EL SEGUNDO, CA -- Apple remains the king of all media tablets, with its global market share rising to nearly 70% in the second quarter, putting the company on pace to reclaim much of the dominance it surrendered in 2011.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Micro-tier EMS firm HEI Inc. swung to a second-quarter net loss despite a small uptick in revenues. The company cited program delays and expansions for the loss.

EGHAM, UK — Rising demand for smartphones could not offset an overall decline in cellphone sales, a leading research firm said today.

GARBSEN, GERMANY – LPKF Laser & Electronics reported first-half revenue rose 34% to EUR 50.3 million on higher solar equipment demand. Earnings increased 42% to EUR 7.4 million.

HUNTSVILLE, AL – Aqueous Technologies, Henkel, Kyzen, PVA and STI Electronics will present solutions to challenging cleaning and reliability issues at a workshop on Sept. 13 here.

MUNICH -- The end of the second quarter brought the first signs of an upswing in industry SMT equipment orders after four quarters of slowing growth.

MINNEAPOLIS – Electronics manufacturing services provider Nortech Systems reported net sales of $28 million for the second quarter ended June 30, up a slight 0.72% year-over-year.

TAIPEI – Foxconn today reported non-consolidated revenues of $8.29 billion for July, up 8.4% year-over-year, and up 5% sequentially.

PATHUMTHANI, THAILAND – Electronics manufacturing services provider SVI Public Co. Ltd. reported second-quarter 2012 consolidated revenue of Baht 2.07 billion, up 29% sequentially, and down 15.7% year-over-year.

HELSINKI – PKC Group reported net sales for the April to June quarter of EUR 244.8 million, up 124% year-over-year.

TAIPEI – Global smartphone shipments are expected to top 630 million units in 2012, up 35% year-over-year, says Digitimes.

SCOTTSDALE, AZ -- Following a lackluster period of average annual market growth in the semiconductor industry, a significant upturn is in store for the next five years, according to IC Insights.