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Joanne Chien, DIGITIMES Research, Taipei [Tuesday 13 November 2012]
Shipment growth for touch screens used in notebooks throughout the fourth quarter of 2012 and most of 2013 will at large not be affected by the release of Windows 8, according to Digitimes Research. Research indicates that consumers are more likely to purchase tablets throughout the time period because of the wide variety of tablet products available, and because of the difference in pricing between tablets and notebooks. The notebook shipment forecast is expected to drop by 192 million units in 2012 to 189 million units in 2013 as a result, as well as due to a lack of recovery in the global economy. However, Digitimes Research pointed out that the expected drop in notebook shipments will also be due to notebook makers increasing the mainstream sizes of their products to 14- and 15-inch, which will thus decrease the amount of panels available for producing notebook products. Despite the shipment drop, the usage rate for touch panels used in notebooks is expected to increase to 10% in 2013, added Digitimes Research.
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