While Firefox OS was previously used in smartphone followed by limited use in tablet devices, the software is now shifting to TV sticks and computer learning applications, according to Digitimes Research. The global smartphone market is cooling down and providing more diversified Android devices has become a focal point for vendors and even telecom operators. In December 2014, consumers will see KDDI's new Firefox OS-based smartphones hit the market in Japan in addition to Firefox OS TV stick technology. Mozilla will also release Firefox OS-based based computer applications that support Raspberry Pi, showing that it aims to close the gap on competition between Android, as well as further push the technology into the market, added Digitimes Research.

The International Game Developers Association (IGDA), which claims to be the largest non-profit membership organization in the world serving all individuals who create games, has attempted to distance itself from a Twitter block tool it recently attempted to publicize, after its actions incorrectly branded thousands of consumers, games developers and journalist, as well as its own staff members and KFC as online harassers.IGDA included a link to on script called ggautoblocker as part of a recently published resource page to help developers deal with online harassment. IGDA originally described the script as "A Twitter tool to block some of the worst offenders in the recent wave of harassment" but dialed back its endorsement to "A third-party Twitter tool developed to quickly mass block some of the worst offenders in the recent wave of harassment and also accounts that follow those offenders" after some of the over 10 thousand Twitter accounts tagged by the tool objected to the unsubstantiated accusation implied by IGDA's statement.All reference to the tool was eventually removed from the resource page shortly after the chairman of IGDA Puerto Rico discovered his account was on the block list and announced he would resign his position if the scandal was not rectified.The ggautoblocker tool has been criticized for its crude algorithm which simply gathers the follower lists of certain "ringleader" accounts as determined by the developer, and adds anyone on at least two of these follower lists to a block list without any attempt to examine whether the accounts had actually engaged in harassment.As a result, socialite accounts such as @kfc that automatically follow-back any Twitter account that follows them have been implicated and blocked by the tool as being part of the GamerGate movement. Meanwhile, the accounts of consumers, games developers and journalists following the so-called ringleader accounts are also listed for blocking, regardless of the motivations behind following these accounts.This distinction is especially pertinent to journalists following GamerGate as it is a common part of modern news gathering to follow the social media accounts of companies and industry figures on a particular beat. In the case of GamerGate where there are no official channels of communication, following key Twitter accounts has emerged as one of the primary resources for staying on top of major events, even though there is no intention of ever interacting with these accounts. Because of this, IGDA's comments that all accounts marked by ggautoblocker are behind harassment is analogous to saying the "Channel 5 Eye-in-the-Sky News team" is responsible for high-speed car chases and armed robberies, because they listen in on local police radio channels.The broad stokes approach to filtering which generates a high number of false positives also impacts those using the block list, in particular companies such as the Raspberry Pi Foundation, since the move effectively self-censors the company from an important news-gathering and PR channel intended to link it to journalists and consumers, while having no impact on reducing harassment. Raspberry Pi was invited to comment on its motives for subscribing to the block list, but no response was received by the time of publication.However, the most significant impact is being felt in the games development community itself. Several developers have already come forward to express their concerns that being incorrectly branded for actions they have not committed could have long lasting, if not career ending, consequences.And these fears could have merit. Even before IGDA lent its support to the block list, some developers had floated the idea that the list could be used to perform "background checks" on future job applicants. Also back in October, Ernest W Adams, the founder of IGDA notably tweeted, "If you're an indie developer and you are supporting #GamerGate, watch what you say. Your future business is at stake."In more positive #GamerGate related news, over 3600 Twitter accounts recently took part in the "Give Voice to the Voiceless" Thunderclap, a crowdsource initiative to promote the latest video from the #NotYourShield Project. The video depicts various minority groups discussing why they support #GamerGate, and why they feel their side of the story is being ignored or marginalized by the gaming press.

Taiwan makers' small- to medium-size panel shipments reached 329.7 million in the third quarter of 2014, down 6.2% on quarter and 12.8% on year, according to Digitimes Research.The on-year decrease is largely attributed to increased efforts from China, Korea and Japan panel makers to secure orders from China vendors coupled with the vendors' less-than-expected results due to a slowdown in the China handset market. The vendors' inventories also piled up due to lagging demand for 4G handsets.However, the makers' overall proportion of handset panel shipments rose 2.1pp to hold a 77.4% share as demand for other applications was undermined by that for smartphones.In terms of tablet panels, low-priced units in particular saw a 10.2% sequential increase despite limited overall shipments as vendors put in increased orders to compete against low-priced notebooks.The makers' production proportion of LTPS TFT LCD applications during the third quarter meanwhile dropped 0.5pp as makers have yet to expand production for smartphone applications coupled with rising competition from outside makers, added Digitimes Research.

As China makers expand production capacity in order to meet increasing demand for cheaper panel supply in China, local handset vendors will receive Full HD panels for use in smartphones in 2015 below US$21, down 11.5% on year, according to Digitimes Research.Additionally, the makers will provide HD panels as low as US$11 and WVGA panels at US$3, down 10% and 25% on year, respectively.In terms of Full HD panel production, most of the supply will come from BOE's and Tianma Microelectronics' 5.5G lines while that for entry-level and mid-range units will come from 6G lines. Production expansion began in 2013 and has been increasing since, with more breakthroughs expected to happen in 2015.BOE in particular has seen demand for HD handset panels increase, which will account for over 30% of its total handset panel shipments by the end of 2014 and later past 40% in 2015. Tianma meanwhile will see its proportion of Full HD handset panels increase to 6.5% in 2015 and China-based InfoVision Optoelectronics (IVO) will see its proportion of entry-level handset panel shipments on its 5G a-Si TFT LCD fab account for 35.4% of total handset panel shipments by the end of 2015.Digitimes Research added that China vendors hope to further drop pricing for mid-range smartphones in 2014 to less than CNY800 (US$130) - the current pricing - and will also aim to have CNY400 and below entry-level smartphones available for third- and fourth-tier China cities in addition to various emerging markets.

Following the announcement that Foxconn Electronics will collaborate with Innolux to invest roughly US$2.8 billion to construct new 6G facilities in Taiwan geared at producing LTPS technology for high-end smartphones, rumors have been spreading in the market as to which clients the two companies intend to target.Apple has been cited from various news sources in China and Taiwan as the most likely candidate due to its relationship with Foxconn. Foxconn chairman Terry Gou has stated over the years that the company is working to improve its supply chain integration for Apple products, and industry sources have stated that Innolux is hoping to re-enter the Apple panel supply chain after a reported falling out due to technology issues.Gou's remarks, however, have been followed by what seems to be an increasing lack of enthusiasm for Apple. The chairman has recently stated that Apple orders to the company are either hot or cold, fluctuating to the point where Foxconn and various other supply chain members feel it is difficult to rely too much on Apple.It may be no surprise then that other reports are starting to pop up over the past week in China. Taiwan and Japan media have reported that Xiaomi Technology in fact will likely be the target for the Foxconn and Innolux collaboration. Xiaomi, which shipped 26.11 million smartphones in the first half of 2014 and aims to ship a total of 60 million units for all of 2014, plans to further develop its business model in countries outside of China moving into 2015, and expects its smartphone shipments to reach 100 million units next year, increasing more than 66% from 2014.The China-based smartphone maker currently sources most of its panel supply from Japan-based makers and is hoping to have further access to LTPS TFT LCD technology in upcoming years, as it aims to expand its global market share. Xiaomi currently relies on China panel makers for entry-level and mid-range smartphones but needs outside makers to fulfill high-end panel demand.It would be surprising, however, if Apple was not at least in part of the picture. The firm needs a new source of panel supply as it constantly faces supply issues from makers due to low yields and other technological bottlenecks. If Apple could gain access to a more integrated supply chain, it could prove beneficial for both Apple and Foxconn, otherwise the move might in fact further help Xiaomi push to the top as a leading smartphone vendor.

Samsung Electronics, Apple and LG Electronics ranked as the top-three smartphone vendors globally in the third quarter as well as the first three quarters of 2014, based on third-quarter reports released by individual vendors and data from makers in the supply chain, according to Digitimes Research.China-based vendors Huawei, Xiaomi Technology and Lenovo took the fourth, fifth and seventh positions, respectively, during the same period, Digitimes Research added.Additionally, five out of the top-10 vendors in the January-September period were China-based suppliers, with Xiaomi leading all vendors with a nearly 200% on-year shipment growth. China-based ZTE, which ranked eighth in 2013, has dropped out of the top-10 list.Global smartphone shipments are expected to reach 1.219 billion units in 2014, growing less than 30% from a year earlier. For 2015, global smartphone shipments will expand 22% on-year to 1.488 billion units, contributed by shipment growth in emerging markets, Digitimes Research estimated.

Taiwan-based ODMs and own-brand makers will ship 24.05 million handsets in the fourth quarter of 2014, increasing 15.1% on quarter and 43.8% on year. 20.55 million units (85.4%) will be smartphones, growing 11.7% on quarter and 27% on year, according to Digitimes Research.WCDMA will account for 74.2% of the handset shipments, GSM 13.3% and CDMA 2000 12.5%, Digitimes Research indicated.Among ODMs and own-brand makers, Chi Mei Communication Systems will have the largest handset shipments accounting for 32.8% of the total, followed by HTC with 21.6%, Compal Electronics 17.5%, Asustek Computer 14.6% and Arima Communications 12.5%.

Following China-based application processor (AP) supplier Rockchip's entry into the Chromebook industry, China-based end device makers are also expected to join the Chromebook supply chain, according to information Digitimes Research has collected from the Greater China supply chain.China-based Bitland and BYD will start producing Chromebooks for brand vendors in 2015 and they will be among only a handful of makers capable of making the device.Digitimes Research believes Google's recruitment of Rockchip into the Chromebook camp is meant to expand the the device's supply chain.Currently, most non-Samsung Chromebooks available in the market are produced by Quanta Computer, while Compal Electronics has a small amount of orders from Acer and Lenovo. Samsung Electronics manufactures its Chromebooks in house.In 2015, Google is looking to relax the entry barriers to its Chromebook supply chain by expanding its partnerships with chipmakers and manufacturers. Bitland and BYD are both expected to enter the Chromebook supply chain because of Rockchip. Lenovo is also expected to launch products using their platformsLenovo has been outsourcing a small volume of notebook orders to Bitland for a long time and the maker is also a major ODM partner of Lenovo's motherboards and has even established plants in Hefei, China, specifically for the vendor.BYD, which has been operating in the notebook manufacturing industry for many years, has a tight relationship with Rockchip. Although BYD used to make tablets for Dell, Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Toshiba, these products' shipments were mostly weaker than expected because of unstable product development.For non-China-based firms, Digitimes Research believes that apart from Acer and Samsung, other brand vendors will also see their Chromebook shipments gradually pick up. While Chromebook manufacturing currently relies heavily on Quanta, the supply chain will see changes. But the changes may not occur until 2016.

The combined revenues of Taiwan's top-six LCD driver IC makers are expected to register a 6.1% increase in 2014, according to Digitimes Research.Revenues for the top-six makers reached NT$24.5 billion (US$792.5 million) in the third quarter of 2014, up 4.3% on quarter, Digitimes Research disclosed. The sequential growth was slower than expected due to disappointing demand from China's smartphone and tablet markets.Looking into the fourth quarter, Taiwan's top-six LCD driver IC makers will see their combined revenues decrease 1.5% on quarter as a result of seasonal factors, Digitimes Research indicated. For all of 2014, the makers will collectively generate NT$93.55 billion in driver IC revenues, up 6.1% on year.

With Microsoft Mobile's announcement in July 2014 it will terminate its feature phone business within a year and a half, Samsung Electronics and China's white-box handset players have been aggressively competing for the market since the third quarter, and MediaTek and Spreadtrum are both expected to benefit from Microsoft's decision.Digitimes Research estimates that Microsoft Mobile's monthly feature phone shipments in 2014 are around 10-15 million units.Visiting China's white-box handset players and related component makers, Digitimes Research discovered that the white-box industry is shipping 35-40 million feature phones each month in the second half of 2014, and with Microsoft gradually reducing its feature phone scale, they are eagerly trying to take over demand left by the software giant.Samsung, which has already shifted its focus to smartphones and tablets, originally planned to dramatically downsize its feature phone business in the first half, but has decided to increase its feature phone component orders to its upstream supply chain starting the third quarter after Microsoft's plans to quit from the feature phone industry. The growth bottleneck Samsung's smartphone business is currently encountering also prompted the vendor to take the opportunity.Since Microsoft Mobile's feature phone chips are mainly supplied by non-Taiwan and non-China players, MediaTek and Spreadtrum, the two largest chip suppliers for white-box feature phones, are expected to benefit from the business opportunities created by Microsoft's exit, according to Digitimes Research's analysis. Spreadtrum is also a major chip supplier of Samsung's feature phones.