ELECTRONICS

TVs usually dominate Europe's largest consumer electronics show but many gadgets in Berlin this week aim to make life simple and more beautiful too.

Plasma television technology has a bright future despite an onslaught on its home turf from rival LCD (liquid crystal display) TVs, makers of plasma screens told Reuters at the IFA consumer electronics fair in Berlin.

Hollywood studios are becoming deeply divided over which high-definition technology will replace the DVD, increasing prospects that it will be years before next-generation players become standard equipment in U.S. households.

Manufacturers at Europe's biggest consumer electronics touted their green credentials in vain to customers more interested in bigger and brighter screens.

China's biggest chipmaker, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp, is in advanced talks to acquire Japanese tech giant NEC's China venture to boost scale in the country's competitive chip market, two sources familiar with the situation said on Monday.

NXP will start shipping its single-chip solution for ultra-low-cost phones to Samsung from the fourth quarter of this year, Chief Executive Frans van Houten told Reuters on Friday.

The Nikkei rose 2.6 percent on Friday as news that President George W. Bush will outline reforms to help homeowners with subprime mortgages sparked broad-based buying, and Dell Inc's earnings lifted high-tech stocks.

Dell Inc, the world's second-largest personal computer maker, on Thursday reported higher-than-expected profit as it benefited from lower costs for disk drives, chips and other components. But the company also said it expected component cost declines to slow in the second half, crimping profits, and it delayed any stock buybacks until after it files overdue financial reports with securities regulators.

Apple Inc shares rose more than 5 percent on Wednesday on growing expectations that the company will announce a revamped line of iPods next week. The new units may have a large touch screen similar to the iPhone.

Consumer electronics maker Sony Corp. on Thursday said it introduced a new U.S. version of its Sony Walkman that includes the ability to play digital video, the latest potential rival to Apple Inc.'s dominant iPod media player.

Apple Inc shares rose more than 4.5 percent on Wednesday, fueled by excitement over the pending launch of new iPod digital music players, which could entice current users to buy upgraded models.

Walk into any large office, and you will most likely hear the telltale computer bleeps of chat programs and online games, accompanied by furious mouse-clicking. Employees may seem busy, but many are wasting time on the Internet, or cyberslacking.

Japan's Sony Corp unveiled 15 new flat TVs and a new remote control for the domestic market on Wednesday, as a part of a world-wide effort to win back market share during the year-end shopping season.

Software included with high-end memory sticks sold by Sony Corp can make personal computers vulnerable to attack by computer hackers, according to researchers with two Internet security firms.

Nokia, the world's top mobile phone maker, unveiled on Wednesday a new online music store, new top-end handsets and a global gaming service as it takes on recent rival U.S. rival Apple.

Seagate Technology, the world's largest maker of disk drives, has dashed speculation that a Chinese firm wanted to buy the firm, saying it had received no such offer and had no intention of selling.

Mobile phone maker Motorola Inc said on Tuesday that two of its subsidiaries had sued Aruba Networks Inc for infringement of patents involving short-range wireless network technologies.

Since taking the helm at Taiwan's top PC maker two years ago, J.T. Wang has trumped his opponents by building Acer Inc into the world's No.3 computer maker.

Shares in Taiwan's Acer Inc fell sharply on Tuesday after investors chafed at the premium the PC maker was paying for loss-making U.S. rival Gateway to gain the spot as the world's No. 3 maker.

Internet TV, mobile TV and video on demand may be the talk of the technology sector but when it comes to buying decisions at this week's IFA electronics fair, television sets are set to be bigger business than ever.

Taiwan's Acer announced on Monday that it has agreed to acquire U.S.-based Gateway for $710 million, zooming past China's Lenovo to become the world's third largest computer maker behind U.S. makers Hewlett-Packard and Dell.