Microsoft said Tuesday it has agreed to acquire Norwegian business search specialist Fast Search & Transfer for US$1.2 billion

The Korea Intellectual Property Office said Tuesday that the number of patent applications for PDP technologies filed by Samsung SDI, LG Electronics and Orion PDP fell to 496 last year from 2,130 in 2005 and 1,573 in 2006.

Samsung has upgraded its Q1 Ultra UMPC, adding 'Premium' to the machine's moniker and boosting the handheld's processing power and its battery capacity.

About $2,500 will buy a 50-inch, high-end Panasonic flat-panel TV, large enough for almost any living room. Or it will buy an 11-inch Sony, smaller than most laptop screens.

Despite projected market growth of 25% in units this year, the smaller players in liquid crystal display (LCD) panels are merging or seeking to merge to face the larger vendors this year.

SN3500 with LED backlighting is now shipping, offering cost savings,10,000-hour MTBF and a host of operational benefits