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COVENTRY, UK – The fifth Trade and Investment TechnologyWorld conference will take place Nov. 17 and 18 at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry, UK.

Smart Group and Electronics Knowledge Transfer Network will organize the seminar Breakthroughs – Bending the Design Rules! Technologies to be covered include energy harvesting, solder-free electronics assemblies, design and product responsibility, heat dissipation in electronic design, flexible interconnection markets, and system-in-package.

Speakers include Joseph Fjelstad, Verdant Electronics; Thomas Ahrens, Fraunhofer Institute; Dr. Craig Hillman, DfR Solutions; David Pedder, TWI; and Markys Cain, NPL.

For more information, visit www.technologyworld08.com.

HOUSTON – Flextronics will lay off up to 60 workers here as part of a minor restructuring, according to published reports.

The EMS company plans to complete the reductions by mid November, the Houston Business Journal said. The workers, who have been notified of the pending changes, include engineers and administrative personnel.

NAMPA, ID – MPC Corp. is being sued for allegedly failing to pay nearly $350,000 worth of computer parts delivered to a subsidiary.

In a court filing, LSI Corp. of Pennsylvania alleges MPC has refused to pay a past due amount of $348,673 for the parts. The parts were purchased between December 2007 and April 2008, the suit claims.

MPC acquired the subsidiary, now known as MPC-Nashville, from Gateway last year. It has since announced the transfer of those manufacturing operations to Flextronics in Juarez, Mexico.

LSI is suing for breach of contract, account stated and unjust enrichment. MPC has declined to comment.

Last month, MPC Computers was sued by Prism Pointe Technologies for allegedly failing to pay $732,287 worth of bills. That case is pending.

TAIPEI – Warren Buffett is considering up to a 10% stake in BYD Co. Ltd., a major China-based electronics and auto parts manufacturer.

LOGAN, UT – EMS provider Inovar has named Tom Carlin president.

Carlin’s executive management experience spans more than 15 years. Most recently, he served as president and COO of MSD Performance. Previously, Carlin was president of Edge Products, a top customer of Inovar.

Inovar, an EMS specializing in industrial and military PCBs, is a division of inthinc Inc.

ST. PETERSBURG, FL – Jabil Circuit reported fourth-quarter revenues of $3.26 billion up 4%, and operating income of $87.8 million, up 74% year-over-year.

Net income increased 390% to $57.5 million compared to the same period last year.

EL SEGUNDO, CA – The Portable Navigation Device's days of navigation domination are numbered, as mobile-handset alternatives gain in popularity during the next few years, says iSuppli Corp.

In 2007, PNDs accounted for about half of all navigation device shipments, with the remainder divided among automotive in-dash systems, smart phones and mobile handsets. However, by 2010, PNDs’ share of shipments will decline to 35% and then to 23% in 2013, says the research firm.

“PNDs have flourished in an environment with little competition during the last four years,” said Richard Robinson, principal analyst at iSuppli. “Being less expensive and easier to obtain than in-dash systems, and much easier to use than mobile handsets, PNDs have been the navigation product of choice for global consumers. However, there will be a significant cannibalization of the PND market by low-cost in-vehicle solutions and wireless handsets in the coming years.”

In 2011, navigation-enabled mobile handsets will grow to account for 36% of total navigation system shipments, for the first time surpassing PNDs as the highest-volume platform. PND shipments will account for only 30% of the total market during that same year as a result of the fast growth of the other platforms, says iSuppli.

The PND market is ending its fast-growth phase and moving into a stage of maturity according to the firm. After achieving growth of 123.7% in 2007, global PND unit shipment increases will slow to 43% in 2008 and to 23.5% in 2009.

Meanwhile, shipments of navigation-enabled mobile handsets will rise 91.4% in 2008 and 70.6% in 2009. Shipments of navigation-enabled smart phones will increase 66% in 2008 and 51.6% in 2009.

While the PND market will still generate significant sales opportunities for PND makers and their suppliers over the next few years, the industry is likely to undergo consolidation, with many companies expected to leave the market, predicts iSuppli.

“Strong PND price erosion witnessed in 2007 and 2008 will lead to consolidation in the sector in 2008 and 2009, with smaller vendors exiting the market because they will be unable to achieve the volumes and economies of scale needed to operate profitably at these price points,” Robinson said. “The survivors will be those companies that successfully build economies of scale in the supply chain and that achieve reductions in engineering, hardware and silicon costs in order to keep pace with rapidly declining prices,” Robinson said.

The under-penetrated market for in-vehicle navigation continues to be the main growth driver for PND sales. However, other factors are contributing to continued PND sales growth, including the decline in the average price per unit that has lowered the barrier to ownership for a significant consumer demographic, which is typically price sensitive.

Until now, the traditional tier-one suppliers for automotive electronics companies have dominated the in-dash navigation system market. However, this is expected to change as carmakers seek less costly approaches to vehicle navigation.

“The push by vehicle OEMs to roll out lower-cost in-dash navigation systems will pose a significant threat to the existing tier-one electronics suppliers around 2012, potentially opening up the market to competition from non-traditional OEM hardware and software manufacturers such as Garmin and TomTom, or even handset makers like Nokia and Samsung,” Robinson said.

MACAO, CHINA – EMS provider Nam Tai Electronics Inc. today said its president and CFO John Farina has resigned.

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. high-tech exports totaled $214 billion in 2007, down 3% compared to 2006, according to AeA.

High tech is the single largest merchandise export sector in the U.S., representing 18% of all U.S. exports to the world in 2007, says the association.

High-tech imports totaled $333 billion last year, up 3%, resulting in a high-tech trade deficit of $118 billion.

“Trade is critical for the U.S. high-tech industry and for every state’s economy,” said Christopher W. Hansen, president and CEO, AeA. “The bad news is that U.S. tech exports declined slightly in 2007. The good news, however, is that tech exports rose in 29 states. These exports support nearly 900,000 American jobs – an often overlooked fact.”

Twenty-nine cyberstates saw tech export growth between 2006 and 2007, according to AeA. The largest growth was in Virginia, Florida, Idaho, New Jersey and Utah, as measured by dollar increase. California was the leading high-tech export state with $48.2 billion in exports in 2007, followed by Texas with $35.9 billion. Florida, New York and Massachusetts rounded out the top five. The largest decrease in tech exports occurred in California, Texas and Colorado.

The largest overseas markets for U.S. high-tech exports were the European Union ($46.6 billion), Canada ($29.4 billion), Mexico ($26 billion), China ($14.5 billion), Japan ($11.9 billion), and Singapore ($9.2 billion), says the association.

The fastest growing large export markets (defined as having $1 billion or more in U.S. tech exports) for U.S. tech exports between 2006 and 2007 were Portugal (+204%), the Dominican Republic (+45%), Belgium (+41%), Colombia (+28%), and Argentina (+21%).

The U.S. imported the most high-tech products from China ($112.3 billion), Mexico ($51.3 billion), the EU ($33.4 billion), Japan ($29.2 billion), and Malaysia ($25.1 billion).

High tech was the second largest import sector, just behind energy products. The largest high-tech import subsectors in 2007 were computers and peripheral equipment ($103.2 billion), communications equipment ($74.0 billion), and consumer electronics ($54.4 billion).

TAIPEI -- BenQ will roll out a line of low-cost, branded notebooks and seeks a five percent market share within two years.

The firm will have company in the low-cost PC race, however, as it joins Asustek, Acer and Dell in the budding "netbook" market. The global netbook market if forecast to hit 50 million units in 2009. BenQ has set a goal of 30% share (15 million units).