Lenovo will use Immersion’s TouchSense haptic technology for Windows and Android devices in smartphones and tablets, in a multiyear agreement announced Monday. The agreement covers Lenovo’s use of TouchSense software for mobile devices with single and dual actuators, said the companies. Haptic technology allows manufacturers to simulate the connected experience of the physical world on mobile devices and create more engaging products, including creating effects for games and videos, providing a mechanical feel and confirmation and expanding usability “when audio and visual feedback are ineffective,” they said.

The risk of overheating and fire is prompting Sony to recall the lithium-ion battery packs installed in 18 models of Vaio laptops sold in most of 2013 at Best Buy and other stores, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said in a Wednesday notice. Sony sourced the battery packs from Panasonic’s Sanyo Energy (Suzhou) subsidiary in China, the notice said. About 1,700 Vaio laptops sold in the U.S. are affected, it said. Sony discontinued its Vaio PC business in 2014 (see 1405050061).

Hisense is sponsoring a UEFA Euro 2016 Official Viewing Zone on Governors Island in New York Saturday, the company emailed us, calling it the largest public viewing event in New York City for UEFA Euro Cup 2016. Live broadcasts of the Euro Cup soccer matches are free in the island’s Nolan Park, where Hisense will show off its Ultra HD H8, H10 series ULED TVs and an HD 100-inch HD Vidaa Max Laser Cast projector. The event begins at noon and ferries to Governors Island run at 11 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. from the Battery Maritime Building in Manhattan, 10 South St., said Hisense.

Consulting firm Broad Comm is testing a new video capture system at National Hockey League venues this week. The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology on Monday approved a Broad Comm special temporary authority request to use 2210, 2225, 2250 and 2275 MHz for cameras that will be located one to two meters above the ice "and be capable of capturing video both on the ice as well as in the adjacent stands to enhance crowd safety." Broad Comm, whose filing was made by President Louis Libin, described itself on its website as a consulting firm with media clients. Libin also is Advanced TV Broadcasting Alliance's executive director.

Operating income in Sony’s Imaging Products & Solutions and Devices sectors is expected to take a 115 billion yen ($1.05 billion) hit from the April 14 earthquakes that struck the Kikuchi-gun, Japan, region and damaged Sony’s Kumamoto Technology Center (see 1604180025), the company said in a Tuesday statement. The technology center is Sony’s primary manufacturing site for image sensors used in digital cameras, security cameras and micro-display devices, Sony said. Wafer processing operations on the lower levels of the building were “restarted sequentially” beginning Thursday and plant utilization has been “increasing gradually,” it said. “Other processes, including testing and assembly, which are back-end processes and are located on the upper levels of the building, were restarted gradually beginning in the middle of May.”

About 51 percent of surveyed security professionals believe their companies have altered their security approaches because of changes in IT operations, CompTIA said Tuesday in a report. CompTIA surveyed 500 security professionals. “Far more than half of all companies have adopted cloud computing and mobile devices,” said Seth Robinson, CompTIA senior director-technology analysis, in a news release. “This suggests that many companies are embracing new technology solutions without taking the corresponding actions necessary to build a proper defense. This poses huge challenges for the IT security professionals tasked with security responsibilities.” Ninety percent of IT professionals said their companies take security more seriously than two years ago, but many companies still need to improve their actual practices, CompTIA said. “Simply placing a higher priority on security may not lead to improved measures,” Robinson said. “Companies may not fully understand the nature of modern threats. It’s incumbent on the IT pros to adequately communicate the requirements for modern security; the potential cost of weak defenses; and the specific actions that should be taken.”

Universal Electronics’ Q1 revenue came in short of expectations at $151.2 million, vs. $132.7 million a year ago, due to weakness in Latin America, a $1 million shortfall in Europe and an Australian retailer’s bankruptcy, said the company. But shares closed 3.3 percent higher Friday at $64.93 ahead of what CEO Paul Arling called the early stages of a “significant rollout” of advanced remote controls by CE and subscription broadcast customers. The premium remotes “set the stage for double-digit revenue growth and margin expansion,” said Arling. In a recap of the UEI earnings call, Dougherty & Co. analyst Steven Frankel said Comcast has deployed more than 6 million UEI voice remotes, including 2 million in Q1, and the X1 has penetrated 35 percent of the video base toward a goal of 50 percent by year end. Consumer revenue dropped from $11.2 million to $10 million, contributing 6.6 percent of sales, the company said. UEI has “orders in hand” for advanced remote controls covering nearly 20 percent of the world's subscription broadcast customers, said Frankel. With UEI’s current customer base at nearly half of the world’s subscribers, Frankel expects additional advanced remote wins and projects “sustained double-digit growth” over the next several years. Q1 revenue and earnings didn’t meet projections, but “we don't want to miss the big picture” that UEI’s advanced remote controls “are making a difference,” Frankel said, citing the X1 and XR-11 voice remotes. He also called out the latest Sony and Samsung TVs with QuickSet 3.7, which, according to a Wall Street Journal review, are setting a “new high water mark” for the customer viewing experience.

Amazon, AT&T, LG Electronics and Samsung were among tech companies marking the fifth anniversary Thursday of Joining Forces, the White House veterans initiative, by pledging that a big proportion of all their new hires in the next five years will be veterans and their spouses. The pledges of the companies collectively will mean the hiring in the next five years of 110,000 veterans and their spouses and the enrollment of 60,000 more in training programs, first lady Michelle Obama told business leaders at a Thursday ceremony streamed live at WhiteHouse.gov. Veterans and their spouses “are simply the best employees around,” Obama said. Training and hiring them “isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do for your bottom lines,” she said. That's “especially true when it comes to tech jobs and industries,” she said. For years, “some of the biggest technological innovations, from the Internet to GPS, have come from the U.S. military,” she said. If veterans now working in military tech jobs “can set up wireless networks in Baghdad or do satellite reconnaissance in the mountains of Afghanistan, I’m pretty confident that they can handle whatever’s happening in Silicon Valley,” she said. LG Electronics USA every day sees “first hand the commitment, skills and values that veterans bring to the tech sector," said CEO William Cho in a Thursday statement. In the U.S., LG employees include U.S. military veterans and spouses who have served in Afghanistan, Iraq, the Gulf Wars, Vietnam, on embassy duty and at bases across the country and around the world, the company said. Amazon will hire 25,000 veterans and spouses in the next five years, and will enroll an additional 10,000 in cloud computing training programs, CEO Jeff Bezos said at the ceremony. AT&T will hire 20,000 military veterans by 2020, the company said in a Thursday statement. “Military experience is great preparation for a successful career at AT&T," said CEO Randall Stephenson. "Veterans’ leadership, integrity and commitment to service make them outstanding employees.” LG isn't disclosing a specific number to be hired, but is vowing a target of up to 10 percent of new hires, "based on annual hiring needs," spokesman John Taylor texted us Thursday.

Revenue from using app- and Internet-driven shared-space providers such as Airbnb and WeWork is expected to grow globally from about $2.3 billion in 2015 to about $6.1 billion by 2019, Juniper Research said in a news release Tuesday. Those companies via cheaper rates are taking a proportion of reservation and booking fees, Juniper said. The research firm predicted ease of use and financial rewards for registered property owners will result in "a surge in both listings and bookings." Juniper also said app-driven ride sharing company Uber "has struggled to gain a significant foothold in China" due to competition from a dominant taxi service. But Uber is apparently spending $1 billion annually just to expand there, Juniper said.

Some 125 Klipsch community forum members are mapping out a “pilgrimage” to Hope, Arkansas, May 20-21 to celebrate the company’s 70th anniversary in the town where it was founded. Klipsch, based in Indianapolis, still maintains a manufacturing facility, warehouse and museum in Hope. The company has sponsored similar events in the past, but this is the first time a Klipsch pilgrimage has been planned and executed by audio forum members, said the company. Attendees will tour the Klipsch plant, audio labs and museum and listen to demonstrations of Klipsch speakers.