Cover Story
Netbook Part II
New Entrants Looking for Second-Round Success
Spread
What’s beyond Netbooks?
Part 1: Prospect
Net Terminals Industry Enters Turbulent Period; Intel/MS Dominance Coming to an End
Multiple platforms and product modes are fiercely competing for positions in the netbook market. Japanese manufacturers, who are in a weaker position in terms of price competition, will have to look for a new business model that integrates net terminals with various services.
Part 2: New Entrants
Netbooks Cutting into Peripherals while Smartbook Competes on Price
The success of netbooks has been a major stimulus for the cellphone industry and others. From this point on, various players will enter the netbook peripheral market, looking for ways to succeed.The key requirements are low price and a clear application proposal.
Special Feature
Softer LSI
Dynamic Reconfiguration Becoming More Popular
Over the last few years, an increasing number of applications have adopted the new dynamic reconfigurable technology, which offers flexible programmability, unlike ASIC/ASPP devices, which are LSIs whose functions are fixed. Nearly 10 years have passed since this technology first emerged and steady improvements have been made to support actual applications. Both of these factors are now helping the dynamic reconfigurable technology to take root among device manufacturers. More recently, dynamic reconfigurability is becoming possible even in FPGAs.
3D Image Industry Coming to Everything from Movies and TV to Photographs
Three-dimensional (3D) image-related businesses are growing into a major industry. The increase in the number of movie theaters featuring 3D movies has shown no signs of abating, with some 3D movies in the U.S. have grossed as much as 30 billion yen. On the broadcasting front, some sports programs have begun broadcasting in 3D.In 2010, AV devices such as TVs will begin full-scale offering of 3D video. Support of 3D is also starting up in digital cameras and photograph printing.
NE Academy
Practical Measurement Seminar: Part 5
We have so far been focusing on explaining the method of calculating uncertainty in measurements taken with measurement instruments. This session explains the effects uncertainty can have on the process of distinguishing defective products from non-defective products on the production floor. Not handling uncertainty correctly increases the number of false passes and false rejects, a situation that is unacceptable to manufacturers since it leads to quality degradation and cost increase. To prevent such cases, it is crucial to understand the concept of uncertainty and establish proper pass/fail criteria.
Seminar for Developing Project Management Ability + Communication Skills (Session 2)
How often does it happen that you think you communicated what needs to be done, but the other person has not done what you wanted?Of course, the person may simply have forgotten or been too busy. But often the failure is due to a breakdown in communication that can occur even when both parties have been doing their best to communicate well. To avoid such misunderstandings, it is crucial to understand the causes of miscommunication and the basic structure of communication. Perform your day-to-day work based on these understandings and watch your ability to communicate improve.
Interview
NEC Electronics Corporation, President & CEO, Junshi Yamaguchi: Meet the Current Challenges with Enthusiasm
NEC Electronics and Renesas Technology have begun discussing the possibility of merging the two companies.Their merger would create the third-largest semiconductor manufacturer in the world in terms of sales revenue, but there are also a mountain of issues demanding resolution, including overlapping products and high cost structure.We ask Mr. Yamaguchi, appointed president of NEC Electronics in June 2009, about his vision of the merged company.
Documentary
Reasons for the Revival of Ricoh’s Camera (1)
Ricoh’s digital camera business is booming.The company has been earning high marks in the market by launching a continuous stream of products that have won over camera buffs in Japan.Surprisingly, 7 or 8 years ago, the company’s camera business was rated extremely poorly both by the market and within the company. Behind this amazing revival is a man who made a bold decision and acted on it.
Keyword
IPX (Water-Resistance Standards)
Conditions for Water-Submersion Tests are Essentially Left up to Manufacturers.
Closeup
Mobile Phones: Korea’s Cellphone Battery Regulation
Displays: Measures for Addressing “2011 Recycling Problems” Slowly Begin
Medical Electronics: Toshiba’s Anti-Bioterrorism System to Become Touchstone for DNA Chip Market Expansion
NE Reports
- Micron Enters Graphics Memory Market
- Real Reason behind E Ink Acquisition
- Ryukoku University and Osaka Medical College Develop Remote-Controlled Capsule Endoscopy
- GaN Power Device to Be Commercialized by 2011
- All-Japan Secondary Battery R&D Project Started
- Taking Apart an Authentic Panasonic PND
