On CE - For Dealers, Distributors and OEMs of Consumer Electronics throughout EMEA

Here is a rare story of industrial espionage from South Korea-- the Yonhap News Agency reports 11 people were arrested for allegedly stealing and selling AMOLED technology secrets from Samsung Display.

The arrests include employees and researchers from both Samsung and an unnamed "rival company"-- including a former Samsung researcher suspected of receiving 190 million won ($168544) on November 2011 for stealing data on the "small mask scanning" technology used in the construction of TV-size AMOLED displays.

Apparently bearing a grudge at Samsung after failing to get a promotion, the researcher-spy even accepted a job at the rival company... before trying to sell the same information to a Chinese manufacturer after getting disgruntled with his new employer.

Who was the "rival company" buying industrial secrets from Samsung? Until the Korean police release more details, we can play the speculation game... maybe it was LG Display, who is also working on the technology?

Currently in use in mobile device displays, AMOLED is growing bigger-- both Samsung and LG revealed AMOLED TVs at CES 2012 earlier this year.

Go 11 Arrested Over Suspected Leak of Cutting-Edge Display Technology (Yonhap News Agency)

According to Gartner 2012 WW tablet sales will grow by 98% Y-o-Y to total 118.9m, as the Apple iPad continues dominating the market.

In comparison 2011 tablet sales total 20m units.

The analyst projects iPad global market share will reach 61.4% in 2012-- with non-Apple vendors finding limited success in the market, despite the international Amazon Kindle Fire launch.

Making things worse for the competition is Apple resetting "the benchmark for the product to beat" with the new iPad.

What are non-Apple vendors to do? Gartner believes many are waiting for the Windows 8 release with hopes the Microsoft brand will help capture both consumer and enterprise markets-- estimating Microsoft tablets will account for 4.1% of 2012 tablet sales, before growing to 11.8% by 2016.

Meanwhile Android tablets will account for 31.9% of 2012 tablet sales, even if device sales are still hampered due to the lack of dedicated Android tablet apps.

Windows tablets are particularly attractive for enterprise markets-- both IT departments and suppliers are familiar with the OS. Gartner predicts enterprise markets will account for around 35% tablet sales in 2015, even if many workplaces will also operate BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policies.

Go Gartner Tablet Forecast 2010-2016

Toshiba expands the Excite tablet family with 3 models in different sizes-- including the Excite 13, probably the biggest tablet in the world.

The Excite 13 has a massive 13.3" display, nearly twice the size of the smallest new Excite model, the Excite 7.7 (7.7"). Completing the tablet trio is the Excite 10, with a 10.1" display.

All 3 tablets have similar specifications-- Nvidia Tegra 3 processors, Gorilla Glass displays, 5MP back-facing cameras, stereo speakers with Toshiba and SRS Labs sound enchancement and Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) as OS of choice.

Connectivity comes through wifi and Bluetooth.

The tablets handle different resolutions-- the Excite 13 has a 1600x900 "AutoBrite LED backlit" display and the Excite 10 display handles resolutions of up to 1280x800.

Meanwhile the Excite 7.7 is the first Toshiba tablet with an AMOLED display.

According to Toshiba, "one size does not fit all." Will customers prove such a philosophy right? We will know once the 3 tablets launch on Q2 2012.

Go Toshiba Set to Excite Tablet Market With New Tablets

Best Buy announces the sudden resignation of CEO Brian Dunn following investigations into allegations of personal misconduct.

A company statement says "Certain issues were brought to the board's attention regarding Mr. Dunn's personal conduct, unrelated to the company's operations or financial controls, and an audit committee investigation was initiated... Prior to the completion of the investigation, Mr. Dunn chose to resign."

The resignation comes at the worst time for Best Buy, currently struggling as more customers prefer to do their CE shopping online. A still-ailing economy does not help matters much, either.

Dunn has a 28 year history with the retailer (3 of which as CEO), and recently presided over the company decision to close 50 large stores, cutting 400 jobs in the process.

Replacing Dunn as interim CEO is director G. Mike Mikan, while Best Buy founder Richard Schulze continues serving as chairman.

Go Best Buy Announces Leadership Transition