ELECTRONICS
Xperia Z2 goes on sale
Sony Mobile Communications yesterday began sales of its newest flagship smartphone, the Xperia Z2, in Taiwan, one of the markets in which the Japanese handset maker has outperformed most of its rivals. The Xperia Z2, the world’s first smartphone to incorporate digital noise-canceling technology, starts from NT$23,900 (US$782) for a 16GB model, pricier than the Samsung Galaxy S5 at NT$22,900 and the LG G Pro 2 at NT$20,900, which were launched in Taiwan on Wednesday last week. Sony Mobile’s revenue grew by 30 percent last year, while its volume grew by 15 percent, with both figures expected to maintain the same levels of growth this year, the company said.
NOTEBOOK PCS
Asustek, Acer in top five
Taiwanese makers Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) and Acer Inc (宏碁) remained among the five leading global notebook vendors last month, despite a decline in the broader market, according to a local research report. WitsView said in the report that Asustek had a 10.3 percent worldwide market share last month, ranking it fourth, followed by Acer with an 8.8 percent market share. US-based Hewlett-Packard Co and China’s Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) remained the top two notebook vendors, and the only two companies among top five players recording positive annual growth in shipments last month.
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day
Thousands of parents in Singapore are furious after a Cordlife Group Ltd (康盛人生集團), a major operator of cord blood banks in Asia, irreparably damaged their children’s samples through improper handling, with some now pursuing legal action. The ongoing case, one of the worst to hit the largely untested industry, has renewed concerns over companies marketing themselves to anxious parents with mostly unproven assurances. This has implications across the region, given Cordlife’s operations in Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, the Philippines and India. The parents paid for years to have their infants’ cord blood stored, with the understanding that the stem cells they contained