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News

BANGALORE – Eight small bombs blasted Bangalore Friday, with the blasts reportedly killing at least one person and injuring nearly a dozen others.

India’s southern city, the center for the country’s global software outsourcing business, is home to 1,500 companies such as Infosys Technologies and offices of firms such as Microsoft, IBM and Intel.

According to published reports, authorities said the bombs were located in traffic circles, near bus stops and on important roads, such as the one to Electronic City.

BEIJING – With the Olympics around the corner, Chinese authorities in Beijing have restricted the traffic flow of goods and materials in an approximate 200-mile ring around the city through Oct. 17. The transportation of dangerous goods (such as plating chemicals and other materials for assembling electronics) has likewise been restricted until Aug. 22in the Shanghai area.

REDMOND, WA – Data I/O Corp. reported second-quarter revenues increased 38% to $8 million, and net income rose to $1.2 million from a loss of $1.1 million last year.

Backlogs at the end of the second quarter rose to $2.5 million, up 67% sequentially.

NEW YORK – Dover Corp. reported second-quarter revenues exceeded $2 billion, up 10% over last year and a record for the company.

SAN JOSE – Tessera Technologies announced its fifth annual technical symposium series will highlight the power of integration.

The Tessera Technology Symposiums will feature speakers from consumer electronics manufacturers and OEMs, as well as market research firms. During the event, Aptina, Asia Optical, Samsung, Toshiba and research firm IDC will discuss The Future of Imaging in Converged Mobile Devices; Transforming Mobile Devices Through High-End Imaging; Integration Challenges of Converged Devices, and Enhancing Camera Phone Performance.

The symposia will be held in Hsinchu City, Taiwan on Sept. 23; Tokyo on Sept. 25, and San Jose on Jan. 26.

ARLINGTON, VA – US shipments of consumer electronics will top $173 billion in 2008, according to new data from the Consumer Electronics Association. That’s up $2 billion from the trade group’s January estimates.

HILLSBORO, OR – ASYS Inc. has opened an office in Hillsboro, OR, and is expanding its Atlanta operations as well.

ASYS is a supplier of handling systems and high-end printers for thick film and solar applications. It is also the parent company of EKRA.

“Two service and application engineers are located onsite, and we are stocking spare parts for all of our major metallization equipment,” said Markus Wilkens, ASYS GM. “We are also expanding our base in Atlanta, as we are installing multiple metallization lines in the US.”

The firm is headquartered in Dornstadt, Germany, and maintains its American headquarters north of Atlanta.

HONG KONG – Worldwide consumer broadband connections will grow from 323 million connections in 2007 to 499 million in 2012, according to Gartner, Inc.

Worldwide consumer broadband connections penetrated 18% of households in 2007, and by 2012, households with a broadband connection will reach 25%, according to the research firm.

Five countries exceeded 60% broadband penetration into the home in 2007: Canada, Netherlands, Switzerland, South Korea and Hong Kong. This is expected to grow to 17 countries by 2012.

“Depending on the specific market conditions, availability of Internet-enabled devices and the continued impact of broadband on consumer lifestyles, we expect some markets will have a broadband ceiling at 80% penetration or greater,” said Amanda Sabia, principal research analyst at Gartner.

The high penetration rates seen in countries such as South Korea, Hong Kong and the Netherlands demonstrate what is possible under the right conditions. The small, denser countries, or countries with government-backed spending for broadband infrastructure, have an advantage, says Gartner. As a result, by 2012, these countries will have maintained their lead in broadband penetration rates.

The top three markets of South Korea, the Netherlands and Hong Kong are already heavily penetrated, so the change in rates is minimal compared with markets such as the US, Japan, Czech Republic, New Zealand and Australia. These markets will exhibit a swelling of broadband penetration by more than 20 percentage points, according to Gartner.

Emerging markets in Asia-Pacific will contribute the greatest increase (59 million) of consumer broadband connections worldwide. This market alone accounts for more than one-third of the five-year growth in consumer broadband connections. China alone will supply 25% of the overall growth in worldwide consumer broadband connections. The mature markets of Asia-Pacific and Japan will continue to have the highest broadband penetration of households. As this market is reaching saturation, the growth in the number of connections (18 million) is the lowest among the mature market segment.

“Broadband penetration will increase, especially in the geographically larger markets, as current broadband providers continue to deploy their services, as newer technologies (wireless broadband, such as WiMAX) attract subscribers, and as users experience firsthand how speed enhances their Internet sessions,” Sabia said.

When looking at household penetration for emerging versus mature markets, the overall growth is skewed, says the firm. Not only will the digital divide continue between the emerging and mature markets, it will widen by 13 percentage points.

“Newer ventures in these markets are primarily entertainment (such as Internet video content and games), IPTV and home networking, which will bring these devices and services into one integrated system within the home,” said Sabia.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – June PCB shipments by North American fabricators increased 3.3%, and bookings rose 3.4% compared to last year, IPC reported today. Year to date, shipments were up 5.7% and bookings rose 5.4% through June.

The overall book-to-bill ratio declined to 0.95. A ratio of more than 1.00 suggests that current demand is ahead of supply, a positive indicator for sales growth over the next two to three months.

Sequentially, shipments of rigid and flex boards were up 12%, and bookings were up 20.4%.

June shipments of rigid PCBs were up 2.9% year-over-year, while bookings were down 4.5%. Year to date, rigid PCB shipments were up 5.8%, and bookings were up 6.6%. Sequentially, rigid PCB shipments increased 11.8%, and rigid bookings increased 21.1%. The rigid book-to-bill ratio slipped to 0.94.

Flex circuit shipments were up 8.9%, while bookings were up 12.2% year-over-year. Year to date, flexible circuit shipments were up 4.2%, and bookings were down 8.8%. Compared to the previous month, flexible circuit shipments were up 15.8%, and flex bookings rose 11.4%. The book-to-bill ratio inched up to 1.02.

“The sagging book-to-bill ratio is due to the fact that shipment growth outpaced growth in orders during second quarter,” said IPC. “Both orders and shipments are up this month and showing typical seasonal patterns.”

ANGLETON, TX – Benchmark Electronics reported second-quarter sales of $682 million, down 9.8% year-over-year. Net income was down 15.4% to $22 million for the period ended June 30.

Revenues were well below Wall Street estimates of $727 million.

SUZHOU, CHINA – Last week, Foxconn announced plans to expand into North America. Today, EMS rival Flextronics returned the favor.

OLATHE, KS – Elecsys Corp. reported fourth-quarter sales rose 33% to $6.9 million. For the quarter, net income fell 19% to $263,000. Operating income was $690,000, up 69%, while gross margin was approximately 37% of sales, up nine points.

For the fiscal year ended April 30, sales were up 18% to $23.4 million, and net income was $688,000, down from $1 million in 2007, when the company booked a $324,000 gain on the sale of a former facility. Operating income was up 12% to $1.7 million, Gross margin was up five points to 35%.

Sales at DCI, the company’s EMS unit, fell $1.4 million because sales reported at DCI no longer include sales made to its new Radix subsidiary. The prior year included sales of $4,454,000 to the former Radix International Corp.

“DCI, the company's largest subsidiary continues to deliver quality products to niche markets and we expect that its specialized expertise in electronic design and manufacturing services should permit it to continue to experience steady growth,” the company said in a statement.