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Technology Stocks : Applied Materials No-Politics Thread (AMAT) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Gottfried who wrote (16567)	11/15/2005 1:39:02 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 25522

Sony U.S execs: Expect a robust holiday season Spencer Chin EE Times (11/15/2005 11:57 AM EST) NEW YORK, N.Y. — Driven by strong demand for high-definition TV and camcorders, executives of Sony Electronics Inc. said the retail holiday season would be a strong one for the troubled electronics giant, at least in the U.S. Speaking at a press briefing here Tuesday (Nov. 15), Sony execs echoed an air of optimism that appeared to put the company’s well-documented troubles behind, at least for the moment. They acknowledged that while the fiscal year in April began slowly, October was one of Sony’s best months in recent history. "We are very bullish," said Stan Glasgow, president of consumer sales for Sony Electronics (San Diego). "We see a shift to higher priced consumer items, such as flat-panel TVs." Glasgow said that while CRT TV sales continue to slow, flat-panel TV sales have taken up the slack, claiming Sony now has roughly a third of LCD TV revenue in the U.S. He added that Sony now accounts for half of U.S. revenue from camcorders. Flat-panel TV sales have skyrocketed on the success of Sony’s new Bravia line, products arising from Sony’s joint venture with Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., S-LCD Corp. Though Glasgow hinted there was a good possibility Sony would bolster its activity in the S-LCD venture, he declined to divulge details, including whether the parent company would pump in more money. By contrast, Sony’s S-LCD partner Samsung said in September it would invest an additional $1.7 billion into the venture’s Generation 7 plant in Tangjeong, Korea, and earlier this month said it would bolster its LCD marketing efforts in the U.S. Glasgow also raised eyebrows when he said the key technology in Sony’s quest to capture that over 40-in. flat-panel TV market would be in Organic-light-emitting-diode (OLED) technology, rather than LCDs. He said Sony was actively partnering with companies on OLED development, but declined to be specific as to what and when products would emerge. On another front, company spokesperson Rick Clancy said Sony was looking to introduce Blu-ray compatible products beyond Playstation 3, though didn’t divulge details. Responding to several questions that companies such as Microsoft and Apple are pushing their own Digital Rights Management (DRM) technologies, Glasgow told EE Times, "Who knows what Microsoft is doing?" Glasgow added that Sony was aggressively pursuing a media content strategy, but did not reveal how interoperable the content would be compared to other companies.

To: Gottfried who wrote (16567)	11/15/2005 3:46:59 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 25522

AMD to boost capex for '06 ramp Mark LaPedus EE Times (11/15/2005 3:32 PM EST) SAN JOSE, Calif. — Preparing for perceived demand in the market, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. on Tuesday (Nov. 15) said that it would boost its capital spending in 2006. The company also re-announced a foundry relationship with Singapore’s Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Pte. Ltd. AMD (Sunnyvale, Calif.) plans to boost its capital spending to $1.4 billion in 2006, up from $1.1 billion in 2005, said Bob Rivet, the company’s chief financial officer, during an analysts meeting. The company is preparing for strong demand for its microprocessor lines in 2006. “It’s going to be a pretty good year,” he said. Much of the spending is aimed for its new Fab 36 plant in Germany. The new 300-mm fab will increase “my capital bill,” Rivet said. Last month, AMD opened its first 300-mm fab, with outgoing German Chancellor Gerhardt Schroeder lauding the jobs created in the process (see Oct. 14 story). AMD will also move forward in its foundry deal with Chartered, which will make processors for the U.S.-based company. Last year, AMD and Chartered announced that they entered into a major foundry and technology agreement (see Nov. 9, 2004 story).