ELECTRONICS

A defiant Steve Jobs on Friday rejected any suggestion the iPhone 4's design was flawed, but offered consumers free phone cases to address reception complaints that have hurt Apple Inc's image and shares.

A defiant Steve Jobs on Friday rejected any suggestion the iPhone 4's design was flawed, but offered consumers free phone cases to address reception complaints that have hurt Apple Inc's image and shares.

The shares of chip and PC makers jumped on Wednesday on strong results from global technology bellwether Intel Corp , pointing to potential upside for the sectors in quarterly reports due in coming weeks.

Asian stocks rose to a three-week high on Wednesday, led by gains in tech shares after Intel's results beat market expectations, while the euro held firm near two-month peaks against a softer U.S. dollar.

Resilient demand for PCs and servers helped Intel Corp's margin and revenue forecasts blast past Wall Street expectations, allaying fears of a technology spending slowdown and sending its shares up nearly 8 percent.

Shares of Apple Inc slid more than 4 percent on Tuesday after a poor review for its iPhone 4 from an influential consumer guide underpinned mounting complaints about the hot-selling device's reception and spurred speculation about a product recall.

Gold edged up to near $1,200 an ounce on Friday as bargain buying helped offset selling from speculators, who had shifted some of their money to equities on hopes of an economic recovery. Dealers saw purchases from jewelers and other physical buyers across Asia, keeping premiums for gold bars steady. The electronics sector in Japan was on the sidelines, but bargain hunters snapped up platinum.

Samsung Electronics' record quarterly profit failed to please investors as a weak European economy looks set to weaken demand for flat screens and chips, hurting profitability at the world's largest memory chipmaker.

Samsung Electronics , the world's No.1 memory chip maker, is set to see slower growth in the second-half as the euro zone crisis weakens demand for flat screens and chip prices are likely to ease.

Samsung Electronics, the world's No.1 memory chip maker, said it was on course to report a better-than-expected record quarterly profit, but second-half growth may falter as the euro zone crisis weakens handsets.

Apple Inc came clean on Friday about an embarrassing software glitch that overstates network signal strength in its hot-selling iPhone, as complaints mounted about the phone's wraparound antenna.

A U.S. scientific panel will conduct a broad review of vehicle electronics to see if they pose safety risks, an investigation prompted by massive Toyota Motor Corp recalls for unintended acceleration.

Apple fans lined up overnight by the hundreds outside stores in the United States, Europe and Japan to snap up the latest iPhone, setting a new benchmark in the fast-growing smartphone market.

Apple fans queued overnight in their hundreds outside stores in Europe and Japan to snap up the latest iPhone, as the technology giant set a new benchmark in the hard-fought and fast-growing smartphone market.

Apple Inc's hot-selling next-generation iPhone sports chips from Samsung Electronics, Micron Technology and STMicroelectronics, according to an early teardown, or disassembly analysis by technology firm iFixit.

Having recovered from the recession blues during 2008, the semiconductor market in India posted a healthy growth in 2009 and with Indian economy seen growing at the growth rate of over 9% for 2010-11 the semiconductor segment as well as the allied metal sectors are believed to get a boost on the growth.

Japan's Fujitsu Ltd and Toshiba Corp unveiled plans on Thursday to merge their mobile phone businesses in October to create Japan's second-biggest cellphone maker in a rapidly shrinking market.

Japan's Fujitsu Ltd and Toshiba Corp have agreed to merge their mobile phone businesses as early as October, and they are expected to announce the deal on Thursday, the Nikkei business daily reported.

The Dow and S&P 500 dipped on Wednesday after concerns about FedEx's warning on higher costs, while optimism stirred by Apple Inc's stronger-than-expected iPhone sales helped the Nasdaq.

Electronics hardware makers on Tuesday showed off snazzy new devices enabling motion-sensing play and 3D effects, intensifying a battle to introduce video-gaming to a new generation of casual users.

Best Buy reported lower-than-expected sales and profit, hurt by rising costs of expanding its business and weaker consumer demand, sending its shares down 6 percent.