Following the decision by the Taiwan Prosecutor to pursue criminal proceedings against a subsidiary of Asustek Computer, Inc. (TSE: 2357) and four of that subsidiary's employees for the alleged misappropriation of trade secrets from VIA Technologies, Inc. (TSE: 2388), VIA today announced that it has filed a civil suit in the Taipei District Court seeking damages of at least NT$4.137 billion (US$138 million) from Asustek Computer, Inc and its subsidiary Asmedia Technology.

The lawsuit is being filed to recover the losses incurred as a result of the alleged misappropriation of VIA intellectual property related to USB technology. Also named in the suit are Asmedia Chairman Jerry Shen, Asmedia President Lin Chewei, and other Asmedia employees involved in the case.

"As a long-time leader in IC design and technology innovation, VIA strongly believes in the importance of protecting intellectual property rights," commented Wenchi Chen, CEO of VIA Technologies, Inc. "In addition to protecting interests of VIA and our shareholders, the aim of this suit is to ensure our industry operates in a healthy market environment that fosters innovation and promotes fair competition."

AMD is inching toward a possible post-x86 future for itself, beginning with its enterprise product stack. In a blog-post, the company outlined a landmark product bearing its enterprise Opteron branding, codenamed "Seattle," which will be designed for scalar data-centers. Based on the 64-bit ARMv8 architecture by ARM, the chip will feature either four or eight cores based on AMD's own implementation of ARMv8, and a high-bandwidth integrated memory controller with support for up to 128 GB of system memory with ECC.

Since ARM-based processors are traditionally part of heavily integrated systems on chips (SoCs), "Seattle" will be an SoC, and among other things, will integrate a 10 Gb/s Ethernet controller, with support for AMD's FreedomFabric technology. Linux kernel 3.7 and above will come with ARMv8 architecture support, and Microsoft is already developing a Windows kernel with ARMv8 support that will be implemented on both its client (Windows RT, Windows Phone) product lines, and a future version of Windows Server. That said, AMD won't give up on x86. As the only active x86 licensee apart from VIA, AMD will continue to make APUs with 64-bit x86 cores for as far as the eye can see (in other words 2015). Future of its client CPU (non-APU) lineup based on the AM3+ socket, however, appears bleak.

VIA Labs, Inc., a leading supplier of USB 3.0 integrated chip controllers, today announced the Microsoft Windows 8.1 readiness of its USB 3.0 Host, Hub, and Device controllers, corresponding with the recent release of the first major update to Windows 8. The VIA Labs VL805 4-Port and VIA Labs VL806 2-Port USB 3.0 Host controllers are Windows Hardware Certification Kit (WHCK) certified and support xHCI 1.0 and Microsoft's USB Debugging Port Capability.

The VIA Labs VL811+ USB 3.0 Hub Controller, which is used in the Microsoft USB Test Tool SuperMUTT Pack, is certified along with VIA Labs VL812 4-Port USB 3.0 Hub controller. The VL812 remains one of the only USB 3.0 hubs on the market with fully-integrated voltage regulators including 5V to 1.2V Switching regulator and 5V to 3.3V Linear regulator.

VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient computing platforms, today announced the VIA ARMTiGO A800, the world's smallest ARM system for embedded applications, including hotel automation, digital signage and, surveillance as well as for medical and healthcare applications.

Combining an 800MHz Freescale ARM Cortex-A8 SoC with two integrated GPUs, the VIA ARMTiGO A800 delivers robust performance and unbelievable power efficiency, maintaining an average power consumption of a mere 3.14W TDP. With a fanless, ultra-low-profile dustproof design measuring a mere 12.0cm x 12.5cm x 3.0 cm (W x D x H), the VIA ARMTiGO A800 can fit easily into any environment, whether it is behind a monitor or on the wall with a 7.5cm x 7.5cm VESA mount or placed alongside other devices.

VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient computing platforms, today announced the VIA ARMOS-800, an ultra-compact, fanless system designed around the tiny VIA VAB-800 Pico-ITX board. The VIA ARMOS-800 provides embedded customers with a ruggedized system that delivers advanced multimedia features in an extremely power efficient design for a diversified range of embedded applications.

Featuring an 800MHz Freescale ARM Cortex-A8 SoC with two integrated GPUs for dual display support, the VIA ARMOS-800 is optimized for both performance and power to meet the high-end demands of advanced industrial and in-vehicle applications. Boasting a ruggedized, fanless system design with a wide operating temperature range from -40°C up to 80°C, the VIA ARMOS-800 delivers a typical power consumption of a mere 3.14W TDP.

VIA Labs, Inc., a leading supplier of USB 3.0 integrated chip controllers, today announced that the VIA Labs VL811+ 4-port SuperSpeed USB Hub controllers has achieved SuperSpeed USB certification from the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF). The VIA Labs VL811+ is among the first USB 3.0 hubs to achieve USB-IF certification.

"VIA Labs has been working with the USB-IF since the beginning and we've seen USB 3.0 grow from just a specification to being designed into computing platforms and peripherals that we hadn't even dreamed about," said Jay Tseng, Director, VIA Labs, Inc. "We're very pleased to offer the industry a certified SuperSpeed USB Hub and we look forward to new possibilities for innovation."

Chinese peripherals maker Orico took it upon itself to help make 2013 the year of the USB 3.0 hub. The company launched a trio of brushed aluminum USB 3.0 port strips (akin to power strips), the 4-port A3H4, the 7-port A3H7, and 10-port A3H10. The three use single upstream USB 3.0 connections, and an external DC power input to ensure at least the power spec requirements are met. Each of the downstream ports has a single link/activity LED. At the heart of the three is VIA's VLI VL811 USB 3.0 hub controller, which is awaiting USB-IF certification. The three are fabricated with 2 mm-thick aluminum sheets. The A3H4, A3H7, and A3H10 are priced at 218 RMB (US $35), 298 RMB (US $48), 398 RMB (US $64), respectively.

VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient computing platforms, today announced tit enables medical OEMs to take advantage of the exciting growth opportunities in the medical market by offering the widest selection of low-power x86 and ARM based solutions on the market. VIA provides fully customizable application ready platforms together with extended software and firmware services which medical OEMs can leverage for a wide range of medical usage models and applications including ultrasound, diagnostics, POC (Point of Care) terminals, patient monitoring, therapeutic, as well as exercise and fitness equipment.

With a long history as a full-service medical OEM solutions provider to many of the top industry players, VIA provides a robust medical roadmap which includes a full range of COM Express, ETX and QSeven system on modules, embedded mainboards in Mini-ITX and Pico-ITX form factors, and embedded systems based on VIA AMOS and VIA ARTiGO designs, as well as a full line of medical-grade touch displays with the VIA ALMA-3000 series. VIA also offers unparalleled longevity support for increased lifecycle management, support for a wide range of software and board operating systems and support for critical medical standards including UL-60601, EN-60601 and medical QMS (Quality Management System) ISO-13485. This enables customers to deliver products with unique feature-set advantages and a faster time-to-market.

Following entry of USB 3.0 SuperSpeed specification, chip-makers such as Renesas, ASMedia, Etron, and VIA made a killing selling third-party USB 3.0 host controllers to motherboard, desktop, and notebook vendors, which ended after Intel launched its 7-series chipset featuring an integrated 4-port USB 3.0 host controller, resulting in drop in demand for third-party chips. These companies each have USB 3.0 hub controllers, and could help drive growth of the specification with USB 3.0 hubs, devices which multiply the number of USB ports available. USB 3.0 hub controllers have been slow in receiving USB-IF certification due to difficulties in conducting compatibility tests, which could ease out by 2013, since Renesas' chip already passed certification. Most peripherals and flash drive manufacturers could have USB 3.0 hubs among their product lineups.

VIA Labs, Inc., a leading supplier of USB 3.0 integrated chip controllers, today announced its two latest USB 3.0 device controllers, the VIA VL752 and VIA VL753 SuperSpeed USB 3.0 to NAND flash controllers. The VIA VL752 and VIA VL753 deliver enhanced performance using the latest NAND flash technologies including 19nm, 20nm and 21nm geometries and have been certified by the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) for SuperSpeed operation, ensuring high quality, seamless interoperability, and effortless backwards compatibility.

The two-channel the VIA VL752 and single-channel VIA VL753 offer data transfer speeds up to 280MB/s, flexible bad block management, support for the latest 200MHz DDR NAND Flash, and a robust ECC engine for greater data integrity. The package sizes from the previous generation of VIA Superspeed USB to NAND flash controllers have been reduced to a QFN68 8 x 8mm package for the VIA VL752 and a QFN48 6 x 6mm package for the VIA VL753 to enable the smallest form-factor designs.

VIA Labs, Inc., a leading supplier of USB 3.0 integrated chip controllers, today announced two next generation USB 3.0 Host controllers, the four-port VIA VL805 and the two-port VIA VL806. The VIA VL805 and VIA VL806 allow a PCI Express-equipped platform to interface with multiple SuperSpeed USB peripherals devices simultaneously for blistering fast transfers rates up to 5 Gbps while retaining full backwards compatibility with USB 2.0 and 1.1 devices.

The next generation single chip VIA VL805 and VIA VL806 Host controllers include enhancements for improved performance, seamless cross compatibility and interoperability, and new features such as support for USB Battery Charging and "Charging Downstream Port" which enables both fast data sync and rapid charging with compatible devices. The VIA VL805 and VIA VL806 comply with the Universal Serial Bus 3.0 Specification for Super-Speed transfers and Intel's eXtensible Host Controller Interface (xHCI) 1.0 specification and add native inbox driver support for Windows 8. VIA VL805 and VL806 host controllers are USB-IF certified and are currently shipping.

VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient computing platforms, today announced the world's smallest x86 quad core system, the VIA ARTiGO A1250 slim system, featuring a 1.0 GHz VIA QuadCore processor and the latest VIA VX11H media system processor (MSP), in chassis the size of a paperback novel. The ultra-compact VIA ARTiGO A1250, is suitable for a myriad of applications in the home or office, including home server, home automation, hotel management, media streaming, digital signage and surveillance as well as medical and healthcare applications.

The VIA ARTiGO A1250 leverages the VIA VX11H MSP to deliver an immersive multimedia experience complete with 3D stereoscopic and HD display support in a low power envelope, which a typical power consumption of a mere 32W TDP. The VIA ARTiGO A1200 can fit easily into any environment, whether it is behind a monitor or on the wall with a 10 x 10 cm VESA mount or placed alongside other home media devices. For system developers, VIA provides third party software security through a unique hardware/software design.

VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient computing platforms, today announced the VIA ETX-8X90 module which features a 1.2 GHz VIA Nano X2 E-Series dual core processor and the VIA VX900 media system processor (MSP), providing industry leading performance in a power efficient design. The VIA ETX-8X90 module provides a highly integrated and compact platform for embedded applications in medical, test and measurement, industrial automation and transportation.

The modular design approach allows for short time-to market, application-specific customization, simplified development, high stability and long life cycles enabling customers to rapidly develop new and innovative devices. Customers can take advantage of a proprietary start-up kit including a multi-I/O baseboard reference, or can utilize extensive technical support from VIA in developing a custom baseboard. In addition to support for the embedded industry leading VxWorks RTOS, the VIA ETX-8X90 runs a wide range of Windows and Linux based operating systems.

VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient computing platforms, today announced the VIA EPIA-M920 Mini-ITX board, the first VIA Mini-ITX board to feature the latest VIA VX11H media system processor (MSP) enabling DirectX 11 and 3D stereoscopic display capabilities for immersive environments. Providing superior performance with the latest in connectivity technology in a low power envelope, the VIA EPIA-M920 Mini-ITX provides the ideal platform for a wide array of next-generation compact devices for applications in healthcare, gaming, digital signage, and other vertical market segments.

With the choice of a 1.2GHz VIA QuadCore-E processor for high-end performance or a 1.0GHz VIA Eden X2 dual core processor for fanless system design, the VIA EPIA-M920 is a highly flexible platform for compact, low power systems with today's latest connectivity options including HDMI and USB 3.0. In combination with the VIA VX11H MSP, the VIA EPIA-M920 Mini-ITX provides the latest in graphic capabilities, for richer textures and more life-like images in even the most demanding multi-display environments.

VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient computing platforms, today announced VIA Magic Box, a complete hardware and software solution for dynamic digital signage. VIA Magic Box integrates the user friendly VIA Magic View content management software optimized for a range of VIA x86 hardware platforms to provide a high performance, scalable digital signage solution ideal for a wide range of user scenarios.

Currently available with the choice of a VIA ARTiGO A1150 or fanless VIA ARTiGO A1200, VIA Magic Box provides full HD support and playback of the most popular video codecs through video decoding hardware acceleration including DivX, WMV9, VC1 and H.264, in ultra compact, low power designs. The VIA Magic View content management software has been optimized to provide a user friendly interface to manage digital signage content, layout and scheduling.

VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient computing platforms, today announced the VIA EPIA-P910 Pico-ITX board, the first VIA board to feature the latest VIA VX11H MSP in combination with a VIA QuadCore E-Series processor. Providing superior performance and outstanding display capabilities, the VIA EPIA-P910 Pico-ITX provides the ideal platform for a wide array of next-generation ultra compact devices for applications in health-care, logistics, fleet management and other vertical market segments.

The VIA EPIA-P910 Pico-ITX is the first VIA board to include the VIA VX11H MSP which provides the latest in graphic capabilities, including DirectX 11 support, for richer textures as well as 3D stereoscopic display. In combination with a 1.0GHz VIA QuadCore E-Series processor, the VIA EPIA-P910 offers high performance computing in an ultra compact, low power design with today's latest connectivity options including HDMI and USB 3.0.

Offices of semiconductor company ASMedia were raided by law enforcement agencies in Taiwan, late last month, over allegations of intellectual property (IP) theft of physical-layer component (PHY) design of USB 3.0 host controllers. While the agencies did not disclose who is behind the allegations, it is rumored to be VIA, which sells USB 3.0 host, hub, and device controllers under the VIA Labs Inc (VLI) brand. Many of ASMedia's engineers are former employees of VIA, who are believed to have trafficked its IP over to their new employers.

Following the raid, ASMedia president Lin Che-wei held a press-conference in Taipei, announcing full cooperation with the authorities over the investigation. It remains to be seen how the investigation affects supplies of ASMedia's USB 3.0 controllers. A PC motherboard maker we spoke with expressed concern over the developments.

We are pleased to announce that the APC ROM, kernel and bootloader are now available for download here. Our efforts are focused on creating the most stable and user friendly Android experience for APC and with this release we are aiming to provide developers with the tools you need to begin creating new and exciting apps for our Android environment. At the same time we understand the desire and passion that exists from the hacker and developer communities and we want to allow you the freedom to experiment with installing other distributions to match your needs.

In addition to the availability of the APC ROM, kernel and bootloader we have created a forum within the APC website, at www.forum.apc.io, to encourage discussion and innovations for APC. We are always interested to see what the actual users envision for APC and aim to provide a fertile feeding ground for new ideas and applications to develop. We have created a separate section for those who choose to go with a different distribution and wish to develop strong community support for these efforts. Also available at this time are technical drawings of the board, including the 3D stacking layout for those who want to create customized cases for their APC, as well as a quick guide and other reference material.

VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient computing platforms, today announced the VIA VAB-800 Pico-ITX embedded ARM board. Featuring a choice of an 800MHz or a 1GHz Freescale ARM Cortex-A8 processor, the VIA VAB-800 combines a wide operating temperature range with extremely low power consumption to meet the demands of high-end industrial and in-vehicle fanless embedded applications.

Based on the industry standard 10 cm x 7.2 cm Pico-ITX form factor created by VIA, the VIA VAB-800 Pico-ITX board combines a rich I/O set with superb multimedia performance, supporting playback of the most demanding video formats in resolutions up to 1080p. Leveraging VIA's hardware design expertise, the VIA VAB-800 delivers the highest I/O integration on the Pico-ITX form factor for an ultra compact yet highly flexible platform for the latest embedded devices.

VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient computing platforms, today announced the VIA ARM DS (Digital Signage) system.

Developed for the Android operating system, the VIA ARM DS is an all-in-one system-ready solution for managing dynamic displays for cost sensitive high volume segments where high performance video and connectivity are paramount for enhanced customer engagement. Applications range from kiosks, POS systems, video walls, and menu boards to TVOIP, cloud streaming, and Out of Home Advertising across a broad spectrum of retail, hospitality, education, and entertainment environments.

S3 Graphics' future hung in the balance since June 2011, when its parent company VIA Technologies announced sale of its stake in it. Since then, it's been a word on the wires, that smartphone maker HTC has been in the fray to buy it out, since it is facing IP turbulence with Apple. HTC and Apple used S3 Graphics (September 2011) and AMD (November 2011), respectively, as proxies in their patent infringement battles. It emerged out of the patent spat, that S3 Graphics holds a handy bouquet of graphics IP, and HTC announced that it is now back on track to acquire it.

Smartphone giant HTC backed S3 Graphics' claims to certain graphics-related patents in the patent infringement case against Apple. "We think S3's patent portfolio is valid and strong, and we have decided to complete the purchase of S3 after cautious assessment," HTC's general counsel Grace Lei said, at an annual shareholders' general meeting. S3 Graphics currently owns about 270 patents, some of which are licensed to Sony Corp., Nintendo Co. and Microsoft Corp., Lei added.

VIA listed the US $49 Android mini-PC (APC) system board for pre-order. The product sold out in a few hours following staggering demand. VIA announced that all pre-orders will be shipped starting early-July, and the company is working hard to make the product available through local distributors around the world, to eliminate shipping costs to the end-users. Announced the APC back in May, the APC is a neo-ITX system board that can fit into most ITX and ATX chassis, and can be powered both by external 2-pin DC input, and internal 4-pin ATX input. The board seats an ARM-based SoC, which drives Google's Android 2.3 operating system, modified for conventional PC interfaces.

VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient computing platforms, today announced the VIA ARTiGO A1200 slim PC kit, featuring a VIA Eden X2 dual core processor. The fanless, ultra-compact VIA ARTiGO A1200 is suitable for a myriad of applications in the home or office, including home server, home automation, hotel management, media streaming, digital signage and surveillance applications.

The latest in the VIA ARTiGO series, the VIA ARTiGO A1200 delivers an ultra-low profile design a mere 3 cm high, and utilizes the innovative industrial buckled-blade thermal fin design to dispatch system heat and provide reliable, stable performance in temperatures ranging from 0ºC ~ 45ºC. The VIA ARTiGO A1200 can fit easily into any environment, whether it is behind a monitor or on the wall with a 10 x 10 cm VESA mount or placed alongside other home media devices.

Known more for its VIA Nano and Intel Atom-powered fanless IPCs (industrial PCs), Habey is readying BIS-6763, a new IPC model that is driven by a robust Core i3 "Sandy Bridge" dual-core processor. Measuring 190 x 190 x 67 mm, the IPC is made of a metal chassis, a portion of which is ridged, to double up as a heatsink. Beneath it is a pair of cylindrical heat pipes that transport heat to the top panel (heatsink), which cool the Core i3-2367M processor (dual-core, 1.40 GHz, 3 MB L3, 17W TDP), and Intel HM65 Express PCH.

Sadly, the IPC does not take advantage of the processor's dual-channel DDR3 IMC, there's just the one DDR3 SO-DIMM slot, supporting up to 8 GB of DDR3-1333 MHz memory. For expansion, there are two mini-PCIe slots. The sole storage option is a 2.5-inch SATA 6 Gb/s SSD/HDD bay. Connectivity includes one serial RS232 interface, six USB 2.0, gigabit Ethernet, and Intel HD 3000 graphics that gives out an HDMI, and a D-Sub display output. With 2 GB of DDR3 memory included, the BIS-6763 is expected to be priced at US $499. A variant that's powered by Intel Celeron 857 (dual-core, 1.20 GHz, 2 MB L3, 17W TDP), is also expected to be available, at US $299.

VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient computing platforms, today unveiled the $49 APC Android PC system.

Powered by a WonderMedia ARM processor, APC integrates memory, storage, and a full set of consumer I/O features in a small footprint Neo-ITX motherboard that can be connected to a TV or monitor. The system also features a custom build of Android that has been optimized for keyboard and mouse input, and comes with a browser and a selection of preinstalled apps.