Taoyuan, Taiwan - U.S. customs has inspected some HTC smartphones to ensure they don't violate an Apple patent and have released some of them to U.S. carriers, HTC said.

"Some models have gone through inspection and been released to our carriers customers," HTC said. "We don't have the status of each specific device model at this time, but we are working closely with customs. We remain confident that this issue will be resolved soon."

A request to the company's U.S. subsidiary for more details has not been answered.

Dallas - Nebraska Furniture Mart has received a New Development Deal of the Year Award from the Dallas Business Journal for its planned retail and entertainment complex here.

The Omaha, Neb.-based furniture, majap and CE mega-dealer acquired four land tracts totaling 433 acres in the Dallas satellite city of The Colony last year, where it plans to build a mixed-use development anchored by a 1.8-million-square-foot Nebraska Furniture Mart retail and distribution center.

Salt Lake City - Control4 home-automation products will be included in the displays of MainStreet America, a 14-acre year-round home show scheduled to open in mid-October on the outskirts of Houston.

Promoted as the nation's first home product "theme park," MainStreet America will be outfitted with a two-story 44,000- square-foot guest center, cooking demonstration studio, a custom-home building office, a home remodeling center, mortgage financing services, an interior design studio, a specialty café and a childcare area. 

Minneapolis - Restructuring charges for 41 previously announced store closures dragged down Best Buy's fiscal first-quarter net earnings 26 percent to $158 million.

Excluding the $127 million in one-time charges, profits fell 4.7 percent to $246 million for the three months, ended May 5.

Total revenue rose 2 percent to $11.6 billion while comp-store sales fell 5.3 percent for the three-month period. U.S. revenue increased 5.1 percent to $8.8 billion and domestic comp-store sales declined 3.7 percent.

Mooresville, N.C. - Lowe's reported solid gains for its fiscal first quarter, ended May 4.

Net earnings rose 14.3 percent to $527 million, sales increased 7.9 percent to $13.2 billion, and comp-store sales edged up 2.6 percent year over year.

Gross margins slipped from 35.4 percent to 34.7 percent for the three-month period,   possibly due to product mix shifts and a more disruptive than anticipated transition to everyday low pricing, Credit Suisse retail analyst Gary Balter suggested.

Secaucus, N.J., - Panasonic introduced Monday the standard zoom lens Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm/F2.8 ASPH./Power OIS (H-HS12035) for its Micro Four Thirds compact system camera (CSC) line.

The lens, which will ship in August at a price to be announced, is part of Panasonic's premium lens brand X, which is compatible with the Panasonic Lumix G series and complies with the Micro Four Thirds system standard.

 Boston - Electronic program guide (EPG) developer Rovi and voice-activiated software creator Nuance Communications are using the Cable Show here this week to announce a collaboration on voice-activated discovery and guidance applications for cable service providers and CE manufacturers.

City of Industry, Calif. - Sceptre unveiled Monday a compact 15.6-inch 720p LED LCD TV in its 16 series, offering the ability to plug the display into a wall outlet or a car lighter for tailgating or camping.

The E165BD-HD ($199 suggested retail) features 1,366 by 768/60p HD resolution, a built-in DVD player and ships with a car power adapter for use on the go. It also offers two HDMI ports.

 Boston - Electronic program guide (EPG) developer Rovi and voice-activiated software creator Nuance Communications are using the Cable Show here this week to announce a collaboration on voice-activated discovery and guidance applications for cable service providers and CE manufacturers.

NEW YORK – For a year that saw TV pricing stumble, Sears and Best Buy fumble, and top 40 A/V chain Sixth Avenue Electronics crumble, CE sell-through was surprisingly solid in 2011.

Cumulative sales for the industry’s 100 largest retailers rose 5.2 percent last year to $133.2 billion, off slightly from 2010’s 5.8 percent increase.