TAO YUAN SHIEN, TAIWAN – The largest contract laptop maker in the world, Quanta Computer Inc., said global notebook PC shipments are expected to increase 25% in 2008, as consumer demand remains strong.

Global low-cost notebook shipments will reach about 10 million this year, as the demand for the 8-10" Netbook market grows, says the firm.

The company’s co-founder and vice chairman C.C. Leung said in a statement he expects global notebook shipments to hit 130 million units this year.

Quanta’s sales are expected to rise more than 20% in the last two quarters of 2008, compared to 2007. The company expects to ship 40 million notebook units, compared to 32 million last year.

Quanta’s second-quarter results have not yet been released.

TAIPEI — Taiwan's Acer Inc. said its sales are expected to increase more than 50% in 2008, raising its previous forecast as a result of demand for smaller, cheaper laptops.

"The notebook market is growing for at least the next two to three years, and with the entry of new mobile Internet devices, the market can easily double in size, changing the profile of the industry dramatically," Acer president Gianfranco Lanci said, according to published reports.

"I think all the major PC brands are getting ready to face the change and to manage the change," said Lanci.

Lanci believes Acer could have 16 to 18% of the global PC market by yearend, as the company continues to compete with Lenovo, Hewlett-Packard and Dell Inc.

The company expects to sell 6 to 7 million units of its Aspire One in 2008, and 15 to 20 million units in 2009.

FRAMINGHAM, MA – Worldwide PC microprocessor shipments slowed significantly in the first quarter of 2008, down 9.2% sequentially, says research firm IDC.

TAIPEI – Asustek Computer Inc. reduced its global notebook PC shipment forecast to 6.6 million units for 2008, down from a projected 7 million units, say published reports.

The firm’s original projection was up more than 60% compared to 2007 results. However, the company adjusted the forecast downward by 5.7%.

Asustek attributes the adjustment to strong market competition; the European market is particularly struggling, with the second-quarter growth rate estimated at a mere 3 to 5%.

The firm forecasts sales of its Eee PC to reach 5 million units globally in 2008, including 1.3 million units in the second quarter.

RICHARDSON, TX – TXP Corp., ODM for the telecommunications industry, reported first-quarter revenue was $2.5 million, up about 14% year-over-year.

Operating loss was approximately $2.4 million, compared to operating loss of approximately $1.2 million for the first quarter last year. Net loss was approximately $198,000, compared to net loss of approximately $378,000 for the same period in 2007.

Net loss in the first quarter of 2008 and 2007 included a non-cash gain of approximately $2.8 million and $1.1 million, respectively, related to change in fair value of derivative financial instruments.

The company says it increased its customer base to 139 in the first quarter, up from 117 for the same period in 2007.

"We attribute our increase in revenue to the continued strength of our prototype services business, as well as the growth of our retrofit solutions ... During the quarter, we focused heavily on our sales and marketing initiatives within the Optical Network Terminal group. Specifically, we are engaged in active discussions with a number of carriers to utilize our Gigabit Passive Optical Network ONTs for their next-generation Fiber-to-the-Home network. We now have product trials ongoing with over 15 carriers and have received favorable feedback from our partners," said Michael C. Shores, president and CEO of TXP.

Additionally, the company announced it has completed a financing of up to $5.75 million with YA Global Investments, L.P.

COLLEGE PARK, MD – The 2nd Annual Symposium on Avoiding, Detecting, and Preventing Counterfeit Electronic Parts will be held Sept. 8 and 9 at University of Maryland, College Park, MD.

Submit abstracts on relevant topics (fewer than 300 words) to Dr. Diganta Das at diganta@umd.edu.

The deadline for presentations is August 16.

SMTA and CALCE will sponsor the event, which will focus on solutions available and under development by all sectors of the industry. Topics will include methodologies followed by affected industries to mitigate chances of being victims of counterfeit parts; efforts and initiatives – both domestic and international – that will affect the future of combating counterfeit electronic parts; supply chain management tools to mitigate counterfeit part risks; tools being developed and used by part manufacturers; inspections tools and techniques for detecting counterfeit parts; impact of counterfeit parts on the military and avionics industry; sources of counterfeit parts, and authentication techniques for securing electronic part supply chain.

For more information, visit http://www.calce.umd.edu and http://www.smta.org/education/education.cfm#counterfeit.

STOCKHOLM – SMT equipment manufacturer Mydata has acquired its German distributor Royonic.

SHENZHEN – Software provider Valor Computerized Systems Ltd. has established a technological partnership with Guilin University of Electronic Technology in China.

Under the terms of the agreement, Valor will provide GUET with software, including DFM, SMT programming, optimization, program conversion and process engineering, and GUET will bring Valor software into its educational programs, such as mandatory and elective courses in undergraduate and postgraduate studies.

In addition, a GUET-Valor Training Room for Electronic Manufacturing Software Application will be established for vocational training and open technological training courses.

No other financial terms of the agreement were disclosed.

LAS VEGAS – IPC has issued a call for abstracts for next year's Apex. The event will take place in Las Vegas, March 31 - April 2.

Expert presentations are being sought on all relevant design, PCP fabrication and manufacturing topics. Submissions in the areas of new materials and environmental concerns are especially encouraged. The program committee will choose only abstracts that describe significant results from experiments, emphasize new techniques or discuss trends and test results.

The deadline for abstracts is July 18.

For more information on submitting a conference abstract and/or course proposal, visit www.GoIPCShows.org/CFP.

For information on teaching a course, contact Michelle Michelotti, IPC coordinator of professional development, at MichelleMichelotti@ipc.org.

RENO – Market research firm DataBeans Inc. predicts the worldwide optoelectronics annual market will grow to $17.4 billion in 2008, up 8.6% year-over-year.

The firm expects a CAGR of 12% between 2008 and 2013, when the market will reach $31.2 billion.

Databeans predicts global optoelectronics revenue for lighting and other consumer applications will grow at a CAGR of 14% during the next five years, followed by the medical market, with a growth rate of 13%, and automotive, with growth of 12%.

STAMFORD, CT – Gartner Inc. has raised its 2008 worldwide IC forecast from 3.4% to 4.6%. The firm now says the IC industry is projected to reach $287 billion this year.

SAN JOSE, CA – Worldwide sales of semiconductors in April were $21.2 billion, up 5.9% year-over-year, the Semiconductor Industry Association reported today.