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| You can't believe there was 350 million wireless ear-bud sold |
12/31/2019 |
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Taken as a whole, the category hit 96.7 million shipments in Q3, making a 53% year over year growth. For the fourth quarter (including the holidays), the number is expected to break 100 million, pushing things to around 350 million for the full year.
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| New electrolye protects battery from catching fire |
12/31/2019 |
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Now, the new nonflammable liquid electrolyte will be incorporated into batteries — offering hardware manufacturers the ability also to use liquid polymer and/or gel-based cell technologies. Gel-based batteries are also suitable for wearables, particularly where puncturing may be an issue.
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| MediaTek to launch second 5G chip in Q2 |
12/30/2019 |
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The announcement came as 5G chip competition is heating up: About a month ago, after MediaTek unveiled its first 5G SoC, named Dimensity 1000, for premium 5G smartphones, its bigger rival Qualcomm Inc followed with its own system one week later.
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| New overtime rules New York kicks in on New Year |
12/26/2019 |
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The Labor Department rules that go into effect Jan. 1 raise to $684 per week, or $35,568 a year, the threshold at which employees are exempt from being paid overtime. That's a 50.3% increase from the previous threshold of $455 per week or $23,660 annually.
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| Samsung plans decade long $116 billion capital spending |
12/26/2019 |
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The South Korean company is investing heavily in the next step in miniaturizing semiconductors, a process called extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV). It’s by far the priciest manufacturing upgrade Samsung has ever attempted, a risky bid to move beyond its established business of cranking out commoditized silicon and to leapfrog the incumbent leaders in the $250 billion foundry and logic-chip industry.
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| Manufacturing index for durable goods fell 2% |
12/25/2019 |
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Orders for durable goods fell 2% last month, the biggest decline since May, the Commerce Department said Monday. Orders have fallen in two of the past three months. October’s number was revised down to 0.2% from a 0.6% gain.
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| Amazon just notify merchants a 3% increase in fulfillment |
12/25/2019 |
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Higher costs from infrastructure and programs such as one-day delivery as why the higher merchant fees are needed, with Amazon adding that it has invested more than $15 billion in 2019 in tools, infrastructure and programs to help its sellers.
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| Uber CEO Travis Kalanick is out |
12/25/2019 |
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The departure did not come as a surprise. Kalanick recently sold more than $2.5 billion worth of shares in the company, more than 90% of his holdings.
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| Etron teamed with Lattice to develope DRAM applications with AI |
12/24/2019 |
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Memory design house Etron Technology has teamed up with US-based FGPA chipmaker Lattice Semiconductor on developing new miniaturized AI+DRAM platform for applications to terminal edge computing, industrial robots, and multimedia such as AR/VR.
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| Boeing space capsule safely returned after missing orbit |
12/24/2019 |
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The successful return capped a rocky start to a mission that was supposed to include a docking with the space station. Managers will review all the data before deciding whether to do another test flight or go straight to flying astronauts.
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| Wireless charging is rapidly becoming more common |
12/24/2019 |
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Wireless charging, involves transferring energy between two objects across an electromagnetic field. The concept, refined and applied to several small-sized applications in the mid-1970s, is making a comeback in consumer phones and EVs.
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| Miniaturized MLCC market to recover thanks to 5G |
12/23/2019 |
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Indicator suggesting the market for MLCCs may come back to life in 2020. According to sources at passive component equipment makers, an influx of short lead-time orders has started pulling in. The orders are mainly those for making miniaturized MLCCs, as well as power inductors.
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| U.S. economy grew 2.1% in Q3 |
12/23/2019 |
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The Commerce Department said Friday that the gross domestic product, the economy’s total output of goods and services, grew at a moderate annual rate of 2.1% in the third quarter.
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| Boeing no-bid on $85 Billion Minuteman III missile project |
12/23/2019 |
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Last week marked the deadline for bid submissions for a contract to replace the military’s Minuteman III missile system. Boeing has participated in the military’s program as a Minuteman supplier since 1962, and the company was expected to bid on the project along with competitor Northrop Grumman.
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