Germany's parliament approved record cuts in aid for solar power, aiming to reduce the annual pace of installations by half in the world's biggest market for the industry.

Approved by Chinese State Council, the provisional imported tax rates of four tax items including liquid crystal display boards and camera eyepieces will be adjusted beginning from April 1, 2012, announced by the Ministry of Finance on March 22, 2012.

China has previously placed a 3-percent tax on imported LCD panels of 32 inches or more (excluding backlight modules) in size in order to spur development in the country's booming television manufacturing sector, which is heavily reliant on LCD panel imports.

The success of the Galaxy Note throws ergonomics out the window. It tells us that it actually doesn't matter if a handheld is comfortable to hold, as long as it does something unique and interesting.

Micron Technology facility operations were unaffected after an explosion forced workers to evacuate a company building in Boise, Idaho, according to the city's fire department.

EV Group (EVG) announced that Himax Technologies has placed a repeat order for an IQ Aligner UV nanoimprint lithography (UV-NIL) system. The IQ Aligner will be used by Himax to support the company's capacity increase in the production of wafer-level cameras used in mobile phones, notebook computers and other consumer electronic devices.

What's surprising are Nvidia's remarks concerning TSMC's current cost curves and manufacturing ramps. This is normally the sort of information discussed quietly between a foundry and its customers or by the press with help from various anonymous sources. Discussing the problems publicly is a sign of just how frustrated the company has become.

InvenSense has announced dual-source capability for its CMOS-MEMS supply from the two leading semiconductor foundries in the world.

OLED technology has provided a way to create thinner, more efficient, and brighter displays and lighting panels, starting a revolution in display technology. OLEDs, standing for Organic Light Emitting Diodes, produce their own light and are thin and flexible, unlike their older LED siblings.

Samsung Electronics, Nokia and HTC are all rolling handsets with AMOLED displays,accelerating the penetration of AMOLED applications in the handset market, with sales for such phones to grow exponentially in 2012.

Hong Kong's leader-elect Leung Chun-ying faces scepticism over his political skills to lead the global financial hub, after a divisive election victory at the weekend in which critics dubbed him a closet communist.

Proving that energy-saving products don't easily make a good business, Royal Philips Electronics today reported that third quarter profits in its LED-reliant lighting division tumbled by nearly 50 percent.

Facebook has added a trove of IBM patents to its arsenal on an increasingly lawsuit-strewn technology battlefield.

Apple has indicated it will consider higher investments in China, as chief executive Tim Cook visited Beijing to meet Chinese officials.

Last year Jason Matlof, a partner at Battery Ventures, claimed that 2011 could be the year of the solid state lighting crossover -- when incandescents give way to LEDs. Matlof, like many VCs is an optimistic sort. And while Matlof might be off on the exact year, he's probably accurate with regard to the decade.

A team from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a 3D solar module structure that can generate up to twenty times the electricity from a given area compared to normal solar panel layout.

President Obama traveled here to the Nevada desert Wednesday to highlight the future of solar energy - and ridicule Republicans for trimming back federal funding to develop it.

Australia's government has banned Chinese technology giant Huawei from bidding to help build a high-speed Internet network amid concerns about cyber attacks traced to China. Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said Monday the move was among "prudent decisions" her government had to make to ensure the planned network functions properly.

OLED

Globalfoundres announced that its Fab 1 in Dresden, Germany has shipped a quarter of a million semiconductor wafers based on 32nm High-k Metal Gate (HKMG) technology. The milestone represents a significant lead over other foundries in HKMG manufacturing, it claimed.