Analysts expect Qualcomm to benefit from new drivers in the market, including the launch of the revamped Windows Phone platform and the expected expansion of Apple's iPhone to new carriers in 2011.

"Overall, the SIA forecast for 2012 looks like the "death" of the semiconductor industry, and we couldn't disagree more!" said Bill McClean, president of IC Insights. In IC Insights opinion, 2012 has tremendous upside potential for the semiconductor industry.

One iPhone owner filed a lawsuit against Apple claiming the company deliberately released a software upgrade that would turn earlier models of the iPhone into "virtually useless iBricks."

Bank of America and Citigroup are considering to let employees use the iPhone as an alternative to BlackBerry for corporate e-mail, said three sources. The banks are testing software for the iPhone that's designed to make it secure enough for company messages.

Dell will shift 25,000 of its employees from RIM's BlackBerry to its own smartphones, the company said.

3D smartphones will soon be a reality--if you live in Japan, that is. Two upcoming Sharp smartphones will offer a 3D-capable display.

Samsung Electronics and LG Display, the world's top two flat-panel makers by shipments, received approval from the Chinese government to set up LCD manufacturing plants in the mainland, two people familiar with the matter said Friday, highlighting the next big wave for LCD makers, which had previously preferred to keep their technology at home.

What happened to the computer industry is now taking place again with mobile phones but at a much faster pace.

Solyndra said it has scuttled its factory expansion in Fremont, a move that will stop the company's plans to hire 1,000 workers.

Elpida will slash production at its Hiroshima site and at the plant of Taiwanese subsidiary Rexchip Electronics and will consider postponing the construction of a plant in Taiwan, the Nikkei reported.

Chipmaker Qualcomm wants to expand in Europe via both organic and acquisition-fueled growth, its top man in the region told a German daily in an interview published on Wednesday.

Nokia Oyj shouldn't be found liable of infringing Apple Inc.'s patents, the staff of the U.S. International Trade Commission said as a trial started.

IT department at Western Union had a strict policy of issuing and supporting only BlackBerry. Then new CEO Hikmet Ersek took command of the 6,000-employee company and demanded that he be allowed to use his iPhone for work.

T-Mobile is careful not to attack the iPhone itself, suggesting that T-Mobile might not want to directly antagonize Apple in the event that it gets an iPhone deal of its own.

MeeGo 1.1 was released on Monday. This is the official call to device makers and developers to build us a new class of Linux-based Intel Atom and ARMv7 devices. Version 1.1 includes a user interface for smartphones and for netbooks but not for tablets. This didn't stop yet another round of rumors over a Nokia MeeGo tablet.

While Intel is almost certain to do other foundry deals like the one announced today, we don't see the chipmaker actually pursuing a real foundry model. Rather, Achronix and deals like it will enable Intel to develop new markets with less downside risk, and will ultimately grow the company's IDM business through acquisitions.

Canesta makes chips that, when coupled with a digital camera, give all manner of devices a sense of depth perception for the world around them, letting them "see" in three dimensions.

Intel, Toshiba and Samsung Electronics will join hands to develop technologies that could more than halve semiconductor line widths to nearly 10 nanometers by 2016, the Nikkei daily reported.