China makers' shipments of touch panels used in smartphone, tablet and notebook applications are expected to grow 7.1%, 3.6% and 10% respectively on quarter during the third quarter of 2014, according to Digitimes Research.

Taiwan makers' shipments of large-size TFT LCD panels sized 9-inch and above reached 67.92 million in the third quarter of 2014, up 0.6% on quarter and up 5.3% on year, according to Digitimes Research.

The top-three Japan-based telecom operators, NTT DoCoMo, KDDI au and SoftBank Mobile, have adopted different approaches to promote smartphones for the winter season, according to Digitimes Research.

Global notebook shipments, which are expected to decline 2.1% on year in 2014, will further drop 1.7% in 2015 to reach 168 million units, despite Microsoft's attempts to stimulate demand in the PC market.

Major China-based handset vendors including Coolpad, Lenovo and Xiaomi Technology are unlikely to reach their shipment goals set for 2014 due to slow sales of 4G models in the third quarter and gloomy prospects for the fourth quarter, according to Digitimes Research.

Intel, which launched the Classmate PC specifically for emerging countries' education markets in 2007, did not achieve significant results with its StudyBook tablet in 2012. But in 2013, it released the Education Tablets, renewing its efforts for the educational segment...

Digitimes Research believes Apple is planning to sacrifice its gross margins to save its tablet business, which has already fallen into decline. Apple's entry into price competition is also expected to impact sales of its competitors' high-end tablets.

Despite Intel and Microsoft subsidies, Digitimes Research expects global notebook shipments, not including 2-in-1 models, to drop 4.4% on year and 2.6% sequentially in the fourth quarter, as Windows XP will have less of an effect on boosting demand in the enterprise segment and most of the inventory preparation for year-end shopping sales has already been completed in the second and third...

Most 7-inch tablets' prices have dropped significantly during October with several first-tier vendors' 8GB models even dropping to as low as US$99. Meanwhile, 8-inch tablets also seen their prices decrease with stable panel supply and vendors expanding their investments in related products. Among the vendors, Lenovo was the most aggressive about price cuts.

Following the passing of Japan's 2014 amendment of financial instruments and exchange act, etc. on May 23, 2014, unlisted companies in Japan are now allowed to raise funds through the Internet and the move is expected to prompt Japan's crowd funding platforms to include investment projects, which is expected to help expand the related market.