After a short shipment rebound in May and June, the global top-five notebook brand vendors and top-three notebook ODMs saw their combined shipments drop 34% and 24% on month and 17% and 19% on year in July, respectively.Lenovo, Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Acer's shipments suffered over 30% on-month and over 20% on-year decreases in July. Asustek's decline was not as bad, but its also saw shipments drop 20% on month and 15% on year. On the other hand, Dell enjoyed single-digit percentage growths both on month and on year in July thanks to its direct-sales business model, allowing it to avoid an inventory pileup.The top-three notebook ODMs also saw on-month drops in July. Of the three, Compal and Wistron had sharper drops than Quanta Computer since Quanta's orders from Apple enjoyed strong growth in July, helping its on-month shipment decline in the month to be smaller than the average.Compared to the same month a year ago, all three ODMs had an about 20% shipment decline as most brand vendors had weaker on -year sales.Digitimes Research said weak demand in the market and brand vendors holding back their product releases until after the launch of Windows 10 were the key issues causing shipments to drop. With the delay of Intel's mid-range and entry-level Skylake processors, Digitimes Research expects a serious impact on the notebook market's performance in August.

China-based touch panel makers will ship 179.54 million units during the third quarter of 2015, increasing 15.5% on quarter. Shipments will consist of 153.06 million smartphone-use units up 15.6% on quarter, 25.26 million tablet-use units, up 15.9%, and 1.23 million notebook-use units, down 7.6%, according to Digitimes Research.The sequential growth in smartphone and tablet touch panel shipments will be due to demand from China-based smartphone vendors and China-based white-box tablet vendors, Digitimes Research indicated.Among China-based touch panel makers, Truly Opto-electronics has become a supplier of OGS (one glass solution) touch panels for Sony Mobile Communications and has additionally landed OGS orders from Microsoft Mobile, while Chung Hua EELY Enterprise will maintain supply for Samsung Electronics.

Global tablet shipments are expected to decline 15% on year to reach 51.88 million units in the third quarter as the mobile device market continues to see weak demand despite vendors' inventory preparation for the year-end holidays, the launch of Windows 10 and growth in the 4G services market. However, China-based white-box players will see a 15% growth from the second quarter because their orders from overseas markets will recover, boosting their combined shipments to over 19 million units, according to Digitimes Research's latest report on the global tablet market.As for iPads' shipments, Apple will continue to sell the existing iPad Air models instead of launching a new one for the 9-inch segment. Apple's 12.85-inch iPad is expected to initially see small-volume shipments, leaving the overall iPad shipments to reach only below 12 million units in the third quarter, down 20% from the same quarter a year ago, Digitimes Research estimates.Compared to Apple and white-box players, non-Apple brand vendors are expected perform better in the third quarter thanks to their mainstream Android tablet shipments. Windows 10 will not benefit 2-in-1 devices much yet and is unlikely to do so until Intel releases its next-generation processors at the end of the third quarter.Non-Apple brand vendors will together ship over 20 million tablets in the third quarter, down around 7% on year.The top-3 players will remain Apple, Samsung and Lenovo, while Asustek will return to fourth place thanks to the mass production of its SoFIA 3G-R-based ZenPad. TCL will be fifth, while Microsoft will slide to seventh because its new Surface tablet will not enter mass production until the fourth quarter.As for Taiwan ODMs, their combined tablet shipments will grow 10% sequentially to reach around 17 million units in the third quarter.

Japan-based RT Works has launched Robot Assist Walker RT. 1, an autonomous walking-assisting cart to help old people walk, in the Japan market, becoming the fourth model of personal care robots that have been certified by ISO 13482 safety requirements, according to Digitimes Research.Equipped with two brushless motors as well as motion and environmental sensors, Robot Assist Walker RT. 1 can help old users walk uphill and automatically slow down or brake when users walk downhill, Digitimes Research indicated. Robot Assist Walker RT. 1 is also equipped with wireless communication and GPS functions to facilitate remote monitoring of users by their families. In addition, RT Works has cooperated with Japan-based IT consulting firm Fujitsu FSAS to collect data from users of Robot Assist Walker RT. 1 for analysis to provide personal care solutions.HAL (hybrid assistive limb), a powered exoskeleton suit to support and expand physically disabled people's physical capabilities, is another personal care robot with ISO 13482 certification. Jointly developed by University of Tsukuba and Japan-based Cyberdyne, HAL has been adopted for medical use in the Europe market.

July average retail pricing for 7W LED (40W incandescent equivalent) light bulbs in the China market decreased 10.2% on month to CNY30.8 (US$4.9), while that for 9W ones (60W incandescent equivalent) increased by 13.9% to CNY38.4, according to Digitimes Research.Average retail prices for 40W- and 60W-equivalent LED light bulbs in the Japan market in July stood at JPY1,695 (US$14.0) and JPY2,788 respectively, with the former slipping by 5.6% sequentially and the latter by 2.2%, Digitimes Research indicated.July average retail prices for 40W- and 60W-equivalent models in other markets were: KRW9,907 (US$8.9, down 0.7% on month) and KRW12,710 (down 5.3%) in South Korea; US$18.1 (down 7.7%) and US$19.3 (up 4.3%) in the US; EUR9.4 (US$10.3, down 5.1%) and EUR12.8 (down 1.5%) in Europe.Philips 40W-equivalent and 60W-equivalent models for sale in the South Korea market had the highest average lumen-price ratios of 102.6lm/US$ and 126.7lm/US$ respectively in July. In terms of luminous efficiency, Toshiba 40W- and 60-equivalent models available in the Japan market had the highest average levels of 81.3lm/W and 105.1lm/W respectively.

Shipments of smartphone application processors in the China market are expected to grow 9.7% and 16% on quarter, respectively, in the third and fourth quarters of 2015, according to Digitimes Research.Overall, China's smartphone-use AP shipments will increase 23.5% on year to 300 million units in the second half of 2015, Digitimes Research estimated.Despite seasonal factors, smartphone AP shipments in China advanced 8.7% on quarter and 23.8% on year to reach 128 million units in the second quarter thanks to a decline in inventory in the previous quarter and new models launched by smartphone vendors, Digitimes Research noted.Among the top-five smartphone AP suppliers, MediaTek is expected to see its shipment growth slow down in the third and fourth quarters after a significant gain in the second quarter.Spreadtrum Communications is expected to roll out two solutions, the SC7731G and SC9830A, for the entry-level segment in the second half of 2015, which will add pressure on MediaTek and Qualcomm in the low price sector.Qualcomm is expected to see its shipments decline in the third quarter before making a rebound in the fourth quarter, buoyed by the launch of new products.Shipments from HiSilicon Technologies will gain momentum starting the third quarter as the vendor plans to roll out new chips for high-end smartphones in the quarter.Leadcore Technology's AP shipments will suffer a setback in the third quarter due to decreased orders from Xiaomi Technology, but will rebound in the fourth quarter thanks to new orders from Xiaomi and other smartphone vendors, Digitimes Research commented.

Taiwan makers' shipments of LCD TVs reached 7.97 million in the second quarter of 2015, up 6.6% on quarter but down 8.6% on year, according to Digitimes Research.Demand in the second quarter was weak overall and the makers' saw weak shipments to Mexico despite previous ongoing demand. China-based TV vendor Haier reduced orders and Compal suffered from a decline in orders from Toshiba.The makers proportion of shipments to the US increased to 45.6% in the second quarter, up from 43% in the previous quarter but down from 52.1% in the fourth quarter of 2014. Shipments to Asia held a 27.8% share while 30-inch and below size units held a 10% share and 50-inch and above size units 20%.Digitimes Research noted that 25.7% of shipments in the second quarter were on an OBM (own-brand manufacturing) basis, with 30% of shipments going to the US and 2.6% to Korea.Heading into the third quarter, Taiwan makers LCD TV shipments will climb 22.1% on quarter to 9.71 million and another 4.6% in the fourth quarter of 2015 due to rising orders for 23.6-inch units to Mexico as well as 50-inch units globally.For 2015, Taiwan makers' LCD TV shipments will decline 2.3% on year to 35.35 million to hold a 16% share of the 221 million shipped globally.

Taiwan makers' shipments of small- to medium-size panels slipped 0.4% in the second quarter of 2015 to 287 million due to shrinking orders for feature handsets, according to Digitimes Research.Within the total shipments figure, handset panel shipments declined 7.6% on quarter due to weakening feature handset demand. Shipments of other applications grew to help rebound losses from the handset segment, with smartwatch panel shipments growing 38.4% on quarter to 16.28 million.The makers are shifting their proportion of handset panels to smartphone applications and expect the move will help bump up shipments in the following quarter to 312 million, up 8.5% on year. The third-quarter shipment figure will also represent a 5.5% on-year decline but will come as a result of producing larger-size panels, therefore decreasing the amount of panels cut.Innolux is expected to be the largest supplier of smartphone panels in Taiwan during the third quarter, with shipments growing 10.7% on quarter, followed by HannStar Display at 5% growth.In terms of vehicle applications, Taiwan makers' shipments will grow 11.7% in the third quarter and then decline 3.9% sequentially in the fourth quarter, said Digitimes Research.

Taiwan makers' shipments of large-size (9-inch and above) TFT LCD panels are expected to only grow 0.7% on quarter in the third quarter of 2015 followed by 0.6% sequential growth in the fourth quarter, according to Digitimes Research. Both of the slight increases will represent on-year declines, however, due to weak demand for PC products and LCD TV vendors adjusting reserves in the second half.Despite the expected decline, panel makers have had plans to expand large-size panel production capacity by 3.1% on quarter in the third quarter of 2015 followed by 4.7% on quarter in the fourth quarter. Due to this increase while large-size panel demand will in fact be weak, Digitimes Research expects it will prompt oversupply in the market over the next 6-12 months.In 2015, global large-size LCD panel shipments are expected to reach 681.6 million, down 4.6% on year. Global TV panel shipments will be the only application that sees on-year growth, with shipments expected to climb 3.3% on year to 258.7 million while notebook and tablet panels will each see 9-10% on-year declines.Taiwan makers' overall 2015 large-size LCD panel shipments will reach 235.1 million, down 11.2% on year, said Digitimes Research. AU Optronics (AUO) and Innolux will account for 102.5 million and 124.4 million respectively while overall Taiwan shipments will account for 37.1% of the global total, down from 34.5% in 2014.

Global tablet shipments declined 10% sequentially and over 15% on year to reach only 45.76 million units in the second quarter, according to Digitimes Research's latest report on the global tablet market. Major markets felt the impacts of weak currencies; mid-range to entry-level large-size smartphones continued to cannibalize tablets; and vendors saw high inventory.Tablet shipments from white-box players were 16.6 million units in the second quarter, down over 10% sequentially as these devices' demand was greatly impacted by large-size smartphones and competitor products from brand vendors. White-box players' dual-OS tablets also saw weakening demand, data collected by Digitimes Research showed.Apple's iPad shipments continued to decline and reached 10.3 million units in the second quarter because of seasonality. Apple will stop the production of its existing iPad mini in the near future and the new fourth-generation iPad mini is expected to launch in the early fourth quarter.Non-Apple brand vendors had stable performance in the second quarter, during which they shipped 18.86 million tablets, down 7.4% sequentially. Samsung Electronics and Lenovo were the second and the third largest, followed by Microsoft in fourth place thanks to significant demand for its Surface 2-in-1 devices.TCL, which sees stable development in non-China markets, continues to expand its tablet business via its smartphone channels and surpassed Asustek Computer - which saw its Android- and Windows-based tablet devices impacted by weak demand - by a slight gap.Taiwan ODMs' combined tablet shipments in the second quarter also achieved a new low at 15.47 million units. The largest Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) was greatly impacted by iPad Air's weak sales, while Compal had acquired extra iPad mini orders from Apple. Compal accounted for 30% of all tablets shipped from Taiwan-based makers.