Samsung Electronics Showcases 8GByte Cell Phone
VK's Slim 4M Pixel Camera Phone with Bluetooth Support
Kingo Forays into Plastic Lens Production
HDD Storage to Become Mainstream for Cellular Phones
Sony Enables TV Viewing on PSP
Sharp Develops 1cm2 Wireless LAN Module
Alps Electric Develops Terrestrial Digital Broadcasting Tuner
Sanyo Epson Licenses Wide Viewing Angle Technology

Samsung Electronics showcased a handset embedding an 8GByte 1-inch HDD, the SGH-i310 at CeBIT 2006. It is a SmartPhone based on Windows Mobile 5.0 for Smartphones and is a successor model to a 3GByte HDD handset, the SGH-i300, announced in 2005. Samsung Electronics plans to commercialize the SGH-i310 in Europe during the second half 2006. The SGH-i310 is capable of storing approximately 2,000 music tunes.

The SGH-i310 supports GSM/GPRS/EDGE. It can store audio and video files on the HDD via a personal computer. It supports USB2.0 allowing for smooth data exchange with a personal computer. The phone supports MP3, AAC, AAC+, AAC+(e), WMA, WAV and OGG audio formats and MPEG-4 video format. The external measurements are 111.9 mm x 48.5 mm x 19.8 mm and it weighs 120g. [M. Robertson, Portelligent]

VK, a South Korean mid-tier handset supplier, displayed a candy bar style phone with a 4 million-pixel camera at the recent CeBIT in Hanover, Germany. The tri band GSM handset called the VK2200 features 64MByte memory and 1GByte NAND flash memory. It also supports Bluetooth, MP3 playback and MPEG4 video playback. The VK2200 measures 96.8 mm x 49.5 mm x 12.9 mm. It houses a 1.66-inch color TFT LCD screen, which supports 128 x 160 dot resolution and 262,000 colors.

VK also exhibited the VK5000, a handset embedding an EDGE chip and the VK7000, a UMTS phone with video telephony support. Images are available at: http://aving.net/sp_edition/default.asp?mode=read&c_code=01_01_01_01&c_num=13131&gotopage=1&sp_code=15&BT_ExRef=0 [M. Robertson, Portelligent]

Kingo, a Taiwanese optical component manufacturer specializing in glass lenses, was not able to benefit from the explosive growth of camera lenses for cellular phones as it has been concentrating on lenses for digital still cameras. However, the company is going to accelerate its advancement into the cellular phone camera lens market. In addition, the company is going to start production of plastic lenses for cellular phone cameras in the second quarter of 2006.

Kingo also received authentication from a leading European cellular phone manufacturer for its aspherical molding glass which Kingo developed over the period of two years. Kingo will begin mass production in the second quarter 2006. [M. Robertson, Portelligent]

Seagate Technology has announced the ST1.3 series, 1-inch HDD drive with 12Gbyte capacity in Tokyo. Seagate plans to start delivery of the ST1.3 series in the third quarter 2006. The new 1-inch HDD features a drop sensor function and perpendicular magnetic recording technology. Its dimensions are 40 mm x 30 mm x 5 mm. According to Seagate, the company holds a 45 percent share in the 1-inch HDD market. With the introduction of the new 1-inch HDD, Seagate hopes to strengthen its presence.

Seagate claims that the company has a 28 percent market share in the global HDD market. It has shipped more than 100 million HDD cumulatively. Seagate forecasts that carrying music is a trend right now but in the future carrying video will become a trend. At that point, compact yet large capacity HDDs will be in demand. The majority of cellular phones and mobile devices will have a HDD as a storage device, according to Seagate's forecast.

The ST1.3 series is targeted to cellular phones, music and video players. The mounting area of the ST1.3 is 23 percent smaller than Seagate's existing 1-inch HDD. Adopting a perpendicular magnetic recording method allowed Seagate to improve the capacity by 50 percent and reduce power consumption by 30 percent. [M. Robertson, Portelligent]

Sony is going to release a Memory Stick Video Recorder, the MSVR-A10 in April 2006 which enables recording TV programs onto the Memory Stick. The recorder is expected to retail for about 25,000 yen ($213. 68 @ yen 117/$US 1).

The MSVR-A10 will record TV programs received through AV equipment such as a BS/CS tuner and DVD recorder into the Memory Stick real time. The recorded video can be played on a PSP. In addition to timer recording, the MSVR-A10 supports a synchronized recording function which automatically starts and ends the recording by synchronizing with a tuner with a timer recording function. It supports recording of digital broadcasting.

The video compression method is MPEG-4 AVC. Compared to conventional MPEG-4, it can display small fonts clearly. The MSVR-A10 supports Memory Stick Duo, Magic Gate Memory Stick Duo and Memory Stick PRO Duo as the recording media. Images of the MSVR-A10 are available at: http://arena.nikkeibp.co.jp/news/20060313/115804/ [M. Robertson, Portelligent]

Sharp of Japan successfully developed a wireless LAN module, the DC2J1DZ115, with the dimensions of 10 mm x 10 mm and 1.6 mm. Through miniaturization, Sharp was able to reduce the power consumption and achieved 0.9mA at standby. The company is going to target the new device to cellular phones and PDAs. It is available immediately for a sample price of 20,000 yen ($170.94 @ yen 117/$US 1). Sharp plans to produce 100,000 units a month.

The new wireless LAN module supports IEEE802.11b/g. The component integrated a high frequency analog signal processing unit, power management unit, media access controller and digital processing circuit. Sharp jointly developed the unit with Conexant Systems of California. Sharp adopted Conexant's wireless LAN technology as a base and added Sharp's high frequency power amplifier technology and packaging module technology. An image is available in Sharp's press release at: http://www.sharp.co.jp/corporate/news/060309-b.html [M. Robertson, Portelligent]

Alps Electric of Japan has developed a terrestrial digital broadcasting tuner module for portable electronics, the TDPJ series. The dimensions are 9.5 mm x 9.5 mm x 1.7 mm. It is targeted to one segment broadcasting for cellular phones. The module will be available as a sample in late May 2006 for 21,000 yen ($179.49 @ yen 117/$US 1). Alps Electric will begin volume production in October 2006.

The receivable frequency range is 470M-770MHz, making it compatible with UHF 13-62 channels. By adopting LNA (Low Noise Amplifier), Alps achieved a receiver sensitivity of -98dBm (QPSK modulation, 13 segment equivalent when coding ratio of convolution code is 1/2). The output of receiver signals is transport stream signals in serial format. The necessary power source voltages are 1.65-1.95V and 2.6-3.0V and the power consumption is 180mW.

The company is also developing a tuner module which supports the reception of 3 segment digital radio broadcasting. It measures 14.0 mm x 14.0 mm x 1.5 mm. Alps will showcase both modules at ALPS SHOW 2006, the company's private show scheduled for May 24-26, 2006. [M. Robertson, Portelligent]

Sanyo Epson Imaging Device of Japan is going to license South Korea's BOE HYDIS Technology Co., Ltd's AFFS (Advanced Fringe Field Switching) technology. Sanyo Epson is going to combine the AFFS technology and its proprietary new orientation film and LCD materials and will develop new wide viewing angle technology. Sanyo Epson plans to commercialize small to medium-sized wide viewing angle fine resolution LCD panels in the first quarter 2006.

Through the adoption of AFFS technology, Sanyo Epson is going to strengthen its wide viewing angle technology and reduce the development cycle of value-added products. Sanyo Epson points out the merits of the AFFS technology as 1) the capability to achieve a super wide viewing angle of 180 degrees vertically and horizontally and 2) the realization of low power consumption without sacrificing brightness. AFFS fulfills technical requirements necessary for small and medium sized panels targeted to mobile devices. [M. Robertson, Portelligent]