CHIP

The days of Android-ARM exclusive partnership are under threat as Acer is due to launch Android 3.0 or Honeycomb-based 10.1-inch tablet powered by Intel's Oak trail chip.

Microsoft will launch next year its much talked about Windows 8, the latest version of its operating system, CEO Steve Ballmer said in Tokyo on Monday. Ballmer said developers were hard at work on the next version of Windows, but did not drop any clue to its rumored features circulating around the Internet.

Microsoft and Intel have appeared in public as partners until recently, when Microsoft rebutted comments made by a top Intel executive regarding Windows 8. There are few details surrounding the next installment of Microsoft’s operating system. But Intel senior vice president Renee James hinted on Tuesday that there will be four versions of Windows 8 running on the ARM processor. These versions, she said, will not support legacy software and applications.

ARM Holdings says Intel is not a competitor in the mobile market.

Apple is due to launch its MacBook Air line-up of ultra-thin laptop upgrade with SandyBridge platform and Thunderbolt interface by July.

Nvidia said its new graphics chip -- Tesla M2090 - has achieved the fastest-ever performance in a key measure of scientific computation.

Intel Corp on Wednesday took the wraps off next-generation technology that crams more transistors onto microchips, betting it will help the chipmaker catch up in the red-hot tablet and smartphone market.

Intel Corp on Wednesday took the wraps off next-generation technology that crams more transistors onto microchips, hoping it will help the chipmaker catch up in a red-hot tablet and smartphone market.

Anadigics Inc forecast a challenging year ahead and cut 10 percent jobs as its largest customer Research In Motion shifted orders to the chipset maker's rivals, sending its shares down 10 percent to an eight-month low.

Apple is hitching its smartphone wagon to gaming big time, finally! Apple is letting select developers play around with an iPhone 4 which is implanted with an A5 chip rather than the A4 in order that they can bring out the full gaming prowess on the upcoming iPhone 5. If the gaming slant of the iPhone materializes it would go to prove rumors that Apple was delaying the launch for the iPhone 5 for strategic reasons and not so much because of logistical constraints.

Large blue chips, including some consumer-oriented companies, will have to show they can counter sluggish developed economies by leveraging growth in emerging markets and technology -- if Wall Street is to maintain earnings momentum next week.

Apple, which had disclosed details of its White iPhone 4 in July last year when the iPhone 4 was launched, is all set to launch the new product by the end of April.

Japan may ask domestic utilities to share the compensation costs stemming from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant and cap the burden on plant operator Tokyo Electric Power <9501.T> to $24-45 billion to save the company from financial ruin, a newspaper reported.

Dutch chip equipment maker ASML kicks off the European technology stocks first-quarter earnings season on Wednesday, when it is expected to report a profit surge due to strong demand for smartchips.

Intel Corp introduced a processor for tablet computers to stake out territory in the exploding mobile market dominated by Britain's ARM Holdings.

Samsung Electronics, the world's top maker of memory chips and flat screens, is likely to report a third consecutive quarterly drop in earnings for the January-March period, hit by tumbling prices of flat screens and TVs.

The prospect of extended supply disruption caused by Japan's devastating earthquake drove prices for key technology parts higher on Tuesday.

Prices for memory chips are rising as the earthquake in Japan has raised supply chain concerns.

Prices for key technology components extended gains on Tuesday, as damage at Japanese plants and infrastructure caused by Friday's devastating earthquake and tsunami threatens to disrupt the global manufacturing chain longer than many had expected.

Toshiba's main facility producing flash memory used in tablets and smartphones has resumed production after the Japanese earthquake and chip prices could rise due to the setback and logistic problems.

Spot prices for flash memory chips used in smartphones and tablets could jump after the Japanese earthquake, although it would likely have only a limited impact on global supplies, an analyst said.