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.

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...

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.

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...

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.

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.

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.

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.

China's anti-trust investigation of Qualcomm has come to an end with the US chip vendor making concessions in order control damage to its operations in the country. The fine for the company and its agreement to adjust licensing fees are expected to only have a limited impact on Qualcomm's revenues and gross margins...

In an effort to secure TV panels in 2015 as supply will be limited, Korea-based TV vendors Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are each planning to outsource TV production orders to makers in Taiwan and China such as Compal and BOE who have relations with supply chain makers that can guarantee supply, according to Digitimes Research.