The term “3-D” has been largely synonymous with Hollywood blockbusters, buttered popcorn and ill-fitting cardboard glasses since the 1950s, when three-dimensionality was introduced to draw TV owners into theaters.

Over the past 20 years, 3-D-capable devices like set-top boxes as well as 3-D programming have become available at home. A lack of standard broadcasting formats, relatively little content and the need for 3-D glasses, however, have kept it from a broad audience.

Tech companies are betting that will all change, and when it does, you’ll be able to lose the glasses.

According to new data from Thomson Reuters, 3-D-related patents have risen sharply in recent years, led by companies such as Samsung, Panasonic and Toshiba. “It will only be a matter of time before 3-D televisions start showing up in the home,” the report says.

Patent activity in the 3-D television space grew 69 percent over a five-year period, with more than 1,000 unique invention patents filed last year alone. This year is on par, with 486 filed in the first half of 2009.

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As Sony Corp. (SNE) scrambles to reassert its technological relevance, Chief Executive Howard Stringer is betting on a strategy for the electronics giant that focuses on adding online content to more of its gadgets.

Speaking at the first joint public appearance by Sony’s new management team since a shake-up in February, Mr. Stringer said the Japanese giant is “moving faster than we’ve ever moved” to meet parallel challenges.

Sony is racing to close the gap with technology companies like Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) that have used Internet services to enhance standalone electronics like digital-music players and electronic-book readers. Sony was a pioneer in both only to see it early advantage evaporate without a strong online component.

At the same time, Sony is trying to overhaul its core electronics division, a business encumbered by heavy overhead costs and an inefficient supply chain. This has put the company at a disadvantage to both conglomerates like Samsung Electronics Co. and upstarts like discount TV maker Vizio Inc.

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Some of the biggest companies backing the Blu-ray format for high-definition movies are hedging their bets by introducing players that can also show Internet video, which is making surprising inroads in the home-entertainment market.

Electronics retailers and manufacturers including Best Buy Co. (BBY), Samsung Electronics America Inc. and LG Electronics USA Inc. are selling Blu-ray disc players that tap into movies from online rental companies. The devices provide an alternative to pay-per-view cable services.

The hybrid movie players tap a growing library of online movies and television shows from Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), which screens movies for as little as 99 cents, and from Netflix Inc. (NFLX), which allows unlimited movie streaming for $8.99 a month.

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Samsung Electronics Co. said it will set up a joint venture to build a 7.5-generation liquid crystal display panel plant in Suzhou, China, that will cost about 2.6 trillion won ($2.25 billion).

Samsung Electronics, the world’s biggest supplier of liquid crystal display panels, also said in a regulatory filing it will spend 925.2 billion won on the joint venture, without elaborating.

The electronics giant has decided to set up the plant in China in order to exploit demand there for flat-screen televisions above 40 inches in size, said company spokesman James Chung.

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Samsung Electronics Co.’s profits are on the rise again as its chip and display businesses recover from operating losses earlier this year. The turnaround recently helped push its market capitalization past Intel Corp.’s (INTC) for the first time.

But amid that success Samsung also is trying to address another concern: matching Apple Inc.’s ability to sell content and software that run on cellphones and other devices.

Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone has led the way in demonstrating that consumers are becoming more interested in devices that can tap the Internet or run clever applications. The same phenomenon is spreading to TVs and DVD players, which increasingly will be connectable to the Internet in coming years.

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Until this summer, U.S. consumers interested in owning an Android-powered cellphone were limited to T-Mobile’s G1. But the Google (GOOG) operating system is appearing in a slew of new handsets by HTC, Samsung, LG and Motorola (MOT).

The specs for Samsung’s newest Android phone, the I5700 Galaxy Lite, leaked in an online video that made its way around the Web Tuesday. The lower-cost, touch-screen device will have 1 GB of memory and a 3.2-megapixel camera. Its predecessor, the Galaxy I5700, also running Android, has 8 GB of memory and a five-megapixel camera. It launched in Europe over the summer.

Also Tuesday, HTC introduced its fourth Android mobile phone, the Tattoo, which will be available in Europe in October.

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SanDisk (SNDK) shares are coming under pressure this morning after Needham analyst Y. Edwin Mok cut his rating on the stock to Under Perform from Hold.

Mok writes in a research note that the downgrade reflects “early signs of weakness in the NAND flash memory sector that we believe will lead to lower prices.” He contends checks find that NAND product inventories have increased substantially, and that demand in both the retail and OEM channel has slowed since May. Heading into the second half, he writes, “we are concerned that production ramps”–Mok expects higher output from both Samsung and Toshiba–“will swing the NAND sector into oversupply.”

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With the economy affecting all manner of consumer spending, it’s a little surprising to hear upbeat commentary from the flat-panel sector.

But according to Scott Birnbaum, vice president of Samsung’s LCD unit, its sales are benefiting from “vidification,” a term he uses to describe consumers trying to create a big-screen experience at home.

“When you went to the movie theater, you had this incredible picture and sound,” he says, and makers of televisions, PCs and even cellphones are all looking for ways to offer a similar viewing environment.

For PCs, manufacturers are quickly adopting a 16:9 aspect ratio, the length-to-height ratio that has been a standard for HD television screens, Mr. Birnbaum says. That means that laptops are becoming less boxy and more like wide-format TV screens, a trend that computer makers have capitalized on to goose sales. When one of these laptops is side-by-side with an older model, he says, “people are gravitating to the new format very quickly.”

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Intel’s (INTC) antitrust troubles haven’t gotten as much attention as Microsoft’s (MSFT), in large part because most evidence concerning the chip maker’s tactics remains locked up in confidential documents. But some new, unflattering details about one investigation are coming to light.

In January, the Korean Federal Trade Commission produced a 133-page public version of its findings against Intel, which it announced last June without providing many specifics. A Korean-speaking research fellow working with a non-profit advocacy group, the American Antitrust Institute, subsequently produced a 15-page translation of sections of the bigger document (which was noted this week by the Inquirer).

The excerpts lay out a series of carrots and sticks that Intel allegedly offered Samsung Electronics Co. and Sambo Computer–-two big PC makers in Korea–-to reduce chip purchases from rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) and keep Intel as their main supplier. For example, the document suggests that Intel withheld rebates from Samsung in 2002 to punish it from starting to use AMD chips, later coming up with a more attractive collection of incentives that eventually led Samsung to curtail purchases from AMD.

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InterDigital (IDCC) shares are heading lower in early trading after the company posted weaker-than-expected Q4 profits.

For the quarter, the wireless technology company posted revenue of $58.7 million, ahead of the Street at $57.4 million. But profits of nine cents a share were short of the Street at 16 cents. The company said recurring revenue from existing licensing agreements was $51.4 million.

IDCC said it expects recurring revenue of $69 million to $71 million for the first quarter, including nearly $20 million from a licensing agreement with Samsung, offset by the loss of $1.1 million from a customer who exited the handset business.

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SanDisk (SNDK) shares are on the rise on rumors that Toshiba might be planning a bid for the company, according to Dow Jones Newswires. The two companies have a joint venture to manufacture NAND flash memories, and Toshiba has been often rumored to be a logical partner for the flash memory chipmaker.

In October, Samsung withdrew a $26-a-share bid for SanDisk; there was speculation before Samsung pulled its offer that Toshiba might serve as a white knight for SanDisk.

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To hear Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer talk about Samsung Electronics’ new upgraded smartphone, T*Omnia, Korean consumers will soon get the mother of all smartphones on the planet. “The T*Omnia is at the forefront of this new generation of mobile devices,” declared Ballmer at a Seoul ceremony unveiling the phone on Nov. 3. “I like the T*Omnia phone because it brings together communications, productivity, multimedia, and entertainment in a way that meets the needs of both consumers and mobile professionals.”

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SanDisk (SNDK) shares have received a boost today from Goldman Sachs chip analyst James Covello, who added the stock to the company’s Buy list with a $13 price target.

He writes that the stock’s valuation “is now too attractive to ignore.” He notes that the stock has fallen out of favor after Samsung pulled its $26-a-share takeover bid, but that “SanDisk retains some of the key IP in the NAND industry, which we believe is worth significantly more than what is priced into the stock today.” He says that if the company successfully renegotiates a license agreement with Samsung, even with a 50 percent reduction in royalty rate, the stock would be worth close to $20, even if you assume zero value for its card business and give them zero credit for balance sheet cash.

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Global mobile phone unit sales grew a disappointing five percent in the third quarter, according to research firm Strategy Analytics. It was the weakest quarter for the industry since 2002. The firm noted that four of the top six vendors grew at a five percent rate or less; Apple (AAPL) and Samsung outpaced the market.

• Nokia (NOK) shipped 118 million handsets, up five percent. The company lost market share in all regions, with smartphones “a major weak spot.”
• Samsung shipped 52 million handsets, up 22 percent. Its market share reached an all-time high at 17 percent, up from three percent in 1998. The company was strong in North America and Western Europe, weaker in emerging markets.
• Sony Ericsson (SNE, ERIC) shipped 25.7 million handsets, down one percent. With a five percent sequential increase, the company passed LG and Motorola (MOT) to become the the third largest company in the industry by units.

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So the logical appears to true: In a recession, people buy fewer big screen TVs.

That’s the obvious conclusion from Corning’s (GLW) disappointing fourth-quarter outlook.

For Q3, the company posted revenue of $1.56 billion and profits before items of 46 cents a share; the Street had expected $1.59 billion and 44 cents. The company noted that currency factors gave a lift to profits. Glass volume was up two percent sequentially and 18 percent year over year. The company’s wholly owned business fell 10 percent sequentially and two percent year over year, while the Samsung Corning venture saw volume rise 12 percent sequentially and 38 percent year over year.

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