VENTURE CAPITAL POST

In the shadow of Internet monoliths such as Facebook, Google and Twitter, it's easy to forget that Silicon Valley got its start from hard-scrabble tinkerers building radios, microchips and other devices.

ARM Holdings, whose chip technology powers Apple's iPhone, said demand for smartphones would pick up in the second half after a disappointing end to 2013 resulted in first-quarter profit rising less than in previous years.

Gurgaon, India-based smartphone maker Micromax Informatics Ltd is eyeing the purchase of an undisclosed stake in Seoul, South Korea-based rival Pantech Co Ltd in a bid to expand internationally, according to unnamed sources.

Mountain View, US-based health startup Lark stepped away from hardware with the launch of its new personal health coaching app on Samsung's Galaxy S5 model.

Today, Samsung and SingTel Group has announced an initiative that would simplify retail experience and seamless mobile data access, reported ET.

Palo Alto, US-based video discovery startup Boxfish bagged $7 million in a Series B funding round led by Atlantic Bridge to beef up its workforce and expand into new markets.

Analytics company Umeng said the number of active smartphone users in China has surpassed the 700 million mark as of the end of 2013, TechCrunch reported.

South Korean electronics giant Samsung filed a patent on September 2012 for a new method that lets users unlock the screen and activate apps and certain commands using a doodle.

Samsung will be $1.5 million each to two charities chosen by host Ellen DeGeneres after getting pleased with the results of her popular selfie taken with Samsung's Galaxy Note, TechCrunch reported.

If you want to get a Samsung gadget, head to best buy. Nearly every Best Buy store has a space for Samsung products in its store-within-a-store concept, TechCrunch reported.

Android still remains at the top for smartphone sales, getting 70% of sales in the last three months that ended January. However, the real war is among Android makers, TechCrunch reported citing data from Kantar.

Boston, US-based app maker Spritz said it will launch its app that will make reading easier on small devices on the soon-to-come smartphone Galaxy S5 and smartwatch Gear 2 of South Korean electronics giant Samsung.

San Francisco, California-based wearable tech firm Basis Science put itself up for sale and is currently in acquisition talks with Google, Apple, Samsung, and Microsoft, according to two sources familiar with the situation.

HTC Corp intends to expand its range of more affordable smartphones after the losses it experienced last year for its high-end product offerings, Reuters reported.

Inq Mobile, the London-based company which is among the first to make a Facebook phone, announced via its website that it has shutdown, but the company has not elaborated on the exact reason.