optrex
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HTC Mondrian with 1.3GHz Snapdragon detailed in leaked Windows Phone 7 ROM?
As expected, the official-looking Windows Phone 7 OS ROM leaked over the weekend is already yielding results. Pictured above is an image extracted from the "oemavatar.cab." Now that could be a generic Windows Phone 7 image or it could be the HTC Mondrian already seen referenced by the 100MB file. The kids at XDA-Developers have also pieced together specs from an ongoing analysis of the registry and RGU files. So far they've spotted references to a 4.3-inch WVGA (480x800) display from Optrex and a 1.3GHz QSD8650A/B Snapdragon from Qualcomm -- a chipset, you might recall, supporting multi-mode UMTS and CDMA 3G connectivity. It's also packing a digital compass but seems to lack a keyboard. Mind you, none of this is absolute but it's very very intriguing. [Thanks, Andrew]
Mitsubishi, Asahi Glass to sell shares in LCD joint venture
We consumers love the falling prices on our display devices. The fierce competition for your dollars takes its toll on manufacturers, however. And the plummeting prices on LCDs makes for a particularly competitive and price-sensitive market. The latest victim is Optrex, the joint venture between Mitsubishi Electric (40%) and Asahi Glass (60%). The two companies announced they will be selling the more than 10-year old venture to Japan Industrial Partners, Inc. Optrex produces small and midsize LCDs, but only has about 1% of the market and posted a 1.7 billion yen loss for FY 2006. Lest you think this sale is a good thing for the partners, they are looking at a red ink figure of 6.8 billion yen (approximately $60M) from the sale. Painful as that sounds, it's just the kind of hurt that spurs progress in a free-market economy.
