Global average retail prices for 24- and 27-inch LCD monitors in February 2015 rose on month by 6% to US$265 and 14% to US$465, respectively, according to Digitimes Research.Price increases were mainly due to sales of Ultra HD (4K) units, with Dell at the forefront. The increase in 24-inch models helped close the gap between 23-inch models, which throughout the end of December 2014 surpassed 24-inch in price. Global average retail prices for 23- and 27-inch LCD monitors in December reached US$276 and US$379, respectively, while those for 20- and 24-inch models reached US$132 and US$246.In the US and Japan specifically, average retail pricing of Dell 27-inch monitors increased due to to sales of 5K and 4K units, growing 78.3% on month in the Japan market during February and 39.9% in the US.Additionally, Samsung Electronics released three new types of Plane to Line Switching 24-inch monitors in Germany, which pushed up retail pricing for the size 11.3% on month to US$207, added Digitimes Research.

South Korea's production value for memory products, mainly DRAM and NAND flash chips, has been increasing for three consecutive quarters and reached KRW13.17 trillion (US$11.97 billion) in the fourth quarter of 2014, accounting for 57.1% of the worldwide value, according to Digitimes Research's latest findings.DRAM chips accounted for the majority of Korea's production of memory products, with the ratio rising to 72.3% in the fourth quarter of 2014, buoyed in part by strong demand from the server and other industries.For all of 2014, the production value of Korea's memory products reached KWR45.9 trillion, increasing 23.1% from a year earlier and accounting for 55.7% of the global market. Among memory products, DRAM chips totaled KWR32.6 trillion or 71%.Affected by seasonal factors, Korea's shipments of memory chips is expected to drop significantly in the first quarter of 2015 despite strong demand from the SSD sector.Meanwhile, price hikes for memory products will be limited in 2015 as most major players have not been ramping up their capacity aggressively, Digitimes Research noted.

There were 10.420 million servers (counted based on motherboards) shipped globally in 2014, increasing on year by 7.1%, and due to fast growing demand from Internet data centers, shipments in 2015 will rise 13.5% to 11.825 million units, according to Digitimes Research.Hewlett Packard was the largest vendor accounting for 21.5% of 2014 shipments, followed by Dell with 18.4%, IBM with 6.5%, Huawei Technologies and Inspur with 3.5% and 3.1% respectively, Cisco Systems with 2.7% and Lenovo with 2.3%, Digitimes Research indicated.Taiwan-based ODMs/OEMs shipped 9.259 million server motherboards in 2014, growing on year by 4.5%, and will ship 10.443 million units in 2015 with Quanta Computer, Wistron, Inventec and Foxconn Electronics to be the four largest.

Generally around the world, industrial power consumption accounts for 40-60% of a nation's total energy consumption, and 70% of the industrial power is used by motors. Accordingly, motors consume nearly 50% of a nation's power supply. If motor efficiency can be raised by 1-2%, it will greatly help reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions. Therefore, promotion of high-efficiency motors has become an important task.It is without question that motors are the commonest and most convenient source of driving force and thus are widely adopted in various mechanical rotating devices for industrial, commercial and home applications. Due to the wide adoption, the total energy consumption used by motors takes up half of a nation's power supply, so how to raise motor energy efficiency is of grave importance.Under the circumstances, the U.S. Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007(EISA 2007), in effect since December 2010, requires that manufacturers produce high-efficiency motors compliant with the National Electrical Manufacturers Association's (NEMA) premium efficiency (equivalent to IE3). Furthermore, the regions applying the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standard including Europe and Japan will start to implement the IE3 standard from 2015 in succession. It is obvious that high-efficiency motors have become a prevailing trend worldwide."We have been devoted to the R&D and manufacture of high-efficiency motors for over a decade. Our high-efficiency motors complied with the U.S. EPAct Energy Efficient Level (equivalent to IE2) as early as 1997. Closely following the EISA regulations effective later on, we continue to offer a full lineup of NEMA Premium 1-200Hp motors," indicated Hank Y.H. Wu, General Manager, Motor Design Division, Motor Business Unit, TATUNG Power Business Group.Varying standards across different regions challenge suppliers' technological capabilitiesJudging from past export experience, Wu pointed out each country has different regulations about motors. To provide IE3 premium-efficiency motors compliant with vastly different requirements around the world is a challenge to suppliers' capabilities in terms of finding a balance among production, design and materials.Take the U.S. for example. Although it leads the world in high-efficiency motor implementation schedule, the NEMA standard has no limitation on motor frame sizes. That is, the horsepower rating and number of poles is not strictly related to the frame size, so suppliers have more flexibility in production and can meet the high-efficiency requirements by properly elongating iron cores and adding copper conductors.However, Japan's JIS and Taiwan's CNS standards previously set a direct bond between the horsepower rating and number of poles and the frame size. In other words, a certain rating and number of poles had to correspond to a fixed frame size, meaning the external mounting dimensions were fixed. These standards have been long adopted and followed by users in the regions. As a result, when the new IE2 or IE3 standard replaces older specifications, new motors, despite their higher efficiency, still have to follow old requirements on external dimensions for customer substitution convenience. Furthermore, Japan has a demand to satisfy different voltage and frequency application (200V/220V, 50Hz/60Hz), posing additional difficulty for motors to meet the IE3 standard. As such, more sophisticated technologies, other than just adding copper conductors and elongating iron cores, are needed to overcome these limitations. Therefore, to produce IE3 premium-efficiency motors meeting Japan and Taiwan requirements is a challenge in terms of both costs and technology, indicated Wu.In search of a breakthrough to enhance efficiency through design and material improvementWu explained the internal structure of a motor is actually quite simple, made up of a stator and a rotor formed by stacking silicon steel sheets comprising an iron core. The stator and rotor has multiple slots for copper or aluminum conductors to pass through. Electromagnetic loss resulted from electric current and magnetic flux passing through the conductors and the iron core is the main source of motor energy loss. Therefore, adding copper conductors and elongating the iron core is a basic way to reduce loss and raise efficiency. In addition to adding copper and iron, other methods to reduce mechanical loss and stray loss should also be considered. For example, mechanical loss due to friction resulted from rotation of bearings or fans can be reduced by optimizing bearing selection, fan design and airflow circulation, thereby enhancing heat dissipation and fan efficiency. In terms of electrical engineering, a matching design of the slot shape and slot number and the number of winding turns are areas with room for improvement. However, Wu pointed out the efficiency improvement generated from simply making design improvements in electrical or mechanical engineering or even from selecting higher grade iron core materials can hardly compare to the effects achieved by adding copper and iron. All factors have to be considered to strike a balance that creates optimum effects.The Taiwan government has planned to implement IE3 from July 1, 2016, but Tatung is a step ahead and had already launched IE3 premium-efficiency motors suitable for the Taiwan market in June 2014. Tatung keeps working on striking a balance between design optimization as well as material selection and making improvements and breakthroughs on details including frame fin shapes, casing thickness, fan construction, and slot shape design. Advanced products are scheduled to enter the market by 2016.Wu reiterated although high-efficiency motors have higher prices, which may deter users from making purchases, they actually have a long operation life of 10-20 years. From the perspective of product lifetime, the purchase costs are insignificant as electricity expenses take up a large proportion of operation costs. Accordingly, users may pay slightly higher to purchase a high-efficiency motor, but the savings on electricity expenses during operation will compensate for and be far beyond the purchase costs. Therefore, high-efficiency motors are a smart and valuable investment.Hank Y.H. Wu, General Manager, Motor Design Division, Motor Business Unit, TATUNG Power Business Group

The production value of Taiwan's IC design industry will rise 13.1% in 2015, thanks mainly to continued-strong demand coming from the smartphone sector, according to Digitimes Research.The output from MediaTek, Taiwan's largest IC design house, will remain a key contributor for the island's overall IC design industry output value in 2015, Digitimes Research suggested. MediaTek specializes in SoC designs for smartphones and tablets.Meanwhile, LCD driver IC specialists such as Novatek Microelectronics and Himax Technologies will enjoy brisk shipments buoyed mainly by growing demand for Ultra HD TVs, Digitimes Research indicated. As for small-size panel applications, the companies will also benefit from rising product ASPs as more smartphones feature higher resolution displays, Digitimes Research said.In addition, companies in the analog IC and niche memory sectors are expected to perform well in 2015 making a positive contribution to the overall industry's production value, Digitimes Research noted. The production value of Taiwan's IC design industry is forecast to reach NT$612.01 billion (US$19.5 billion) in 2015.

Tablet application processor (AP) shipments to China are estimated to decline 24.2% sequentially to reach 26.3 million units in the first quarter of 2015. Compared to the same period a year ago, the volume will drop 7.7% and be the first time China's tablet AP shipments experience an on-year decline because of excess inventory from the fourth quarter of 2014, fewer working days in the quarter due to the Lunar New Year holidays, and seasonal factors.In the fourth quarter of 2014, tablet AP shipments to China grew 4.7% from a quarter earlier to reach 34.7 million units, according to Digitimes Research's figures.As for tablet AP suppliers' performances in the first quarter, top-three suppliers of the fourth quarter of 2014, MediaTek, Rockchip and Allwinner Technology will all suffer significant declines sequentially, especially Allwinner. MediaTek will see a drop smaller than Allwinner, allowing MediaTek's market share to rise slightly by 1.1pp on quarter to reach 28.5%.Rockchip is also facing tough challenges from China's weak demand. Although the company's new tablet solutions launched at the end of 2014 were not able to achieve strong shipments, the supplier will still be able to raise its market share by 0.6pp from a quarter ago in the first quarter because of Allwinner.Allwinner's market share will slump from 17.6% in the fourth quarter of 2014 to 15.6% in the first quarter of 2015, being surpassed by Intel, which will see its market share rise from 15% to 16.3%.In terms of AP architecture, the Cortex-A7 will account for 53% of the overall volume in the first quarter, down slightly from 53.5% in the fourth quarter of 2014. Although more suppliers are developing 64-bit solutions, there will not be any obvious market share growth due to weak market demand.

Taiwan makers' shipments of touch panels used in handsets and tablets are expected to drop 10.8% and 22.3%, respectively, in the first quarter of 2015, according to Digitimes Research.During the fourth quarter of 2014 Wintek suffered financially and G/G orders from Apple were weak, which influenced the 8.1% sequential decline in handset touch panel orders the makers witnessed during the quarter despite the period traditionally being a strong time for orders.However, tablet touch panel orders during the fourth quarter rose 9.4% on quarter but the number was weaker than the 35.9% growth recorded from makers outside Greater China.Taiwan makers' shipments of notebook touch panels meanwhile declined 13.2% in the fourth quarter as demand strengthened in the previous quarter, and are expected to increase 56% in the first quarter of 2015 due to new orders including those for 2-in-1 notebook/tablet applications.In terms of technology, On-Cell is showing obvious signs of growth in the market, with Innolux targeting international vendors such as Motorola Mobility for handset applications and AU Optronics (AUO) notebook applications. Innolux is also pushing thin-film solutions.Digitimes Research also found that TPK is losing strength in orders for silver-nano-wire technology but is growing in OGS orders for higher-end smartphone and tablet applications from international vendors. The company is also expected to lead the way in orders for OGS applications used in notebooks and 2-in-1 units, which will push its notebook touch panel shipments up 79.7% on quarter in the first quarter of 2015.

Within the Internet of Things (IoT) market the smart home segment is one of the most talked about areas. However, there currently lacks a mainstream standard, and vendors, content providers and other service providers are still trying to solidify plans on how to tackle the market and create business opportunities in 2015, according to Digitimes Research.Multiple content platforms for TV applications have emerged from different vendors and content providers. In addition, other service-based and product-based companies are still assessing how to squeeze into relevant ecosystems and provide value.Connecting other smart appliances is currently a focus for vendors as well, but developing related services that hardware providers have yet to provide is still a factor many vendors are discussing going into 2015, added Digitimes Research.

The global LED lighting market value in 2015 is estimated at US$29.908 billion, increasing on year by 24.8% and accounting for 27.2% of the 2015 global market value for all lighting products, according to Digitimes Research.LED light bulbs, light tubes (T5), projection lamps and street lamps are the four main categories of LED lighting products, Digitimes Research indicated.There will be 1.81 billion LED light bulbs shipped globally in 2015, hiking on year by 59.9% and taking up 13.9% of all light bulbs shipped in the year.Global LED light tube shipments in 2015 will reach 520 million units, growing on year by 58.5% with a penetration rate of 13% of global shipments for all types of light tubes.There will be 1.035 billion LED projection lamps shipped globally in 2015, with on-year growth of 56.3% and penetration of 23%.Global LED street lamp shipments will rise on year by 30.1% to 9.43 million units in 2015, accounting for 11% of all street lamps shipped in the year.

China's government policies for supporting the local IC design industry have put less emphasis on intervention measures such as offering tax breaks, providing direct financial support, and making purchases of domestic products, while shifting their focus to the establishment of investment funds, according to a recent Digitimes Research Special Report.The report, titled 2015 China IC design market forecast, notes that investment funds will be set up by not only China's central government, but also local governments, aiming to foster the development of the local IC design industry. The government-led funds will play an important role in driving the industry growth during the nation's 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), Digitimes Research said.The No. 18 Document of China's State Council already gave strong support to IC companies with tax incentives, direct financial assistance and government purchases of domestic products, Digitimes Research suggested. Between 2001 and 2010, the number of China-based IC foundries grew to nine companies from four, while the number of IC design firms increased rapidly to 479 companies from 98.The No. 4 Document announced by China's State Council in 2011 showed that tax incentives awarded to the local IC companies have been narrowed significantly. The move indicates a change in government policies for supporting the local IC industry.