With Samsung and HTC reporting results, DRAM sales inching upward and Micron Technologies buying Elpida Memory, the tech industry's financial spotlight focused on consumer electronics and components this week.

For mobile phones, tablets and other devices, "I think we'll see the growth rate moderate a bit; looking at consumer electronics we saw sales at about 8 percent in nominal terms last year," noted Shawn DuBravac, chief economist for the Consumer Electronics Association, on the sidelines of the CEA's midyear line show in New York last week.

"We'll probably still see single digits this year, lower single digits I think, as some of the real growth categories -- tablets and smartphones -- recede just a little bit," he said. "They will still be very positive and will be big drivers for growth this year, just not to the extent that they were last year in terms of pure growth percentages, and so as the growth slows just a little bit, headline growth slows as well."

Samsung Electronics Thursday announced preliminary results for the quarter ending in June, reporting that operating profit hit a record 6.7 trillion won (US$4.9 billion), on sales of 47 trillion won. The operating profit beat the average forecast of 32 analysts' estimates compiled by Bloomberg, which was 6.58 trillion won. Though Samsung did not provide details, last quarter it said that though there had been a decrease in sales of semiconductor chips and TVs, an increase in profitability in display panels and mobile phones pushed up quarterly operating profit margins.

South Korea-based Samsung is riding high on sales of smartphones, experiencing a surge in sales for its Galaxy family of handsets. For the three months ending in May, , beating the mighty Apple and accounting for more than a quarter of all U.S. handset sales.