SHENZHEN – SMTA China announced it will sponsor the upcoming SMTA China South Conference 2007. Reed Exhibitions will support the conference in conjunction with the Nepcon China 2007 exhibition at the Shenzhen Convention & Exhibition Center.

It is scheduled to take place Aug. 27-30 in Shenzhen, China.

This event will feature technical papers, workshops and training sessions, as well as the Emerging Technologies Summit and three symposia across seven tracks: manufacturing and assembly, advanced packaging, substrates, soldering, test/inspection/quality, process Control, and contract manufacturing/business issues.

Conference topics include 01005 assembly, 3-D system in package (SiP), package on package (PoP), Pb-free reliability, component supply integrity, legal responsibility of non-RoHS part/product entering Europe, materials and process characterization, and flex circuit assembly.

For more information and to register, contact Peggy Chen at +86-21-5609-3010 or peggy@smta.org.

EL SEGUNDO, CA – iSuppli Corp. has announced a free Webinar on the PMP/MP3 market. Time to Grow Up and Face the Music will take place Aug. 15 at 11:30 am EST.

Chris Crotty, senior analyst for consumer platforms at iSuppli will discuss market share figures for PMP/MP3 makers and their semiconductor suppliers; shipment and revenue forecasts, including media and product mix outlooks; market drivers; whether a viable challenger to Apple will ever arise, and the latest retailer and consumer demographic data.

The Webinar will answer such questions as, Will NAND flash be capable of meeting the storage needs of video-capable productions? Will PMP/MP3 makers be able to source sufficient supplies of NAND-type flash memory for their data storage needs? Can PMP/MP3 controller vendors continue to endure severe price erosion for their products? Which new technologies will help maintain the momentum of PMP/MP3 player sales?

The increasing pervasiveness of broadband connectivity, the rising availability of content, and the continued reductions in component costs have contributed to the portable media player and MP3 player markets becoming the fastest growing segments of the consumer electronics market today, says iSuppli.

Although Apple Inc. gets the lion’s share of attention in the PMP/MP3 player market, the market is highly fragmented, with about 100 product manufacturers supplying both OEMs and their own brands, says the research firm.

During the next few years, the number of companies in the business is likely to dwindle, as the less competitive players are acquired or are squeezed out of the market entirely, believes iSuppli.

SANTA CLARA, CA – EMS provider NBS Design Inc. has opened two PCB layout facilities in recent weeks. 

The first, in Dallas, has been in operation since mid-July and is run by Russ Wirth. In mid-August, NBS will open its third layout operation, to be located in Nashua, NH; another PCB industry veteran, Kathy Descoteaux, will run that operation.

The eight-year-old company also has a design center and manufacturing facility in Santa Clara.