KRG Capital Partners has acquired Palladium Energy, Inc., a provider of customized power solutions. This is KRG’s second investment in its portable power solutions “buy-and-build strategy,” which began in 2014 with the acquisition of ICCNexergy, Inc., a global designer and manufacturer of rechargeable power systems. The two privately-held Chicago-based companies – Palladium Energy and ICCNexergy…
Thanks to strong demand for smart phones and tablets, the global application processor (AP) market grew in the double-digit range in 2014. The smart phone application processor market grew 21 percent year-over-year, reaching $20.9 billion in 2014, according to Strategy Analytics. This was followed by 18 percent year-over-year growth for tablet application processors, reaching $4.2…
Dallas, Tex. – Texas Instruments (TI) has claimed the industry’s first fully integrated 5-A single-cell lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery-charger circuit with proprietary MaxCharge technology that reduces charge time up to 60 percent compared to existing battery chargers, according to the company. The bq25892 switch-mode charger is said to provide a safer charging experience while still maximizing the benefits…
PC vendors will have to raise prices in 2015 due to currency devaluation, according to Gartner, Inc. The hardest hit are vendors in the Eurozone and Japan, who are expected to increase prices by up to 10 percent. Gartner recently reported worldwide PC shipments fell by 5.2 percent in the first quarter of 2015, led…
Boxborough, Mass. – TÜV Rheinland, a global provider of compliance testing and certification, has introduced its Smart Lighting Program to test new products for safety, EMC and wireless standards. Offering global expertise and streamlined solutions, the testing program is expected to speed up time to market for lighting manufacturers. This will become even more important…
Communication and computer system demand is expected to drive the greatest percentage of growth for IC sales in all regions in 2015, according to a new IC Insights report. Communication applications is forecast to hold about 41 percent of IC sales in Asia-Pacific and 39 percent of the revenue in the Americas this year. Computer…
Cities around the globe are expected to invest $64 billion in LED and smart streetlights by 2025, according to new research from the Northeast Group, LLC. This will translate into 84 percent of the world’s streetlights using LEDs with 37 percent of them networked or smart. Earlier this year, President Obama announced the Presidential Challenge…
Global currencies, excess inventory, and an end to the PC upgrade cycle is slowing growth in the global semiconductor industry, reports Gartner Inc. A new forecast pegs global semiconductor revenue at $354 billion in 2015, a four percent increase from 2014, but down from the previous quarter’s forecast of 5.4 percent growth. “Concern is mounting about…
Thanks to continuous improvements in performance and miniaturization, which help reduce OEM costs, the global inductor market is forecast to reach $3.75 billion in 2019 up from $2.78 billion in 2014, according to Micromarket Monitor. “The demand for surface mount and ceramic core inductor is continuously growing owing to the increased need of miniaturization without compromising the…
The U.S. Level VI energy-efficiency regulation, aimed at energy savings in external power supplies, goes into force on February 10, 2016, and will impact all OEMs selling into the U.S. market. The European Union (EU) also is expected to harmonize with the new efficiency standard. Developed to conserve power primarily in consumer and industrial-type products –…