Huawei denies stealing Motorola tech

Chinese telecoms maker Huawei Technologies has rejected allegations by Motorola that it had stolen technology secrets from the US mobile phone giant over the past decade, says Sydney Morning Herald.

Motorola is suing Huawei in the US, alleging the Chinese company worked with more than a dozen Motorola employees to secure detailed confidential information about its cellular network equipment, the Wall Street Journal said.

Huawei, which is trying to secure its first major deal in the US, said the accusations were "groundless and utterly without merit".

The GSM technology used by the majority of the world's mobile phones will get some scrutiny at next week's Black Hat security conference, and what the security researchers there have to say isn't pretty, states Computer World.

On Friday, an open source effort to develop GSM-cracking software released software that cracks the A5/1 encryption algorithm used by some GSM networks.

Called Kraken, this software uses new, efficient, encryption cracking tables that allow it to break A5/1 encryption much faster than before.

Apple is set to become the world's second-largest semiconductor buyer in 2011, another sign of the shift in the balance of power in the chip world, says cnet.

Driven by the success of the iPad and iPhone, Apple is expected to pass Samsung as the world's number two chip buyer in 2011, second only to Hewlett-Packard, according to market researcher iSuppli.

The firm projects that Apple's semiconductor spending in 2011 will hit $16.2 billion, surpassing Samsung Electronics, which is forecast to be at about $13.9 billion. HP will stay in the number one position, with $17.1 billion in spending, iSuppli said.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has extended by two weeks its deadline for reaching a settlement with Intel, reports cnet.

The FTC said the extension "allows the commission more time to consider a proposed settlement”. The original order was issued on 21 June and was set to expire this coming Friday. This action extends the withdrawal until 12:01am, on Friday, 6 August.

On 16 December last year, the FTC filed a complaint alleging Intel had illegally used its dominant market position in microprocessors for a decade to stifle competition. Intel and the FTC have been trying to settle the case and avert a trial.

Panasonic will next week introduce a camcorder for consumers that is capable of recording images in 3D, says Yahoo News.

The camcorder, details of which are not yet available, will be shown at a Tokyo news conference scheduled for 28 July. It will be the first 3D-capable camcorder for the consumer market from a major manufacturer.

Panasonic and other major consumer electronics makers have been pushing 3D televisions in the last few months as the first professional 3D content begins to appear on Blu-ray and via television networks.