Archive for Procurement Solutions
Obsolete Electronic Parts
Posted by: | CommentsWhile LEDs as a group are fighting for market supremacy against plasma and LCD options, there is a subdivision of competition with active matrix organic LEDs (AMOLEDs) which is starting to take over as the more popular LED. AMOLEDs have a few advantages, namely they are thinner with wider viewing angles and higher refresh rates. They also consume less power than LCDs, but power consumption varies greatly depending on the color and brightness settings. They are used in smartphones, digital cameras, and media players up to 40 inches. In contrast, they have a higher cost to produce at the present time, which should diminish as technology continues to develop. They are also more susceptible to screen burn in and are more sensitive to water damage. They are also less visible in sunlight but perhaps their most glaring hindrance is that their core organic components degrade over time. However, Samsung is refusing to let these obstacles deter them from cultivating this technology. Source your obsolete LEDs
HP Freezes Hiring, Warns of ‘Rough Path’
Posted by: | CommentsThe #1 PC maker in the world announced, with the help of a leaked memo by its CEO, that it is lowering its 12 month outlook. This is due to the earthquake in Japan and weak PC sales, forcing them to freeze hiring and account for every penny. A third reason and more troubling for HP since it is such a large revenue source, is it decline in its technical services. This is due to smaller companies offering competitive services, mainly through outsourcing.
Apple is Top Dog
Posted by: | CommentsGoogle has slipped to second place in its brand value as Apple has dethroned the four year leader. Apple, which brand is now worth $153 billion, has toppled the tech giant through its ever increasing influence and presence in the corporate world with its consumer products. Partly due to Apple’s scrutinizing attention to detail, it has sustained a cult following and has given the tech leader a ‘luxury brand’ stamp, giving them the ability to charge a premium for its products. Technology is leading the branding list: Apple, Google, and IBM are 1, 2, and 3 respectively and Microsoft, AT&T and China Mobile round out the top ten at 5, 7, and 9 respectively.
What Desktop?
Posted by: | CommentsAgencies these days are transitioning into becoming as mobile, and therefore as flexible, as possible. Providing federal employees, like the DoD, with a stipend of $2,000 to purchase their own mobile devices and upgrades (apps) instead of the traditional desktop will transform the way governments and companies operate by severely saving time through endless paperwork and travel.
Apple Admits Wrong Doing
Posted by: | CommentsApple recently admitted that it has a couple of glitches in its software for the iPhone. Before doing so, Apple implicitly states that the phone does not store the user locations, rather, it stores nearby cell phone towers or Wi-Fi hotspots to speed up the GPS feature.
First, the phones stores up to a year of location data. Apple concedes that only seven days is necessary. Second, the location gathering still happens even when users turns off location services. Apple says the problems will be addressed within a week via software updates.
U.S. Leading Fabless Chip Sales
Posted by: | Comments9 of the top 10 and 13 of the top 20 companies are leading sales of the fabless chip market. While the San Diego based company Qualcomm is holding on to the number one spot, they had poor growth compared to the available market. The Taiwanese company, MStar, had the biggest growth surge with a 76 percent change, but U.S. based Altera that’s, came in second with a 63 percent change.
Your Money Ticker
Posted by: | CommentsWestern Digital, the top hard drive maker, has announced their 3Q report, with a closing date of April 1. Even with their $10 million acquisition of Hitachi in process, was still able to posted gross revenue of $2.25 billion and a net of $146 million. Those numbers are down from a year ago to date; $2.64 billion and $400 million respectively. On a related note, Seagate has agreed to buy Samsung’s hard drive business for $1.38 billion. This means the costs of hard drives are soon to increase. With less competition on the market, there are fewer companies to undercut each other. Even though the component industry has been experiencing a shift towards flash memory and cloud computing for some time, there is plenty of demand still for hard drives.
NAND Supply to Nosedive
Posted by: | CommentsEven though Toshiba is claiming that there was no damage to its factories in Japan, it is still cutting NAND flash production by 50% for at least May and June. They are having a hard time sourcing raw wafers and other materials because of the earthquake in Japan. This is in addition to the previous estimated 30% reduction in NAND due to a one-two punch in the rise of demand and the earthquake. Contract prices are already 15% since the earthquake. Since Toshiba had about 40% of the pre- earthquake market share, there is going to be strong pressure on Samsung to pick up the slack, but they are already facing a losing battle. It takes 3 months to produce a chip so even if Samsung started extra production immediately, there is going to be a gap of severe shortage. Source your NAND shortages *here*
Witness to the Future
Posted by: | CommentsResearchers at Pitt University have led a team that has developed a single-electron transistor, called the SketchSET. This will accelerate nanotechnology as its main component is only one and a half nanometers in diameter. It will be a cornerstone for more powerful computer memories and be the primal element for quantum “super” computers. It operates with a range of 0, 1, or 2 electrons and its tiny main component could be used as an artificial atom, creating new genres of man-made electronic materials. This type of transistor is very sensitive to electricity and because of its composition, can act as solid-state memory. Even with the lack of external power to the processor, a computer would be able to keeps its memory. It would also be sensitive to pressure, making this component a possibility as a force sensor.
Japan’s Nuclear Crisis Boosts European PV Sales
Posted by: | CommentsIn light of the nuclear emergency pending in Japan, one that is being compared to the level 7 Chernobyl accident in Ukraine, many European countries are raising concerns over their own nuclear stability. Germany even shut down 7 of its oldest reactors and Italy has halted all nuclear plans for the upcoming year, and even plans to incorporate more of the photovoltaic (PV) market into its infrastructure. However, other countries like France remain cripplingly dependant on nuclear energy and have no immediate plans to change their energy strategy.
Germany and Italy are leading the charge towards the safer PV industry, which could potentially counterbalance the decline in the PV market that is expected in Europe due to lower demand. Overall, new PV investment is expected to grow this month with an apex in demand approaching this summer. While some believe growth will stagnate in the 3Q, the industry should wrap up the year stronger than expected as new government parameters will be instituted in 2012. Click **here** to search your PV needs.
