Samsung and Panasonic will start selling 3-D TVs in U.S. stores this week, inaugurating what manufacturers hope is the era of 3-D viewing in the living room. But because the sets require bulky glasses, and there is for now little to watch in the enhanced format, it will take at least a few years for the technology to become mainstream, if that happens at all.
Samsung Electronics Co. announced Tuesday that it is selling two 3-D sets this week. For $3,000, buyers get a 46-inch set, two pairs of glasses and a 3-D Blu-ray player.
Panasonic Corp. has said it will start [...]

Prosecutors said Thursday those involved - including employees of U.S. company Allied Materials and its South Korean unit - are suspected of leaking semiconductor technology belonging to South Koreas Samsung Electronics Co. to its domestic rival Hynix Semiconductor Inc.
The case highlights the intense competition among chipmakers and other sellers of high tech products, who frequently sue each other over alleged patent infringements.
Samsung and Hynix are the worlds top two producers of dynamic random access memory, or DRAM, chips, used mostly in personal computers. Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung is also the worlds biggest manufacturer of NAND flash chips, used in digital [...]

The global economic recovery will probably stimulate demand for TVs, mobile phones and computers, Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung said today, after reporting annual profit jumped 75 percent to a five-year high of 9.65 trillion won ($8.3 billion). Demand for chips and liquid-crystal displays will be “strong” throughout 2010, it said.
Sales climbed to a record last quarter as Samsung joined Microsoft Corp. and Nokia Oyj among major technology companies reporting higher earnings this week. Choi Gee Sung, promoted to chief executive officer last month, faces the challenge [...]

Besides having to spring for expensive new TVs, people would have to put on awkward special glasses to give the picture the illusion of depth. That limits 3-D viewing to times when viewers can sit down and focus on a movie or show.
Its one thing to put on 3-D glasses in a theater, but “at home, youre with other people in the living room, running to the kitchen and doing other things,” said Greg Ireland of the research firm IDC.
Unfazed by the potential hang-ups, the biggest TV makers began revealing their 3-D models Wednesday before the official opening of the [...]

The U.S. International Trade Commission yesterday said it would investigate the complaint filed Dec. 1. The case is part of an escalating two-year legal battle between the two companies over inventions used in liquid-crystal display televisions.
“By instituting this investigation, the USITC has not yet made any decision on the merits of the case,” the agency said in a notice posted on its Web site.
The Samsung patents relate to the way LCD screens [...]

The announcement came less than a week after the U.S. International Trade Commission ruled that Samsung infringed two Kodak patents. Kodak had alleged in November 2008 that camera phones made by Samsung violated various patents that Kodak obtained from 1993 to 2001.
Based in Seoul, Samsung is the worlds biggest manufacturer of memory chips, liquid crystal displays and flat screen televisions and ranks second behind Finlands Nokia in mobile phones.
Kodak has amassed more than 1,000 digital-imaging patents, and almost all of todays digital cameras rely on that technology.
Under the agreement announced Wednesday, Kodak and Samsung will work out a licensing deal [...]

The patent-infringement lawsuit was filed Dec. 2 in federal court in Wilmington, Delaware, similar to a complaint Samsung filed against Sharp with the U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington. The lawsuit seeks cash compensation for what Samsung contends is infringement of three patents.
Both cases involve patents related to the way LCD screens portray the black and white portion of images, minimizing the effects of static electricity and improving the image quality. The ITC case seeks to ban imports of Sharp televisions and other LCD devices, while [...]

Yesterdays decision from the U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington now heads to President Barack Obama, who can overturn the ban if he finds its contrary to the public interest. Samsung also asked an appeals court that specializes in patent law to put the ban on hold while a challenge to the underlying patent case is pending.
Its unlikely that the ban would take effect before the December holidays because of the 60-day presidential review period. Samsung, which can sell LCD-TVs that dont use Sharp inventions, said [...]

Second-quarter net income rose 5.2 percent to 2.25 trillion won ($1.8 billion), the Suwon, South Korea-based company said today. Samsung was expected to report a 24 percent profit drop, according to the median estimate of 22 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. Sales climbed 16 percent to a record.
Asias largest producer of chips, flat screens and mobile phones said its keeping a cautious view on the second-half earnings outlook as the Korean currency may appreciate and competition may intensify. The won has fallen against all of the [...]

In an alliance announced Tuesday, Samsungs next generation of high-definition TVs will include a built-in feature that will enable people to rent the latest DVD releases from Blockbuster with the press of a button on the remote control.
The Blockbuster rentals, expected to be priced from $1.99 to $3.99 apiece for 24-hour viewing opportunity, will be piped over high-speed Internet connections. Samsungs HDTVs will begin offering Blockbusters on-demand service this fall.
The relationship is a coup for Dallas-based Blockbuster because Samsung is the worlds largest manufacturer of flat-screen TVs. Blockbusters on-demand rental service also will be accessible through software installed on Samsungs [...]