Bose and Beats Electronics each have until Monday to file a “discovery statement" at the International Trade Commission describing information and evidence that each side plans to submit “to prove its own case” as well as evidence to be sought from “other parties and third persons,” said an evidentiary order signed Monday by Administrative Law Judge David Shaw (http://1.usa.gov/1rpJb1b). Bose has alleged Beats noise-canceling headphones violate five Bose patents, and Beats has denied the allegations on grounds that the patents are not “valid or enforceable” (CED Sept 23 p6). The discovery statements also need to contain a “proposed procedural schedule” of important dates in the case, including the scheduling of an evidentiary hearing and how long the hearing is expected to take, Shaw’s order said. “In view” of Shaw’s “current docket,” it’s “likely” the hearing will take place in early May, the order said.

Chinese telecom carriers’ strategies to end subsidies to smartphone makers has meant a falloff of smartphone demand after a peak in March and April, said an NPD DisplaySearch report released Wednesday (http://bit.ly/1E0cKdR). Telecom carriers in China will gradually stop subsidizing smartphones directly to focus more on consumer call charges, DisplaySearch said, which is expected to affect current inventory levels of name brands. The change in strategy could affect the supply chain, adding to declining smartphone display average selling prices (ASPs) in the open market, DisplaySearch said. The average price of a 5-inch 720p in-plane switching module was $25 in August 2013 and dropped 44 percent to $14 this August, said DisplaySearch, which could lead to “weaker-than-usual” sales growth in second half 2014. “An adequate supply” of mobile phone displays will result in falling ASPs through the rest of the year, said Terry Yu, analyst. Coolpad, which has strong relationships with Chinese telecom carriers, already suffered from inventory issues that forced the company to implement a new distribution strategy in September, Yu said. Coolpad plans to launch three distinct brands to lessen the impact of subsidy adjustments: one each for telecom carriers’ channels, traditional distribution and e-commerce, Yu said. The iPhone 6’s arrival in China in a few weeks, however, is expected to improve display procurement demand and ASP performance, he said.

LG began selling a 21:9 curved 34-inch monitor in the U.S. Wednesday, incorporating an in-plane switching screen and Ultra Quad HD panel with 3400 x 1440 resolution. “Many people spend more time in front of computer monitors than they do in front of TVs, and yet the industry hasn’t delivered the same level of innovation when it comes to monitors,” said Tim Alessi, LG’s U.S. head of new product development, in a news release. The curved screen provides a more immersive viewing experience, Alessi said. The $1,299 monitor is compatible with PCs and Macs and supports Thunderbolt 2 for high-speed data transfers, the company said. On the audio side, the 34UC97 also features MaxxAudio and a 7-watt stereo speaker system. LG’s 34UC97 will be available nationwide in October at online and regional retailers including Adorama, Amazon, Fry’s B&H, Newegg and Tiger Direct, LG said.

Sinclair’s court challenge of the FCC incentive auction order would deprive the broadcasters in the Expanding Opportunities for Broadcasters Coalition of the chance to participate in the auction, the EOBC said in a motion to intervene filed Wednesday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Wednesday. The EOBC motion seeks only to intervene against Sinclair’s challenge, not the narrower NAB filing it has been consolidated with, the motion said. CEA also asked to intervene solely against Sinclair (CED Sept. 30 p4). “EOBC member broadcasters have relied in good faith that the auction will occur under the rules adopted in the Report and Order and on the timetable set forth by the FCC,” the motion said. By asking the court to vacate or enjoin the auction order, Sinclair’s petition is a threat to the EOBC plans, the motion said. “If successful, Petitioner’s appeal will harm EOBC’s members,” the motion said.

Third place behind Apple and Samsung in the tablet wars is “up for grabs" among Amazon, Asus, Lenovo and other “emerging vendors,” ABI Research said Wednesday (http://bit.ly/10lBnlY). Lenovo in particular “is working to gain ground in the market,” and in 2019 is expected to ship 21 million tablets, or 7.3 percent of the global market, ABI said. This “would land it solidly in third place,” it said. Lenovo remains the world’s biggest PC supplier, but now sells more smartphones and tablets than it does PCs, and is the world’s third-largest tablet supplier, Lenovo itself said in the runup to the IFA show last month in Berlin (CED Sept 3 p6). During 2013, the tablet market “exploded with new devices overwhelming consumers,” ABI said. “Leading tablet vendors quickly dominated the market, but are now feeling the squeeze and quickly losing market share control,” creating a “stall” in more advanced and mature markets like North America and Western Europe, it said. “This stall is giving other vendors the opportunity to close the prominent gap and claim third place. The dent emerging vendors are creating in the market is impressive, but continuing that success is going to be the real challenge.”

JVC Americas and Kenwood U.S.A. completed their merger, announced in April, that aims to streamline operations and spur innovation, the companies said Wednesday. JVC and Kenwood brands will remain distinct in their respective user markets and sales channels, the companies said. Sales and marketing of car electronics for both brands, along with JVCKenwood USA headquarters, will continue to be based in Long Beach, California, while sales and marketing of communications and security products will be in Suwanee, Georgia, they said. Sales and marketing of AV and professional camera products will remain in Wayne, New Jersey. The combination of the two companies will lead to new product and system areas for consumer and professional markets, they said. In 2008, JVC and Kenwood said they would combine businesses, R&D and other work in under the corporate structure JVC Kenwood Holdings but with plans to retain their identities as separate operating companies.

Apple said the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will be available in China beginning Oct. 17, with pre-orders available from Apple online beginning Oct. 10 (bit.ly/1uyNoBb). IPhone 6 and 6 Plus customers will have access to 4G/LTE networks from China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom across mainland China, Apple said Tuesday. At Tuesday currency conversion rates of roughly 6.14 yuan renminbi = $1, the iPhone 6 price for the China market was given as $860.57 for the 16GB model, $990.76 for the 64GB model and $1,122 for the 128 GB version. Prices for the iPhone 6 Plus were given as $990.76 for the 16 GB version, $1,120.95 for the 64 GB model and $1,267.41 for the 128 GB model, Apple said. U.S subsidized pricing with two-year contracts started at $199 for the iPhone 6 and $299 for the iPhone 6 Plus at Apple.com and carrier websites. No-contract U.S. pricing for the 16 GB versions of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus were $649.99 and $749.99 at AT&T Wireless Tuesday, we found.

One of every eight U.K. homes uses streaming services to watch TV, while tablets and smartphones are the “go-to” browsing devices in a third of British homes, and one in every 10 millennials doesn’t own a PC or laptop, said a survey report released Monday by the U.K. firm Post Office HomePhone and Broadband. Streaming or downloading TV programs ranked as one of the top three most popular uses for broadband at home, with 12 percent of homes viewing TV shows mainly via online channels, the report said. The survey of 2,000 British consumers in mid-August also found that nearly a third of U.K. homes use a smartphone or tablet as their main browsing device at home. But PCs and laptops still remain popular for accessing the Internet at home, though not among the youngest consumers, it said. Only 15 percent of 18-24-year-olds use PCs as their main browsing platform compared with two in five consumers over 55, it said. “Streaming and on-demand entertainment services respond to the needs of the time-poor consumer and our report demonstrates how the convenience of these entertainment channels is beginning to dominate the UK’s home browsing activity,” the company said. “While smartphones and tablets provide convenience when accessing the Internet away from home, it’s interesting to see that they are now superseding the PC and laptop as the device of choice in nearly of third of households as well."

City Brand International, of Shenzhen, China, joined the DVD Copy Control Association, the group told the Justice Department and the FTC in written notifications Sept. 4, said a notice in Tuesday’s Federal Register (http://1.usa.gov/1v18rc0). Six companies also have withdrawn from the DVD CCA, the notice said. They are Eclipse Data Technologies, of Pleasanton, California; Hitachi, of Tokyo; Hong Kong Asa Multimedia, of Hong Kong; Marubun, of Tokyo; MediaCore, of Gyeonggi-Do, South Korea; and Nutron International, of Guangdong, China. The notifications were filed for the purpose of extending the DVD CCA and its members the antitrust protections afforded by the National Cooperative Research and Production Act of 1993, the notice said.

The EPA is “just now receiving” all the comments submitted on Draft 2 of the Energy Star Version 7 spec for Ultra HD TVs, Verena Radulovic, Energy Star product manager for consumer electronics, told us Tuesday in an email. Though comments on Draft 2 were due Monday (CED Sept 30 p3), “some are due to come in early next week, given some extensions,” Radulovic said. The EPA “typically” posts all comments received with the release of the final draft, which is expected in late October or early November, she said.