0.81-micron² and a standby current of zero. By applying a finer pattern, Renesas hopes to reduce both power consumption and cost.
 
It plans to begin sample shipment of the 90nm MRAM next year. Using 90nm technology, which uses 100–150 MHz, Renesas will also manufacture microcontrollers with embedded memory that are slated to go on sale in 2010. [M. Robertson, Portelligent]

Sony and Sharp, both of Japan, are currently negotiating a deal to reduce Sony’s equity share in their new joint LCD plant in Sakai, Osaka, reported Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun in October 2008.

When the initial agreement was signed in February 2008, Sony planned a 34% investment, aiming to procure 34% of the panels produced at the plant. However, Sony subsequently downgraded its 2008 sales objective for LCD TVs. For one thing, rapid devaluation of the won has improved the cost competitiveness of South Korean-made panels. As a result, Sony and Sharp are negotiating a deal to reduce Sony’s holding to 20–25%, with a similar reduction in the number of panels it procures.

The parties were planning to sign a formal agreement by the end of September 2008. The new plant, which will be equipped with 10^th-generation mother glass, which is used for manufacturing large screen of 40 inches, is scheduled to begin production by the fall of 2009. An initial total investment of 380 billion yen ($3.90 billion @ yen 97.403/$US 1) was planned for the plant, with Sony investing about 100 billion yen and procuring some 3.2 million panels (40-inch equivalent) during the fiscal 2009.

However, Sony’s sales outlook for LCD TVs doesn’t look promising. Due to a slump in demand in Europe and the U.S., Sony slashed its LCD TV sales goal by 1 million units to 16 million units. Sony’s TV operation for fiscal 2008 will be in the red, and the company will also back off its fiscal 2010 goal of selling 30 million LCD TVs. [M. Robertson, Portelligent]

Fujitsu of Japan announced in November 2008 that it would purchase all holdings of Fujitsu Siemens Computers (FSC), a joint venture between Fujitsu and Siemens AG. Fujitsu will turn the company into a wholly owned subsidiary in April 2009, reported Yahoo! Japan.

FSC was established in 1999 as a 50–50 joint venture. It develops and manufactures servers, PCs, and storage solutions for the European market. Its 2007 revenues were 6.6 billion euros ($8.4 billion @ euro .78/$US 1), with a profit of 72 million euros ($91.84 million).

By turning FSC into a wholly owned subsidiary, Fujitsu plans to integrate services targeted at corporations, its own expertise, with the product development and manufacturing know-how of FSC. It will also be able to leverage the development and manufacturing of IA (Intel Architecture) servers, whose demand is growing. Siemens, on the other hand, will be better able to concentrate on the energy, industry, and health-care sectors, which are its core business. [M. Robertson, Portelligent]

EMOBILE of Japan announced that it would start supplying new data-communication cards with an upgraded data transfer rate of 1.4Mbps (max.) for upstream communication, reported IT+PLUS in November 2008.

EMOBILE plans to implement the HSUPA (High-Speed Uplink Packet Access) standard for the first time in Japan. It is also introducing a unique data-communication terminal coupled with a music player and cell phone. The new data-communication terminals will adopt HSUPA, which improves the data throughput of W-CDMA to a maximum 1.4Mbps transmission rate and maximum 7.2Mbps reception rate.

The new data-communication terminal, the D21HW, is a mini-USB style device. It weighs 25 grams and is claimed to be the thinnest, most lightweight model available in Japan. The D21LC is a successor model to the mini-USB model. The D21NE is a data card that is inserted into the card slot of a personal computer. They retail for 36,980 yen ($379.67 @ yen 97.40/$US 1) each. With a two-year service contract, they are discounted to 12,980 yen ($133.26).

The H11LC supplied by Longcheer Technology of China supports voice calls, but does not support HSUPA. The compact device weighs only 57 grams and supports a microSD card and music player. As it is meant to be used with a PC, it does not support e-mail or web browsing by itself.

The E.T. (H12HW) supplied by Huawei Technologies of China is a candy-bar style cell phone with a 2.2-inch display. It supports input in Japanese, Chinese, and English. It also supports USB and Bluetooth connectivity, which makes it easier to perform data communication when hooked up to a computer. [M. Robertson, Portelligent]