Toshiba agreed to sell its Indonesian TV plant to China-based Skyworth, Toshiba said in a Monday announcement. Toshiba nearly a year ago exited the “in-house development and sales” of TVs and shifted to a Philips-type “brand-licensing model” in the U.S. and Europe (see 1501290047). The Skyworth agreement marks the extension of that model to Asia, excluding China, Toshiba said. The Skyworth sale is part of a large-scale restructuring of the Toshiba Lifestyle Products and Services sector, also announced Monday, that includes the company’s TV, PC and home appliances businesses. As part of that restructuring, Toshiba by March will eliminate 6,800 jobs globally in that sector, about 30 percent of the sector’s worldwide work force, the company said.

Qualcomm said it decided not to split its chipmaking and patent licensing businesses into two separate companies. “Our review was comprehensive,” CEO Steve Mollenkopf said during a call with analysts Tuesday, after a board meeting. “We looked at everything.” Mollenkopf said a special committee of the board on which he served had looked at full and partial separation of the business lines, tracking stocks, a subsidiary initial public offering and “various changes to our capital structure.” Jana Partners, which invested more than $2 billion in Qualcomm in April, had pressed for a breakup to boost the share price, analysts said. “The strategic benefits and synergies” of staying one company “are not replicable through alternative structures,” Mollenkopf said in a statement. “We therefore believe the current structure is the best way to execute on our strategy to build on our position in the ecosystem and deliver enhanced performance and returns.” Qualcomm stock closed up 2.5 percent Tuesday to $48.02.

​There have been 168 initial public offerings priced so far in the U.S. this year, a 38 percent decline from the 275 IPOs priced in 2014, Renaissance Capital said in a Friday research note. Renaissance sees Vizio as one of several “high-profile” IPOs virtually certain to be “pushed to 2016,” because it typifies companies waiting “for a market that will accept their targeted valuations,” the investment firm said in a recent blog post (see 1512010028). The firm sees 2015 finishing as the slowest year for new IPO activations since 2009 because the IPO market has been “very valuation-sensitive,” and would-be investors are “demanding big discounts,” it said. Vizio filed an S-1 registration statement July 24 at the SEC for a long-expected IPO to raise $172.5 million, the proceeds to be used to expand beyond the U.S., Canada and Mexico, support its “strategic global marketing and branding campaign” and broaden its “portfolio of products and services” (see 1507260001).

VTech emailed all affected account holders that their information may have been compromised in a Nov. 14 data breach, the supplier of electronic learning toys said in a Monday news release. "As an additional precautionary measure," the company said, it temporarily suspended the Learning Lodge app store that was compromised and 13 other websites for "thorough security assessment and fortification." The company, which on Friday announced the breach, didn't say how many customers were affected, but media reports said they numbered about 5 million. VTech didn't comment Monday. The company said it immediately launched an investigation and also has implemented security measures against further attacks. Learning Lodge, the company said, permits customers to download apps, learning games, e-books and other educational content to VTech products. The company noticed the breach Nov. 24 after a Canadian journalist emailed VTech the prior day, asking about the incident, according to the company's FAQ section on the data breach. While VTech's customer database contains names, email, IP and mailing addresses, encrypted passwords, secret questions and answers for password retrievals, and download history, the company said the database neither contains credit card information nor personal identification data such as Social Security and drivers' license numbers.

HP said earlier this year it expected to face “several tough quarters” in the PC market, and Q4 ended Oct. 31 “was indeed a difficult quarter and somewhat weaker than we expected,” Dion Weisler, executive vice president-HP Printing and Personal Systems Group, said on a Tuesday earnings call. Tuesday was the last time HP reported earnings as a consolidated company, having completed its “separation” Nov. 1 into two independent firms, HP Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Enterprise. “Following separation, we remain confident that we are well-positioned for the long term in the marketplace,” Weisler said. “The market challenges do not intimidate us and we are keenly aware of what we need to be focused on going forward.” The PC market in Q4 “continued to be tough,” especially in the consumer segment, “where industry channel inventory remained elevated in the market,” he said. Though HP saw “improved performance” in the U.S. in the quarter, the Europe, Middle East and Africa region “remained weak, with market units declining 22 percent year over year,” he said. When the PC markets are down, “our ability to outperform the market profitably is key,” and HP gained unit share in the quarter, he said. “Looking ahead, we expect the PC market to remain challenged for more quarters to come,” he said. One reason is that Windows 10 “has not been a material catalyst for sales yet,” though Microsoft’s newest operating system “continues to receive favorable reviews,” he said. With conditions “tough” in the PC business, “consolidation continues to happen,” Weisler said in Q&A. The “big four” -- HP, Lenovo, Dell and Asus -- are “getting bigger,” and now control 62.5 percent “of the total overall market and growing,” he said. As for inventories, “as we exit Q4, I would say that industry inventory levels are still elevated, but somewhat lower than they were as the markets began to digest the Windows 8 inventory,” he said. But HP’s “inventory position” is now “in good shape with regards to the age profile of that inventory,” he said.

Dolby made “notable progress” in China, India and Southeast Asia in fiscal 2015, the company said in its annual 10-K report, but it faces “significant challenges” in China enforcing its contractual and intellectual property rights. Licensees’ failure to report product shipments incorporating Dolby technologies “may adversely impact future revenues,” it said. Revenue from the PC market continued to be about 17 percent of Dolby licensing revenue, with Dolby technology most recently supported in the Microsoft Edge browser, the company said. Dolby Atmos is incorporated in nearly 30 models of launched or announced speakers, plus AV receivers and soundbars, the company said, and Comcast plans to support Atmos in its X1 platform next year. In Dolby’s mobile business, its technologies are in 12 handsets and tablets from Amazon, Lenovo, HTC, LG, Microsoft and ZTE, while Dolby Atmos has been adopted in a dozen handsets and tablets from Lenovo and Amazon, it said. Dolby Vision has been announced for TVs from Skyworth, TCL and Vizio, and Dolby Vision mastered titles are available from Warner via Vudu. Dolby believes additional Dolby Vision titles from other content providers will “soon be available through Netflix,” it said. In fiscal 2015, 2014 and 2013, Samsung represented roughly 12 percent, 11 percent and 12 percent of Dolby’s total revenue, primarily from Dolby’s mobile and broadcast markets. Dolby’s 2015 licensing revenue was led by its broadcast business (set-top boxes) at 44 percent, followed by PC (Apple and Windows operating systems) with 17 percent, CE (optical disc players, AV receivers, digital media adapters) at 14 percent, mobile (smartphones and tablets) at 13 percent and "other" at 12 percent, it said. As of Sept. 25, Dolby had about 5,100 issued patents and about 3,200 pending patent applications in more than 70 jurisdictions throughout the world, it said. Dolby’s patents expire at various times through April 2040.

Freescale Semiconductor’s Discovery Lab, chartered as a source of “disruptive innovation,” engineered a 45-rpm record album out of an eight-inch silicon wafer, the company said Friday. Freescale engineers developed a program that translated audio files to a type of lithographic plate used for the production of microelectronics, said the company. The mask with phonograph grooves was used to process silicon wafers in Freescale’s Oak Hill Technology Fab in Austin, it said. A silicon wafer is more durable than vinyl and could be used for “nostalgia or niche products, such as platinum records,” said David Kramer, director of the Freescale Discovery Lab, but the company has no plans to market the technology. The project will be a test vehicle to demonstrate lithography and etch capabilities that can be used to make sensors and other devices, he said.

TiVo and Viacom agreed to tie Viacom data and advertising products like Viacom Vantage with TiVo Research's measurement tools for better targeted ad campaigns to customers, they said Monday in a news release. Viacom's predictive engine and TiVo's set-top box data, "matched directly to purchase and consumer engagement data in a privacy protected manner, allows advertisers to see much more than if their campaign was viewed," said Frank Foster, general manager-TiVo Research. "This partnership will not only enable advertisers to see how effectively a campaign reached the target audience, but it will shed light on whether the campaign enticed consumers to take action such as going to a store or buying a product."

CE revenue at Rovi fell 30 percent in Q3 ended Sept. 30 mainly because a “large CE manufacturer” licensee fell “out of contract” with Rovi during the quarter, Chief Financial Officer Peter Halt said on an earnings call Wednesday. Halt wouldn’t name the manufacturer or identify the specific dollar hit Rovi had taken. That the manufacturer fell out of contract was “disappointing” for Rovi, said CEO Tom Carson. But “we are engaged in productive licensing discussions with this company and believe we are on track to have the CE manufacturer back under license by year-end,” Carson said.

Lowe’s Innovation Labs will install an augmented reality design space, the Lowe’s Holoroom, in 19 U.S. stores next month, after a six-month test in stores in the Toronto area, it said Thursday. The Holoroom has transitioned from a single-platform augmented reality technology to a virtual reality design and visualization tool using Oculus Rift optic technology and Google Cardboard viewers that consumers can take home, said the company. The Holoroom experience combines YouTube 360-degree video capabilities with Google Cardboard to allow customers to view and share virtual kitchen or bathroom designs, Lowe's said. "The next-generation Holoroom continues to fulfill our long-term vision for how augmented and virtual reality technologies can help customers have more confidence and more fun with home improvement," said Kyle Nel, executive director-Lowe's Innovation Labs. Lowe's created the Innovation Labs in 2014 to develop "disruptive technologies with uncommon partners" to bring technology from the lab to the real world, said the company. Projects have included an autonomous retail service robot and in-store and online 3D scanning and printing, said Lowe’s. Lowe’s also announced, in conjunction with Made in Space, it's supplying a 3D printer for the International Space Station due to arrive early next year.