Telecommunications
Fujitsu has announced that it will upgrade the capacity of the South East Asia-Middle East-Western Europe 4 (SEA-ME-WE 4) submarine cable network that connects numerous countries between Singapore and France. With completion scheduled in 2009, this multi-million dollar second upgrade project will triple the existing trunk capacity of the system, enabling SEA-ME-WE 4 to support the increased broadband traffic requirements along the route. Owned and operated by 16 international telecommunications carriers with 16 landing points. Fujitsu had the turnkey responsibility of designing and laying for Segment 1, linking Singapore to Mumbai. The network's capacity was subsequently doubled in the third quarter of 2007.
Hardware
Pioneer Corporation said it would incur losses this fiscal year as it booked charges to pull out of plasma television-panel manufacturing after failing to convince consumers to pay steep prices for its TVs. The company cut its net outlook for this fiscal year through March to a Ñ15.0 billion ($147.1 million) loss from the Ñ6 billion ($58.8 million) profit it previously expected. It blamed expenses for the plasma-panel pullout as well as higher taxes for the second downward revision in its profit outlook in just over four months. Instead of manufacturing its own panels, Pioneer said it is now in talks with Matsushita Electric Industrial on securing supplies for its TV sets.
Fujitsu has released its new series of MHZ2 BT 2.5" hard disk drives with capacity of up to 500 GB. The new series responds to the growing need for hard drives in the 2.5" form factor that can handle high-volume storage for such products as digital video recorders and external hard drives. The MHZ2 BT series requires only 1.8W of power for read and write operations, ranking it among the most power-efficient drives in its class. The series is one of many new products announced as part of FujitsuÆs Green Policy Innovation program, unveiled in December 2007 to promote energy-efficient products and services as a way to help customers lower their ecological footprint.
Mobile/wireless
Samsung Electronics plans to build a high-speed wireless internet network in Japan based on KoreaÆs home-grown technology WiBro. Samsung said that it has agreed with JapanÆs UQ Communications to provide equipment and facilities to establish the WiBro network. UQ Communications, a consortium led by JapanÆs second-largest mobile carrier KDDI, plans to start a test service in Tokyo and Yokohama in February next year and launch the commercial service around next summer.
Mitsubishi Electric has pulled the plug on its mobile handset operations, citing intense competition in the Japanese market. Local vendors are struggling to compete as handsets made by the major European and US players grow in popularity in Japan. Mitsubishi is the second major Japanese name to disappear from the market this year, following Kyocera's acquisition of Sanyo Electric's unprofitable mobile phone arm in January. Closure of the mobile unit will affect 600 employees across R&D, manufacturing and sales, although Mitsubishi said these will be repositioned within the group, mainly at its communications systems business.
Technology
The Japanese government is so bullish about fuel cell technology that it has earmarked $309 million a year for development. It also plans for 10 million homes, on about one-fourth of Japanese households, to be powered by fuel cells by 2020. The technology, which draws energy from the chemical reaction when hydrogen combines with oxygen to form water, is more commonly seen in futuristic cars with tanks of hydrogen instead of gasoline, which is a key factor in pollution and global warming. Nearly every home in Japanese cities is supplied with natural gas, which could make it relatively easy to spread fuel cell technology there.
A plan by Chubu Electric Power to use plutonium-uranium mixed oxide fuel to generate electricity at a nuclear plant in Shizuoka Prefecture has received approval from the government, clearing the way for its implementation. Governor Yoshinobu Ishikawa formally conveyed the local consent to the so-called pluthermal, or plutonium-thermal, plan to Chubu Electric President Toshio Mita.
Media, entertainment and gaming
Walt Disney will team up with Japanese companies Toei Animation, Madhouse and Jinni's Animation Studios to produce animated features in Japan. The Nikkei reported that the move was made to help Disney gain wider acceptance of its animated programming in Asia. The Nikkei said the partnerships would allow Disney to tap local talent and computer graphics technology to produce programs for audiences in Japan and across Asia. These programs will be broadcast by satellite and terrestrial channels, but Disney will also look into delivering content to mobile phones, the report said. For Disney, this will mark the first time that it has gone outside of the US with the core production processes for major programs. The studio has tried to enter the global animation market by exporting programs, but it has concluded that production should be done locally so that its shows will be widely accepted in different countries and cultures.
Korea
Semiconductors
KoreaÆs semiconductor exports that have been on a downward trend since last year, fell 28.5% in February with total overseas sales reaching $1.4 billion. This marks the sixth month in a row that semiconductor exports fell on a year-on-year basis, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy. Parts for digital TVs rose 30% in the cited month, while LCD TV shipments increased by 34.5%.
Hardware
Samsung Electronics has released the worldÆs first 3D-ready plasma TV set, which allows people to enjoy three-dimensional movies and games at home. Users need to wear a pair of special glasses to experience the 3D effect. The TV set, Pavv Cannes 450, also produces clearer images, with a contrast ratio of 1 million to one, the company said. It comes in two sizes - 42 inches and 50 inches - with a price tag of W1.75 million ($1,868) and W2.5 million. The 3D accessory kit, which includes glasses and the software and runs on a PC connected to the TV set, costs an additional W150,000 ($160).
KoreaÆs digital electronics exports rose 7.7% year-on-year to $9.8 billion in February due to strong demand for mobile phones and liquid crystal displays, according to the government. The Ministry of Knowledge Economy said last monthÆs imports of digital electronics rose 15.8% to $5.6 billion with the trade surplus reaching $4.2 billion. The size of the surplus is 1.7% smaller than last year. Mobile phone exports rose 22.9% to $1.6 billion during the cited period, while exports of LCDs increased 36.1% to $1.5 billion. Demand for premium mobile phones has been going up in recent years, surpassing semiconductors and making them KoreaÆs number one digital export. Mobile phone exports that had been hurt by cheap phones made by foreign rivals in 2005 and 2006 started to pick up as global consumers started to look for high-end products that local companies make.
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