Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world leader in advanced memory technology, announced today that it has begun mass producing the industry's first PCI-Express (PCIe) solid state drive (SSD) for next-generation ultra-slim notebook PCs.

"With the Samsung XP941, we have become the first to provide the highest performance PCIe SSD to global PC makers so that they can launch leading-edge ultra-slim notebook PCs this year," said Young-Hyun Jun, executive vice president, memory sales & marketing, Samsung Electronics. "Samsung plans to continue timely delivery of the most advanced PCIe SSD solutions with higher density and performance, and support global IT companies providing an extremely robust computing environment to consumers." Samsung started providing the new SSD to major notebook PC makers earlier this quarter. The XP941 lineup consists of 512, 256 and 128GB SSDs.

Continued decline in demand for PC desktops has led International Data Corporation (IDC) to lower its estimate of PC monitors shipped in the first quarter of 2013 (1Q13) to 33.8 million units, down from its previous forecast of 34.7 million units for the quarter. In the latest update of the Worldwide Quarterly PC Monitor Tracker, IDC also lowered its total shipment forecast for 2013 from 140.1 million units to 134.4 million units, which will represent a 9.9% year-on-year decline. By 2017, worldwide shipments are expected to drop further to 113.6 million units.

"The continued decline in PC desktops is bringing about changes in strategy and product focus in the PC monitor market," said Jennifer Song, Research Analyst at IDC. "With Windows 8 operating system, we expect to see more touch-based monitors although price points are a little high. Average screen size of the market is also expected to increase to 21.4" in 2017 from 20.4" in 2012."

At an industry event in Taipei today, Hermann Eul, general manager of Intel's Mobile and Communications Group, unveiled new details about the company's forthcoming Intel Atom processor-based SoC for tablets ("Bay Trail-T") due in market for holiday this year. Based on the new Silvermont microarchitecture, the next generation 22nm Intel technology for tablets and ultra-mobile devices will enable sleek designs with 8 or more hours of battery life2 and weeks of standby, as well as support Android* and Windows 8.1*.

Eul also spoke to recent momentum and announcements around the smartphone business and demonstrated the Intel XMM 7160 multimode 4G LTE solution, now in final interoperability testing (IOT) with Tier 1 service providers across North America, Europe and Asia. "The mobile category is undergoing a tremendous amount of innovation and constant change," said Eul. "As we look at growing it, we continue to invest in and accelerate our efforts across all aspects of mobility with a focus on smartphones, tablets and wireless communications. Intel's unique assets will enable more compelling and differentiated products and experiences, while at the same time helping to shape and lead markets in the future."

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world leader in advanced memory technology, today announced that it is now supplying its solid state drive (SSD), the SM843T, for use in high-performance servers and storage in next-generation data centers, including Big Data systems.

"Samsung Green SSD products are widely acknowledged for their superior performance and quality design having contributed to data center system improvements and operational cost savings," said Young-Hyun Jun, executive vice president, memory sales & marketing, Samsung Electronics. "In response to customer demand, we are accelerating the growth of the flash storage market with new SSD offerings this year like the SM843T, while reinforcing our competitive edge in next-generation SSD products and solutions."

Samsung Display announced today that it is showcasing several industry-leading technologies and mobile to extra-large-sized display prototypes at the Society for Information Display's Display Week 2013, May 21-23, 2013, in the Vancouver Convention Centre (Booth 700). These include a Full HD (1920x1080) mobile AMOLED display with the world's broadest color gamut, and an 85-inch Ultra HD (3840×2160) LCD TV panel with extremely vivid color and low power consumption.

In addition, Samsung Display shows a unique new Diamond Pixel technology being highlighted at the show, and a featured LCD technology that enables local-dimming control in direct LED-based LCD panels. The world's first mass-produced 4.99-inch Full HD mobile AMOLED display offers the world's broadest color gamut with a 94 percent average rate of reproduction for the Adobe RGB color space. The Adobe RGB standard is about 30 percent broader than general sRGB standards.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a world leader in advanced semiconductor solutions, today announced the industry's first 45 nanometer (nm) embedded flash ("eFlash") logic process development. Samsung successfully implemented the new process into the smart card test chip, which means that this process technology fulfills the stringent quality requirements of the security solution market and can be successfully deployed on a commercial scale.

"Samsung's 45nm eFlash logic process has the potential to be broadly adopted into various components for security solutions and mobile devices, including smart card IC, NFC IC, eSE (embedded secure element) and TPM (Trusted platform module)," said Taehoon Kim, vice president of marketing, System LSI Business, Samsung Electronics. "The excellent performance from this smart card test chip will help solidify our leadership in the security IC market."

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world leader in advanced memory technology, today announced the industry's first production of ultra-high-speed four gigabit (Gb) low power double data rate 3 (LPDDR3) mobile DRAM, which is being produced at a 20 nanometer (nm) class* process node. The new 4Gb LPDDR3 mobile DRAM enables performance levels comparable to the standard DRAM utilized in personal computers, making it an attractive solution for demanding multimedia-intensive features on next-generation mobile devices such as high-performance smartphones and tablets.

"By providing the most efficient next-generation mobile memory with a very large data capacity, we are now enabling OEMs to introduce even more innovative designs in the marketplace," said Young-Hyun Jun, executive vice president, memory sales & marketing, Samsung Electronics. "Our 20nm-class four gigabit mobile DRAM provides another example of our ability to deliver well-differentiated, high-performance, high-density memory to customers in a timely manner."

Samsung Electronics America, Inc. today announced it will expand the ATIV brand to include all of its Windows based PCs. ATIV, previously the brand for the company's Windows based convertible PC devices, now unites all of Samsung's Windows devices under one cohesive brand, representing the convergence of PC and mobile technologies. The new product names under the ATIV brand will provide customers an easy way to understand the product segments across Samsung's PC portfolio. Samsung ATIV will also offer users a consistent and seamless computing experience across Samsung's diverse PC line.

"Samsung has been the fastest growing PC brand for the past three years1, in part because of our commitment to developing solutions that meet and exceed the ever-evolving needs of our customers," said Mike Abary, senior vice president of consumer IT product marketing at Samsung Electronics America. "Our expanded ATIV brand and the introduction of solutions like SideSync create the necessary synergy between our mobile and PC lines to create real ease of use for consumers. These synergies enable us to maintain our momentum and continue to offer our customers innovations that enhance the way they live and work."

Samsung Electronics America, Inc. today announced availability of the Series 9 Premium Ultrabook with Full HD (1920x1080) resolution. The laptop is available now for an MSRP of $1,399.99.

Brilliant Screen Quality
In addition to Full HD resolution, the Series 9 features a Samsung SuperBright display (300 nit), making it up to twice as bright as standard notebook screens. The Series 9 reproduces up to 16 million colors, making it ideal for viewing photos and videos. The wide viewing angle and matte display allow users to appreciate the rich picture quality in all lighting conditions, both inside and out.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world leader in advanced memory technology, announced today that it has begun mass producing a 128-gigabit (Gb), 3-bit multi-level-cell (MLC) NAND memory chip using 10 nanometer (nm)-class process technology this month. The highly advanced chip will enable high-density memory solutions such as embedded NAND storage and solid state drives (SSDs).

"By introducing next-generation memory storage products like the 128Gb NAND chip, Samsung is extremely well situated to meet growing global customer needs," said Young-Hyun Jun, executive vice president, memory sales & marketing, Device Solutions Division, Samsung Electronics. "The new chip is a critical product in the evolution of NAND flash, one whose timely production will enable us to increase our competitiveness in the high density memory storage market."

More than 100 developer and adopter members of the Hybrid Memory Cube Consortium (HMCC) today announced they've reached consensus for the global standard that will deliver a much-anticipated, disruptive memory computing solution. Developed in only 17 months, the final specification marks the turning point for designers in a wide range of segments-from networking and high-performance computing, to industrial and beyond-to begin designing Hybrid Memory Cube (HMC) technology into future products.

A major breakthrough with HMC is the long-awaited utilization of advanced technologies to combine highperformance logic with state-of-the-art DRAM. With this first HMC milestone reached so quickly, consortium members have elected to extend their collaborative effort to achieve agreement on the next generation of HMC interface standards.

Samsung Electronics America, Inc., a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd and the 2012 market leader in tablet PCs running Windows 7 or 8 according to IDC,1 today announced the availability of AT&T 4G LTE capability with its ATIV Smart PC Pro 700T, its latest portable Windows 8 PC. In addition, the ultra-sleek Series 9 Premium Ultrabook features a sharper, clearer screen with its LED-backlit 1920x1080 full HD display, presenting up to forty percent more content than a 1600x900 HD+ display.

"With the introduction of the new professional ATIV Smart PC Pro 700T and the full HD resolution Series 9 Premium Ultrabook, Samsung is continuing its focus on innovation while delivering on the needs of a growing number of mobile professionals," said Tod Pike, senior vice president at Samsung's Enterprise Business Division. "Samsung is providing business professionals on-the-go with the necessary tools for increased connectivity, productivity and ultimately success."

Samsung Display Co., Ltd., a global leader in display panel technologies and products, announced today that it has exceeded 300 million panels in cumulative OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) panel production since mass production began in January 2007. Piling all 300 million Samsung OLED panels on top of one another would equal more than 68 times the height of Mt. Everest. That volume averages out to having produced more than 470,000 panels a day, or 5.4 panels a second.

While it took Samsung Display four and a half years to reach the initial 100 million production mark for OLED panels, the next 100 million units were produced in just eleven months, and the last 100 million units were produced in only seven months. Samsung Display held a ceremony to commemorate the 300 million production milestone today at Samsung Display City located in Asan city, Chungcheongnam-do, Korea, which was attended by its president and more than 300 other employees.

Samsung Electronics America Inc., a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd and number one worldwide brand of professional commercial displays,* today announced three new lines of monitors designed to serve virtually any business need. Featuring the latest in LED technology, the new SC200, SC450 and SC650 Series monitors offer a better viewing experience and more functionality, while reducing the total cost of ownership, making them ideal for business users of any size and budget.

With more than five years of global market share leadership, Samsung continues to offer businesses one of the widest selections of display technology available today," said Tod Pike, senior vice president at Samsung's Enterprise Business Division. "We're committed to providing products that enable businesses to work effectively with our commercial monitors for any use case and market, from desktop publishing to education. Our new lineup offers a host of unique benefits, yet remains easy for any business to deploy, use and manage."

At the SEMI Industry Strategy Symposium (ISS) held late last week, Intel unveiled the pride of its fabs, the industry's first fully-patterned (ready to slice) 450 mm wafer. Major semiconductor fabs around the world are locked in a race for who gets volume-production on 450 mm wafers going first. Among the contenders are Taiwan's TSMC, UAE's GlobalFoundries, and Korea's Samsung, and with the unveiling of the first fully-patterned wafer, Intel appears to have announced its lead. The 450 mm (diameter), thanks to its large surface area, significantly increases yields.

"[This] is an important step forward and it indicates that there will soon be substantial volume of patterned test wafers for use by suppliers in developing their 450 mm tools," stated Chuck Mulloy, a spokesperson for Intel. As for what Intel etched on the wafer, a report claims it could be large dies of simple (highly-patterned) devices such as flash. The fab reportedly used Impints' J-Fil imprint lithography technology that demonstrated 24 nm patterning with line edge roughness of less than 2 nm to 3Σ and critical dimension uniformity to 1.2 nm 3Σ, offering the prospect of 10 nm patterning with single-step process.

With its 4th generation Core "Haswell" processor lineup not too far away, Intel is making efforts to clear inventories of its 2nd generation Core "Sandy Bridge" one. Usually, OEMs on the receiving end of such a move stand to score truckloads of chips at discounted prices. Samsung is one such OEM, which may have bagged a ton of "Sandy Bridge" Core i5-2450M dual-core chips clocked at 2.50 GHz, to deploy in its new premium Chromeboxes, which normally use entry-level Celeron B840 chips, because you can't exactly use Chrome OS to play Crysis, and so you don't need a faster CPU. The new, faster Chromebox is listed on Amazon for $423, bearing the SKU "Samsung Chromebox XE300M22-A01US."

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a global leader in digital media and convergence technologies, announced today its newest ultra-slim portable DVD writer, the SE-218CB optical disc drive (ODD) with a sleeker design and mobile size for Ultrabook users on-the-go.

Featuring a compact size that is approximately 18 percent thinner, and 8 percent lighter than Samsung's entry level DVD writer line-up, the SE-218CB is built to accommodate the growing need for external ODDs that can be easily transported for today's mobile lifestyle. Measuring 148 x 14 x 143 mm, the SE-218CB is an ideal companion for Ultrabooks users that need to access optical media.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, a global leader in digital media and digital convergence technologies, today announced two additions to its high performance Series 7 PC lineup: the enhanced Series 7 Chronos, which delivers professional performance in a thin and light form factor, and the Series 7 Ultra, which takes Ultrabooks to the next level with enriched computing power, graphics and touch capability. The new Samsung Series 7 intuitive devices incorporate PCs into consumers' lives by enabling mobility and helping to keep them connected.

"2012 was a definitive year for Samsung's PC business - we expanded our lineup, taking advantage of the new form factors and consumer demand. This led to significant growth in the industry," said David Song, Senior Vice President of IT & Mobile Communications at Samsung Electronics. "In 2013, we will continue to focus on innovation delivering products that fit into customer lifestyles while maintaining Samsung's high-end design and performance standards. The new Series 7 Chronos and Ultra products are just two examples of what you can expect to see from us throughout the year."

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a global leader in digital media and digital convergence technologies, today debuted two new additions to its lineup of premium monitors, putting professional-grade picture quality within reach for professional and consumer audiences alike. The innovative Series 7 SC770 Touch Monitor comes optimized for Windows 8, while the Series 7 SC750 features a slim, ergonomic design and premium picture quality. These CES Innovation Award-winning monitors will be on display at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Samsung's booth, #12004 in Central Hall, from January 8-11, 2013.Images courtesy of Samsung Tomorrow.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, a global leader in digital media, digital convergence technologies and advanced semiconductor solutions, continues to expand its operations in Silicon Valley by investing more resources in its existing R&D centers and establishing new innovation centers.

Samsung Semiconductor, Inc. (SSI) announced plans to build a 1.1 million square foot sales and R&D headquarters on the current site of its semiconductor and display panel businesses, north of downtown San Jose. The building, designed by global architecture firm NBBJ, will be comprised of a 10-story tower, an amenity pavilion and parking garage. The design seeks to encourage interaction among staff, foster connections with the community and provide a space to attract employment in the highly competitive tech market, which is growing at a faster pace than overall employment.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a global leader in advanced semiconductor solutions, today announced that it reached another milestone in the development of 14-nanometer (nm) FinFET process technology with the successful tape-out of multiple development vehicles in collaboration with its key design and IP partners. In addition, Samsung has signed an agreement with ARM for 14 nm physical IP and libraries. This agreement is the latest in a series from Samsung and ARM that has delivered production proven SoC enablement. Samsung, together with its ecosystem partners, is in a position to offer leading edge customers a robust design infrastructure to drive an ever expanding advanced mobile SoC market.

"As we move closer to true mobile computing, chip designers are eager to take advantage of the gains in performance and significantly lower power of 14 nm FinFET to deliver PC like user experience on a mobile device," said Dr. Kyu-Myung Choi, senior vice president of System LSI infrastructure design center, Device Solutions Division, Samsung Electronics. "The design complexities at 14 nm require complete harmony between the process technology, design methodology, tools and IPs. We are synchronizing all the key elements so our customers can deliver their newest chips to market quickly and efficiently."

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., a world leader in advanced semiconductor solutions, announced today that it acquired privately held NVELO, Inc., a Santa Clara, Calif.-based pioneer of storage software. By intelligently managing and optimizing the use of SSDs in the storage subsystem, SSD caching has become an attractive solution for both consumer and enterprise computing platforms. The timely integration of NVELO's flagship storage technology into Samsung's best-in-class SSD technologies will give Samsung customers access to an ever-evolving and more diversified portfolio of NAND storage solutions suitable for a broad range of computing platforms.

"The acquisition of NVELO will enable us to extend our ability to provide SSD related storage solutions to customers. We are pleased with this transaction as the employees of NVELO share our vision to take SSD storage into the next-generation of performance and reliability," said Young-Hyun Jun, executive vice president of Flash product & technology, Device Solutions, Samsung Electronics.

Samsung Austin Semiconductor LLC today announced that a $4 billion investment at its Austin, Texas, site is on schedule for production of state-of-the-art mobile application processors within the second half of 2013.

The remodeled fabrication line will produce state-of-the-art mobile application processors on 300 mm wafers at the 28 nanometer process node. The new boost in production will occur within the second half of 2013 and is expected to alleviate the rapidly growing demand for application processors for mobile devices.

According to DRAMeXchange, a division of global research firm TrendForce, as forecast in a previous report, DRAM contract price showed signs of stabilization in November; the previous US$1 to $2 monthly decline is narrowing, and DDR3 4 GB contract price is holding at the US$15 mark. TrendForce expects the contract price trend will only show a slight decrease in December, and may even stay flat for the month.

As spot market prices fluctuate more than contract prices, the spot market is often a good indicator of future DRAM prices. This week the spot market is seeing increased activity; DDR2 and 2 Gb eTT and DDR2 prices have increased by 1.24% and 1.09%, respectively. Top-tier memory makers began quietly building inventory in October, and spot market buyers seem to be following suit, providing an opportunity for a price rebound. TrendForce believes the DRAM spot price uptrend is due prior capacity cuts taking effect as well as strong entry-level tablet, or "Mobile Internet Device", shipments in China.

The European Commission has fined seven international groups of companies a total of € 1,470,515,000 for participating in either one or both of two distinct cartels in the sector of cathode ray tubes ("CRT"). For almost ten years, between 1996 and 2006, these companies fixed prices, shared markets, allocated customers between themselves and restricted their output.

One cartel concerned colour picture tubes used for televisions and the other one colour display tubes used in computer monitors. The cartels operated worldwide. The infringements found by the Commission therefore cover the entire European Economic Area (EEA). Chunghwa, LG Electronics, Philips and Samsung SDI participated in both cartels, while Panasonic, Toshiba, MTPD (currently a Panasonic subsidiary) and Technicolor (formerly Thomson) participated only in the cartel for television tubes. Chunghwa received full immunity from fines under the Commission's 2006 Leniency Notice for the two cartels, as it was the first to reveal their existence to the Commission. Other companies received reductions of their fines for their cooperation in the investigation under the Commission's leniency programme.