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MUNICH – The final tally is in, and the numbers reveal Productronica as – still – the world’s largest electronics manufacturing trade show. Some 1,484 exhibitors from 35 countries attended last week’s show.

SAN JOSE, CA – North American-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $1.23 billion in orders in October and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.83, according to SEMI.

SCOTTSDALE, AZ – Smartphone OS-based phones will grow at more than a 30% CAGR for the next five years globally, taking an increasing share of the overall phone market otherwise growing in single digits, reports In-Stat.

The unit volume of smartphones globally exceeds the unit sales for laptops, according to the research firm.

Users are experiencing significant value from their smartphones, In-Stat says. As a result, they are downloading more applications and generating higher usage as measured by average revenue per user for wireless carriers.

“Because of the value users are finding, organizations are slowly taking ownership of smartphones and data applications used for business purposes,” says Bill Hughes, In-Stat analyst. “Rather than having overcomplicated reimbursement plans, more organizations are finding it more expedient and economical to treat wireless voice and data services as a business expense when they use smartphones.”

Research by In-Stat found the following: All smartphone OSs (other than the Palm OS) will grow at double digits during the next five years; a smartphone user who travels has twice the ARPU of a typical feature phone user; smartphone use will grow mostly from use as a laptop replacement, and as a tool to help manufacturers develop feature phones.

SAN JOSE, CA – Worldwide sales will surpass $321 billion in 2010 with a CAGR of 7.7% for the period between 2007 and 2010, the Semiconductor Industry Association today reported in its annual forecast of global semiconductor sales.

EL SEGUNDO, CA – Pricing has become the paramount concern for television makers, as the growing emphasis on achieving the lowest possible cost has brought wrenching changes to the competitive landscape and manufacturing structure of the business, says iSuppli Corp.

SCOTTSDALE, AZ – Intel, Nan Ya, Foxconn and a host of other companies are scheduled to speak at a January symposium on halogen-free technology.

Mostafa Aghazadeh, Intel vice president and director of Chandler assembly technology development, and F.Y. Lee, vice president of Nan Ya materials, will keynote the conference.

Topics covered at the symposium will include OEM’s environmental positions and roadmaps, supply chain readiness, and challenges including material availability, cost and reliability.

Intel will host the symposium, which takes place Jan. 15–16, in Scottsdale. IPC is a co-producer.

Among the companies that plan to participate are Dell, HP, Apple, Lenovo, and the U.S. EPA.

To register: http://www.ipc.org/calendar/2008/intel_halogen_free/intel0108-REG.pdf