The US unemployment rate fell to 9.5% in June 2010 from 9.7% in May. Analysts say that high unemployment has kept consumer confidence low, preventing retail sales from growing rapidly.

Silicon Integrated System (SiS) has adopted Cadence solutions for its PC peripheral and multimedia system on chip (SoC) designs, according to Cadence.

Wind turbine farms are set to expand rapidly across Europe's coastal waters, throwing up challenges and opportunities for industry, according to a Reuters analysis of a leaked draft of EU energy strategies.

China's central government has approved proposals to establish a national-level new-energy demonstration city in Turpan in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, and the first low-carbon demonstration township in the Jujiapu Financial District of Tianjin.

The Asian Development Bank is leading the establishment of a nonprofit organization to promote the large-scale development of solar energy in Asia.

Think about it: which would you rather do without for a day, your computer or your smartphone?

WebOS tablet is expected to have most of the features and functionality missing from the iPad. A tablet built on a mobile OS, but including USB or SD memory card ports, front and/or rear facing cameras, and compatibility with Adobe Flash content offers business professionals a number of compelling reasons to shun the iPad.

As compared with previous generations, Micron's new RLDRAM 3 memory offers a further increase in density and speed, while minimizing latency and reducing power consumption for higher performing networking applications. Micron expects to begin sampling its RLDRAM 3 device in the first half of 2011.

Intel continues to make a push back into the cell-phone chip business - "sometimes under the radar" - as it acquired Comsys Mobile Communication and Signal Processing for US$30 million in late May, according to Forward Concepts.

Two Maryland residents have filed a class-action lawsuit against Apple and AT&T over the iPhone 4 antenna design issue. The plaintiffs are seeking financial compensation for their troubles, and the case also asks the court to prevent Apple from selling the iPhone 4 until the antenna issue is solved.

The iPhone still enjoys a commanding lead of all ad requests on AdMob's network. But the growth of Android phones continues to boost the share of Google's OS.

Thin-film solar cells are optimal for use in a high-temperature climate, compared to crystalline solar cells. Sharp's experience in the mass production of thin-film solar cells has enabled Sharp to take part in this project. The thin-film solar cell modules to be used in the power generation plant will be supplied partially from Sharp's solar cell plant at Osaka Prefecture.

Handsets featuring Intel processors are likely to be shown at the Consumer Electronics Show in next January or at the Mobile World Congress conference in February.

"Palm will be responsible for WebOS software development and WebOS-based hardware products, from a robust smartphone roadmap to future slate PCs and netbooks," an HP statement said.

Korea-China free trade talks will start next year, according to a senior Chinese government official.

LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Valens Semiconductor has announced formal incorporation of the HDBaseT Alliance and the finalization of the HDBaseT 1.0 specification, made available to Alliance member companies for CE implementation.

Citing "adverse market conditions," MagnaChip Semiconductor said it will not move forward with its planned initial public offering now.

Nokia says "users are free to hold their device any way they like without suffering any signal loss."

MeeGo combines Intel's Moblin software with Nokia's Maemo into an open source OS designed for netbooks or mobile phones. The project released an early version for netbooks in May and said at the time that it would come out with an early release for mobile phones in June.