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Samsung is building a high-speed 4TB SSD for everyone
When Samsung unveiled its first-ever 1-terabit flash chip, it promised that massive SSD storage devices would soon follow. As promised, it's now producing 4TB SSDs, and best of all, these drives are not for cloud companies or enterprises. "Samsung's new 4-bit SATA SSD will herald a massive move to terabyte-SSDs for consumers," said executive VP of memory sales Jaesoo Han.
Samsung leapfrogs Intel again with 8-nanometer chips
Samsung has qualified its 8-nanometer chip-making process for production three months ahead of schedule. It's the same "low power plus" (LPP) process used for its current 10-nanometer silicon, not the next-gen extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography for its future 7-nanometer tech. That'll yield chips that are ten percent more energy efficient and ten percent smaller than the 10-nanometer ones it's making right now. At the same time, since the 8-nanometer chips use the same process, Samsung will be able to "rapidly ramp up," it said.
Samsung reports $8.27 billion in profits for Q4 2012
As Samsung predicted, Q4 2012 was another big one for the company with 8.84 trillion won ($8.27 billion) in operating profits, around double what it reported for the same period back in 2011. Overall revenue was also up, showing a gain of 18.5 percent from the same period last year for a total of 56.06 trillion won ($52.04 billion.) The company reported "strong" sales of tablets and smartphones, specifically calling out its Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note II, which were last seen crashing through the 30 million and 5 million sold barriers, respectively. If you were hoping for a Galaxy S IV preview, it won't be found here, although Samsung expects demand for replacements and the expansion of LTE to drive sales, the anticipated seasonal drop in sales in Q1 suggests we won't see a new model right away. For its TVs, Samsung claimed overall demand was flat from last year, however a focus on higher end LED models drove higher profits. Samsung sees the 60-inch and higher market growing in 2013, however Q1 sales are expected to be slow before the new models are introduced. Samsung is also a major chip maker, and it reported weak demand for PC RAM, but growth in the server and mobile markets. Hit the source link to check out the PDF yourself or check out the press release after the break for more details. We didn't learn anything particularly illuminating on the conference call, however executives believe there are more surprises left in the smartphone market for innovative companies like Samsung -- take from that what you will.
Samsung estimates $8.3 billion in profits for Q4, brags about phone sales
What's the lion's share look like in sales numbers? About 500 handsets a minute, according to Samsung. The Korean hardware giant flaunted the sales estimate in its Q4 investors guidance, where it says it expects to see $8.3 billion in profits when the official earnings report drops later this month. That's just shy of double what it reported over the same period in 2011. Sammy contributes the growth to a plentiful supply of regional variants of handsets like the Galaxy S III and Note II, as well as high demand for its display technology. The streak may not keep forever though, according to Reuters, analysts are predicting a first quarter slump without a new Galaxy S phone for the spring. We'll have to wait for the full earnings release to see how things pan out, but it doesn't look like the firm will be hurting for cash any time soon.
Samsung makes $7.4 billion in Q3 profits, surpasses expectations
Samsung set the bar a little lower than the final mark when it told investors its expectations earlier this month, posting $7.4 billion in operating profits for Q3 and $5.97 billion in net income. This handily bests the $7.28 billion profit it told investors to expect, nearly doubling what it made over the same period last year. Why the jump? You can blame the Galaxy S III, which increased shipments "significantly due to global expansion," the company says. Indeed, smartphone sales are credited to Sammy's quarter over quarter leap in revenue. Consumer electronics sales also boosted profits a fair deal, achieving "industry leading profitability" in the TV market, according to Samsung, who cited growth both in the consumer space, and in the sales of OLED panels for televisions, tablets and high-end smartphones. The company's semiconductor sales, on the other hand, dropped by eight-percent in the face of weak PC demands. Samsung expects demand for PC DRAM and other high value-added chip products to remain weak, but optimistically notes that the sector is still profitable, and may pick up as new devices come to market. Got the basics? Great -- dive into the details and charts at the source link below, or read on for Sammy's official Q3 press release.
Samsung expects around $7.28 billion in operating profits for Q3, setting another record
Samsung has provided investors guidance ahead of its full Q3 earnings report that's due before October 26th, and as has been the custom, the numbers are huge. It's expecting a fourth straight record quarter with overall operating profit of 8.1 trillion won ($7.28 billion), an amount that would more than double last year's results for the same period and clear Q2s $5.86 billion, all on sales of 52 trillion won ($46 billion). We'll have to wait for the full report to see numbers broken down by department, but it's safe to say that there's a lot of Galaxy S IIIs (it ticked past 20 million last month) adding up to reach that pinnacle. Reuters and Bloomberg have predictions from various analysts on how many handsets, RAM chips and flat-panel HDTVs were sold, but if its legal battle with Apple ends in the worst-case scenario, at least we figure Samsung will have enough left over to keep the lights on.
Samsung appoints components boss Kwon Oh-hyun as new CEO
Vice Chairman Kwon Oh-hyun is about to become a very busy man, having been tasked with handling "corporate-wide affairs" as Samsung's new CEO while also continuing at the helm of the manufacturer's components business. He'll replace current CEO Choi Gee-sung, who'll take on a role looking for "future growth engines" as the head of the Samsung Group Corporate Strategy Office -- at least once his new XL business cards arrive from the printers. Other top-level positions look relatively stable at this point, with Jay Lee (the son of the current Samsung Electronics chairman, Lee Kun-hee) staying on as chief operations officer.
Samsung Display spinoff officially launches as 'the world's largest display manufacturer'
Just as planned, Samsung has formally separated from its display business, which will begin solo operations "in earnest" April 3rd. The newly created -- and still 100 percent Samsung Electronics owned -- Samsung Display comes into existence immediately as "the world's largest display manufacturer" with 20,000 employees and five production facilities around the world. New president Donggun Park reiterated the company's stance that this move will better allow the display unit to stay ahead of the market, although what that might mean in LCDs, OLED or any other new technology isn't clear yet. Competitor LG has had a separate LG Display unit since 1999, which was originally a joint venture with Philips before that company sold all of its shares in 2008. As you can see from the new logo above not a lot has changed so far, but we'll see what "customized products" it can develop in the future.
Samsung shareholders approve spin-off of LCD business
It's been less than a month since Samsung confirmed that it would be spinning-off its LCD business into a separate company, and it looks like things are proceeding along speedily. The company's shareholders have now approved the spin-off, paving the way for the tentatively-titled Samsung Display Co. to come into existence on April 1st. Samsung Electronics will have a 100 percent stake in that company, and the current executive vice president of its LCD business, Park Dong-gun, will take on the position of president in the new firm. All of that, Samsung says, is being done in an effort to make the company more nimble and able to respond to its clients' needs more quickly.
Apple now the world's biggest buyer of semiconductors
Gartner announced today that Apple became the world's biggest buyer of semiconductors in 2011, leaping ahead of both Samsung Electronics and Hewlett-Packard. As Macworld notes, PC and phone vendors' semiconductor spending is related to sales of their finished products. Apple's spending on semiconductors was a whopping US$17.3 billion in 2011, up from $12.8 billion the year before. Samsung was in second place at $16.7 billion and saw a growth rate of about 9.2 percent due in part to its increasing sales of Android-based smartphones. Not surprisingly, several manufacturers who are seeing the effects of Apple's growth showed drops in semiconductor spending. The fragile PC market hit HP, which spent $16.6 billion during 2011, down from $17.6 billion in 2010. Nokia saw an even more precipitous drop in their chip buying, dropping over 20 percent to about $9 billion. Gartner notes that the top ten semiconductor buyers spent about $105.6 billion in 2011 altogether, about 35 percent of worldwide chip revenue.
Seagate shores up its hard drive business, finalizes Samsung purchase
It's taken the pair a fair few months to hammer down the details, but it's finally official: Seagate now holds the figurative keys to Samsung's hard drive business. According to the press release, Seagate will retain some Samsung employees as well as gaining access to the electronics manufacturer's solid-state storage for future products. Samsung will hold onto a 9.6 percent stake of Seagate and cash money said to total around $1.375 billion. You can still expect to see remnant Samsung hard drives floating around next year while Seagate decides how it's going to further its storage business -- hopefully involving more than just shrinking warranties.
Samsung claims record 300 million mobile sales this year
Add together ten million Galaxy S IIs, a dollop of Galaxy Nexii, a gargantuan gathering of Galaxy Notes and a healthy serving of Badas, and what do you get? 300 million handset sales so far in 2011, that's what. And Samsung claims that makes this the best year in its mobile-making history, surpassing 2010 by a whopping 20 million. Of course, more sales doesn't necessarily translate into greater revenue -- Nokia is still the world's largest manufacturer by volume and is a case in point. Nevertheless, we'll know more when Samsung reveals its Q4 earnings next month.
Sony to divide TV division into three-headed monster, looks to bounce back
Looking to make a rebound in the ailing TV business, Sony has announced that it will split its television division into three. According to Reuters, the company is looking to keep operations in check with separate departments for LCD TVs, outsourcing and next-gen TVs. The company is wasting no time, as the move will take place on November 1st. The announcement also comes in advance of Sony's quarterly earnings report this Wednesday which is predicted to be a quite a few eggs short of the full basket that was hoped for -- due in part to its inability to compete against Vizio and Samsung. There are also rumblings that the company could be looking to sell off its almost 50-percent share of a liquid-crystal display collaboration with the aforementioned Sammy. It appears moves are being made to stay in the TV game, but the real question is will Sony be able to stop the bleeding (or, perhaps more appropriately, melting)?
Samsung sells HDD division to Seagate for $1.375 billion
We're firmly of the belief that SSDs are our future and Samsung would seem to agree. The Korean electronics giant has just announced that it's selling its hard disk drive-manufacturing arm to Seagate Technology for a neat $1.375 billion in equal measures of cash and stocks. As a result, Samsung Electronics will own approximately 9.6 percent of Seagate and get to nominate one new member to join Seagate's Board of Directors, while the two companies have further agreed to deepen their strategic relationship with related cross-licensing and supply stipulations. Samsung will provision Seagate's solid state drives with NAND flash memory, whereas Seagate will furnish Samsung's PCs and consumer electronics products with hard disk storage. The deal is expected to complete in full by year's end and you can read all about it in Seagate's press release after the break. [Thanks, Pavel]
Apple spent nearly $5.7b on Samsung parts in 2010, faces 'strong' response to its patent suit
Want some numerical context to last night's revelation that Apple is suing Samsung Electronics for copying the iPhone and iPad? How does $5.7 billion sound? That's how much Apple spent on buying up parts from Samsung last year, according to the AFP, which cites the Cupertino company as Samsung's second-biggest client after Sony. Given the breadth of Samsung's component manufacturing, these expenditures can and probably do span everything from flash storage and RAM to processing chips to displays. What's fascinating here -- and illustrative of the psychopathic nature of corporations -- is that in spite of this massive interdependency, Apple's lodged a broadly worded patent assault on a major prong of Samsung's business (smartphones and tablets) and now Samsung's been quoted as saying it has "no choice but [to] respond strongly." A company official has apparently expressed the belief that Apple may be infringing on some of Samsung's wireless patents, which means we can probably look forward to another fat batch of papers being submitted to the Northern District of California court. Lovely.
Chairman's son promoted to president of the Samsung Electronics gang
And so it goes. Samsung Electronics' Chairman, aka The Notorious Lee Kun-hee, has just seen his son Lee Jae-yong promoted to the position of president of the chaebol kingdom. Lee previously served as executive VP in the flagship arm of the Samsung Group conglomerate. As if that wasn't enough nepotism, Lee's little sis was promoted to the position of president of Everland, a Samsung-owned theme park / resort operator. Naturally, Samsung stock closed at a record high on the news.
Nanosys forms alliance with Samsung to further the art of nanotech, fight the gray goo menace
Nanotech: it's about to get big -- well, figuratively speaking anyway. California-based Nanosys, who has worked to apply little tech to everything from flash memory to LED-backlit displays, is now applying it to solve a new problem: cash flow. Through a partnership with Samsung, Nanosys will receive "funding and resources" plus a $15 million equity investment while Samsung will presumably get first dibs to produce the fruits of this partnership. The press release, embedded below, specifically mentions applying research to develop better solar tech, but also indicates a hope to improve "electronics" in general, opening the door for just about anything. We're going to go ahead and hope for nanotech foot massaging running shoes, but feel free to lodge your own requests in the comments section below.
iPad production may be slowed by touchscreen production woes
If you're an international customer who's waiting for an iPad, you're probably a bit anxious about the lack of a solid release date. The problem might not just be unprecedented demand for the iPad in the U.S., but also production issues with the 9.7" touchscreen displays. Andrew Rassweiler, an analyst with research firm iSuppli, told Bloomberg News that yields on the displays have been low. That problem is in turn causing a production bottleneck. The displays are made in South Korea by LG Display and Samsung Electronics, and also in Japan by Seiko Epson. The displays are similar to those used on the iPhone, but of course are much larger on the iPad. Scaling up the displays complicates the process of production. iPads won't be available internationally until sometime in May, and will then appear in the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Australia, Italy, Japan, Spain, and Switzerland. Apple is expected to announce pricing in those countries on May 10, 2010. [via Macworld UK]
Samsung launches investigation of chip lines following cancer allegations
Here's an odd one. Samsung, which has been known to be on better-than-average terms with the South Korean government in the past, is launching independent investigations in response to reports that "toxic materials used in chip making may have caused cancer in some of its employees." In one of the more bizarre stories of the year, Samsung has recently come under fire from social and civic groups to actually look into the incidents, which were reported over a decade ago but were found to not be Sammy's fault by the aforesaid government. This week, the company admitted that 22 of its employees (who worked at a chip facility outside of Seoul) had been diagnosed with leukemia or lymphoma, and 10 of them had perished. Cho Soo-in, president of Samsung's memory division, told the media that the firm is "deeply sorry about the loss of loved ones," and that it "actively cooperated on epidemiologic investigations, which concluded there were no leaks of radiation." We've got a feeling we know exactly what will be concluded here, but we'll certainly keep an ear to the ground for anything atypical.
Nokia sues LCD manufacturers for alleged price fixing (update: joins AT&T)
Price fixing is nothing new in the LCD panel business. Hell, collusion is pretty common across the entire consumer electronics industry though it's difficult (and costly) to prove. Now Nokia, the world's largest maker of cellphones, is suing a who's who of Asian LCD manufacturers alleging a ploy to fix prices on handset LCDs. The November 25th filing in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco division, names Samsung Electronics, LG Display, Sharp, Hitachi, and Chunghwa Picture Tubes as co-conspirators. Nokia, of course, is seeking cash and injunctive relief to remedy damages incurred and has the dubious honor of following another high-profile move launched against Apple just last month. With Nokia's high-margin smartphone sales waning against stiff competition, it's easy to understand why its execs would be miffed if they paid artificially high prices for panels considering the sheer volume of lower-priced handsets Nokia sells at razor thin margins. Update: Just dawned on us that this lawsuit (which we now know claims an 11 company cartel operating from "at least" January 1, 1996 until Dec 11, 2006) joins the AT&T action kicked off in October. Pile on! Nokia has also filed suit in the UK against both LCD and CRT makers.
