ELECTRONICS

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. said on Friday it shut down six of its chip production lines after a power cut at a plant near Seoul, prompting expectations of tighter supply and a rise in prices.

Japan's Pioneer Corp. said on Thursday it will launch its first full high-definition plasma televisions in October, playing catch-up with larger rivals such as Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd.

Strong cellphone demand in Asian emerging markets boosted Nokia Oyj's second-quarter sales and profits, sending its shares to their highest level in more than five years.

Music and video capable mobile phones have been driving revenue growth on the handset accessories market, with revenue for the this year expected to jump to more that $32 billion, according to a report.

Telecoms equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent produced a bigger-than-expected quarterly loss on Tuesday as merger costs and pricing pressures took their toll, sending its shares down as much as 9 percent.

China's Lenovo Group, the world's third-largest computer maker, is expected to post a six-fold rise in quarterly profit on Thursday on strong corporate demand but faces unrelenting price pressure at home.

Sony Corp. said its first-quarter profit more than tripled, beating expectations, after strong contributions from digital camera sales and a softer yen far outweighed losses on the slow selling PlayStation 3 game console.

Infineon is actively seeking ways to cut its stake in its loss-making memory-chip subsidiary Qimonda, Infineon's chief executive said, lifting Infineon shares after unspectacular quarterly results.

Japan's Toshiba Corp., the world's No.2 maker of flash memory chips, posted a 1.6 percent rise in quarterly operating profit on Friday and raised its first-half forecast as chip prices recover.

Target plans to carry only Blu-ray high definition DVD players through the holiday shopping season, a move that boosts the Sony-backed technology and may deal a blow to rival HD-DVD.

Sony Corp. currently has no plans for a further price cut to its PlayStation 3 (PS3) game console following a $100 cut in the U.S., the electronics conglomerate's president said on Friday.

The science-fiction classic film Blade Runner will get a new Final Cut treatment by Director Ridley Scott for a short theatrical run and DVD release later this year.

Microsoft Corp. will drop the retail price of its add-on HD DVD drive for the Xbox 360 game console to $179 and include five free HD-DVD movies for a limited time, the company said Thursday.

Microsoft Corp. said on Thursday it would lower the price of the high-definition DVD player accessory for its Xbox 360 game console in the United States to $179 from $199, and add five free movies to anyone who buys the machine in August or September.

Nintendo Co. Ltd. zipped passed telecoms giant NTT and a major financial group to become Japan's fifth-biggest company by market value on Thursday, propelled higher by a stellar earnings performance on demand for its Wii and DS game gear.

Sony Corp. said its first-quarter profit more than trippled, beating expectations, after strong digital camera sales and a softer yen far outweighed losses on the struggling PlayStation 3 game console.

Future Motorola, Inc. mobile devices may include tiny projectors to display images on walls or other surfaces.

Toshiba Corp., NEC Electronics Corp. and Fujitsu Ltd. are considering development of 32-nanometer advanced system to offset research costs and better compete with rivals the companies said on Wednesday.

Amazon.com Inc. posted quarterly net profit on Tuesday that more than tripled, surprising Wall Street, as U.S. sales jumped, sending shares up 17 percent after-hours. The company also raised its forecast for full-year sales.

Nokia, the world's largest cell phone maker, said today that it acquired the media sharing website Twango for an undisclosed price.

TiVo Inc. introduced a trimmed-down, less expensive version of its digital video recorder for high-definition televisions on Tuesday, hoping to spur mainstream demand 10 months after a pricey first foray was received coolly.