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Framingham, MA, Nov. 5 - Intense competition from converged mobile devices that perform basic personal information management tasks are stealing market share from handheld devices, says market research firm IDC.

Third quarter sales of handhelds fell 4.6% sequentially and 8.7% year-on-year, to 2.1 million units.

Market success will go to those that extend handheld devices into markets beyond core PIM functionality, such as GPS bundles, IDC said.

Hong Kong, Nov. 7 - China's electronics market will reach $459 billion by 2010, a year-on-year growth of 14% starting in 2004, according to Fusion Consulting, well ahead of the average annual growth rate of 5 to 10% in the rest of Asia.

China's electronics industry size is now more than three times that of southeast Asia's, and is projected to become five times as large by 2010.

"Electronic exports from China will decrease from the current 25% of total output as the domestic market for consumer electronics, telecommunications, computing and advanced automotive products picks up," Fusion said. "The 3G revolution and the 2008 Olympics in Beijing will really give this sector a boost."

Meanwhile, southeast Asia's electronics market will reach $96 billion by 2010, an annual growth rate of 7.6%. Fusion says.

The firm predicts Singapore will be the region's top producer, with output of $17 billion by 2010, followed by Thailand ($14 billion), Malaysia ($9 billion), Indonesia ($7 billion), and the Philippines ($6 billion).

San Diego, Nov. 7 -- Kester will use thermal process development and optimization tools from KIC in its European customer support operations, the companies said today.

The Kester lab will use a SlimKIC 2000 and Navigator tools for defining process windows and selecting ovens or wave solder recipes.

"We are excited about this opportunity to work so closely with Kester Europe. Kester's solutions are in line with KIC's high standard of quality, and we feel that the SlimKIC 2000 and Navigator tools will help Kester elevate their solutions and customer service to the next level," said Bjorn Dahle, President of KIC.

BOSTON, Nov. 4 -- Airlift capacity throughout the Asia Pacific has been relatively static but rising fuel prices and delays in major ports are trouble spots, a major freight forwarder said this week.

In its monthly report on airlift conditions, Trans Global Logistics says escalating fuel surcharges, strong demand for space fueled by delays at Long Beach and higher export volume from Asia

Peak season conditions exist in most markets with the greatest demand in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea, Trans Global says. Charter space is limited and the cost of a charter is more than $400,000, the firm says.

In Shanghai, new capacity is helping to handle the significant growth of export volume. But Hong Kong is struggling to meet demand as lift capacity is down about one-third.

"As you make plans to move your shipments during the next few weeks, anticipate longer transit times and higher costs for space and fuel. If you have large-sized or "hot" shipments, try to book them as early as possible," Trans Global says.

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SURREY, U.K., Nov. 5 -- Flexible printed circuit production will grow av average 21.5% per year through 2008, reaching $2.84 billion, says a new report from BPA Consulting. Worldwide flex production will total $1.98 billion in 2004, a record.

While the main drivers remain mobile phones, display interconnects, digital cameras and PDAs, new applications are emerging in the medical, aerospace and military markets, BPA predicts that these markets will remain relatively small.

The demand for hard disk drives and optical media drives is also increasing for portable consumer goods, A/V and computers . However, says BPA, the net effect for volumes will be negligible as the smaller size of flex boards used will offset higher demand. Furthermore, the costs of flex-rigid PCBs outweigh the benefits in most portable consumer applications.

Discrete flexible circuits and connectors will continue to be used in most mobile phones for the next thrree to five years. Many Asian producers are developing and sampling innovative lower-cost technologies that show promise, BPA says.

Asia (excluding Japan) produces the largest volumes of FPC, having overtaken Japan last year. The fastest-growing country in Asia is China, who has increased its share of Asian production from 8% in 2000 to 17% in 2003. China is expected to account for 29% in 2008.

MILPITAS, CA, Nov. 2 — Bliss Industries named Samuel Sher vice president of sales and marketing responsible for growth and diversification plans.

Sher has 20 years of sales and marketing management at companies like Applied Materials, where he was senior director of marketing, and Synexis, where he was as well as a chief marketing officer. He has an MBA from Adelphi University and a bachelor's of science from New York State University.

He will report to Ken Bliss, president and CEO.

Bliss makes carts for SMT manufacturing.