Taiwan makers' shipments of small- to medium-size TFT LCD panels are expected to reach 337 million in the second quarter of 2014, up 12% on quarter but down 6.8% on year, according to Digitimes Research.The on-quarter increase comes amid demand for PND and vehicle applications while the on-year decline will largely be influenced from losing entry-level and mid-range handset panel shipments to makers in China and Japan.The makers' shipments for portable DVD and tablets will see 3.8% and 1.9% declines, respectively, while vehicle and PND shipments will increase 21.9% and 16.9%.Chunghwa Picture Tubes (CPT), Innolux and HannStar Display are expected to be the three main suppliers during the period, added Digitimes Research.

In a report dated 10 years ago, the Council for Economic Planning and Development made a forecast basing on the dramatic annual increase in Taiwan's aging index that a decade later every four working people would have to support one elderly person on average. However, 10 years on, less than four people now have to support one elderly person, and the number will drop to below two people in 2020.In view of this, industries have started to search for business opportunities in blue oceans. Tatung Medical & Healthcare Technologies Co., Ltd., which started by providing health-grade oxygen concentrators and other medical devices, as well as integrated medical information systems, ventured further into the healthcare sector three years ago. Aside from cooperating with the Ministry of Health and Welfare to promote telecare, it also has established a website serving as a platform for telecare management, providing chronically ill patients and elderly people with convenient and timely healthcare services."What else can be done for elderly people in addition to physical care?" Edward Chen, President of Tatung Medical & Healthcare Technologies Co., Ltd., noted that daily care for the elderly is like a very big jigsaw puzzle and telecare is just the first piece waiting for other pieces. The idea of a "5bobe" portal site for the elderly was born after brainstorming between Chen, his colleagues and professional predecessors in the industry in hopes to satisfy elderly people's needs in terms of food, clothing, housing, transportation, education, entertainment to even psychological support.The elderly's life is blessed when they engage in the Internet-enabled applicationsAccording to "The Happiness Research of Taiwan's Retirement Communities" conducted by the Commerce Development Research Institute, in terms of "Internet Usage of Retirees," 29.2% of the retirees say they will increase the frequency of using the Internet. There are reports saying that for seniors who frequently use the Internet, the Internet is like a health supplement, and their physical and mental states are better than those of the same age who notably use the Internet less. While the majority of seniors don't have computer backgrounds and they rarely use consumer electronic tools, it is important to find ways to motivate the seniors to adopt 5bobe services and become interested in the Internet.Following research and investigation results, Tatung Medical & Healthcare Technologies has designed "5bobe" to meet the criteria of usefulness, simplicity and comfort basing on the elderly people's preferences and needs. Regarding website layouts, pop-up windows, bright colors, Flash and small fonts are avoided, and all drop-down menus are limited to two levels to prevent users from having to search through layer after layer. Several four-panel comic strips and animation videos have been designed to help users learn to operate the computer step by step in an easy way. Chen indicated that seniors do use the Internet, but there are numerous barriers in the designs of many existing website interfaces. The friendly Internet environment can be expected after the removal of these barriers.The next big task after solving the interface problem is to provide proper website functions and information according to the actual needs of the seniors. After conducting several analyses, Tatung Medical & Healthcare Technologies has divided the 5bobe services into five main categories: health, entertainment, parent-child communication, purchases and welfare/allowances. They also have created an adorable character, "Little Five," who delivers relevant knowledge and new information through the health channel; introduces seniors-friendly recreational sites through the entertainment channel; teaches seniors how to interact with their children via emails, Facebook or Line through parent-child communication channel; showcases products - such as adjustable focus eyeglasses, cutleries combining the spoon and fork, chopstick helpers - that are specifically designed to assist the elderly through the elderly purchasing channel; and introduces welfare services for the elderly through the welfare/allowances channel. These make sure the elderly won't miss out on their rights.Facing the arrival of aging societies, Tatung Medical & Healthcare Technologies combines information and communication systems and services to create a comprehensive value-added supply chain supporting medicare and daily needs. It offers a better life and long-term care for the elderly, adding the new piece of "5bobe" to the jigsaw puzzle."5bobe" portal for the elderly: http://www.5bobe.com.tw/Edward Chen, President of Tatung Medical & Healthcare Technologies, hopes that the "5bobe" portal will satisfy all needs of the elderly people

Shipments of tablet-use application processors (AP) in China grew 11.2% sequentially and 40% on year in the second quarter of 2014, buoyed by a rebound in demand for tablets in the China market as well as in overseas markets. Notably, the market for tablets with phone functions is expected to continue to grow robustly, with MediaTek serving as the second largest tablet AP provider, according to Digitimes Research.Rockchip Electronics ranked as the top vendor in the second quarter with shipments increasing 25% sequentially after suffering a decline of 23.8% in the previous quarter. Rockchip also saw its market share expand significantly in the second quarter.MediaTek's tablet-AP shipments were steady in the second quarter, rising 7.1% on quarter and 87.5% on year. However, Allwinner Technology saw its AP shipments drop 7.7% on quarter due to a sharp decrease in shipments of single-core models, despite an improvement in its product portfolio, Digitimes Research said.Combined share of the top-three tablet-AP vendors reached 72.6% in the second quarter of 2014 down from 77.7% recorded in the fourth quarter of 2013. In addition to the top-three vendors, others vendors such as Spreadtrum Communications and Qualcomm have also begun shipping tablet APs, affecting vendors' market share.Tablet-AP shipments from HiSilicon Technologies, Nvidia and Intel also grew significantly in the second quarter, highlighted by Intel's efforts to strengthen its deployments in the white-box tablet segment.

Microsoft unveiled its third-generation Surface on May 20 2014. Instead of the long-rumored 7.5-inch Surface Mini, the software giant released the 12-inch Surface Pro. Digitimes Research believes the company has turned its focus back to large-size models that enable better productivity.The design of Surface Pro 3 is a device that can replace notebooks but still maintain the size and weight of a tablet. The device has a display 40% larger than its predecessor, but it weighs 10% less and is 30% thinner. The starting price is US$100 lower.Although featuring an improved price/performance ratio, the device's pricing (starting from US$799) may still be too high to attract substantial demand.Digitimes Research believes the release of the Surface Pro 3 aims less at boosting shipments of its own than opening up a new market segment to help Microsoft's OEM/ODM partners find new business opportunities and create profits from larger-size applications.In addition, launching a high-end 12-inch 2-in-1 device prior to the release of the 12.85-inch iPad is a strategic move to give Microsoft an early-bird advantage in the 11-inch and above tablet market and help the software giant enter the segment that is between high-end tablets and notebooks.

The average pricing for LCD TVs sold in the market during May 2014 was up at large as vendors continued to release new units, according to Digitimes Research.Aside from units sized 46- to 48-inch, LCD TVs pricing increased. Units sized 55-inch saw the biggest increase at 8.3% on month to roughly US$2,002 due to the amount of new TVs equipped with the size released during the time period. Most of the units happened to be Ultra HD TVs.Entry-level LCD TVs sized 60-inch meanwhile rose to US$1,229, close to what they were priced one year ago while units sized 46- to 48-inch saw small decreases in pricing, said Digitimes Research.

G1F touch panel technology used in tablet and smartphone applications will see limited shipments in 2014 while OGS shipments are expected to remain steady, according to Digitimes Research.G1F technology has mostly been used in high-end tablets and smartphones from Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and Microsoft. However, due to high costs vendors are reconsidering other technologies and are switching back to OGS in addition to other film technologies for use in their new products.G1F technology was developed as vendors looked to solutions other than G/G due to G/G thickness and weight while OGS production faced yield issues. Vendors such as Nokia, Samsung and LG, however, believe OGS has more potential for maintaining high production yields as well as strengthening for bezel-free products.Japan-based makers are also expanding production for ITO film while China makers are devloping low-priced solutions such as metal mesh, all of which will affect G1F shipments and cause the technology to lose a competitive edge in the market, said Digitimes Research.

Taiwan makers have successfully entered the supply chain of the Internet datacenter center (IDC) industry and may contribute over 90% of the global server shipments in 2014. Combined revenues from related product lines such as motherboards, back-end assembly, storage and telecommunication devices, are expected to reach NT$450 billion (US$14.94 billion) in the year, up 8.8% from 2013.In 2014, three makers are expected to achieve over NT$100 billion in revenues from the server industry: Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry), Quanta Computer and Inventec. Wistron, in fourth place, will also be able to achieve NT$50 billion for the year, Digitimes Research estimates.In the next 2-3 years, with more mega IDCs to be established, Taiwan makers will continue to enjoy revenue growths. However, Taiwan makers will need to improve on their lack of global operation plans and service centers worldwide as the market will gradually expand into other regions as well as into the small-to-medium-size enterprise industry, according to Digitimes Research.

Shipments of smartphones in the China market declined 6.4% sequentially in the first quarter of 2014 as consumers delayed plans for the purchase of new phones or replacements, given that handset vendors have postponed the release of sub-CNY1,000 (US$160) 4G models to the second quarter due to a high inventory levels of 3G smartphones, according to Digitimes Research.Samsung Electronics ranked the top smartphone vendor in China in terms of shipment volume in the first quarter of 2014, followed by Apple, Xiaomi Technology and Coolpad, said Digitimes Research.However, the popularity of the sub-CNY1,000 4G models did not pick up significantly in the first quarter of 2014 since the availability of 4G chipset solutions supporting 10 band, 5-mode standards is limited to only Qualcomm and Marvell Technology. 4G smartphones built with Qualcomm's solutions are priced CNY1,500-2,000, while those built using Marvell's can be available for less than CNY1,000. Coolpad was the only vendor that adopts Marvell's 4G solutions in the first quarter of 2014.China Mobile has a total of 770 million mobile service subscribers, accounting for over 60% of China's mobile service market, making the carrier a major force to push 4G services in China. Initially, users looking for 4G are more likely to buy high-end smartphones from international brands. Apple, which began to promote its 4G-enabled iPhones in China in cooperation with China Mobile in mid-January 2014, thus became the biggest winner in the race for 4G smartphone sales in China in the first quarter.With handset vendors expected to complete their transition from 3G to 4G and clear-out 3G inventories, plus the release of 4G solutions by MediaTek in the second quarter of 2014, China-based vendors will be eager to launch sub-CNY1,000 4G smartphones starting in the quarter, accelerating the expansion of the 4G subscriber base for China Mobile.

The global top-5 notebook brand vendors' combined shipments in April dropped 24% on month and 3% on year, while shipments of the top-3 ODMs dropped 15% on month and 9% on year, according to the latest figures from Digitimes Research. Most vendors replenished their inventories during March, and reduced their demand in April.Among the top-5 brand vendors, only Asustek Computer achieved on-month growth in April. Acer and Dell both suffered around 15% on-month drops, while Hewlett-Packard's (HP) shipments declined over 40% in April after the completion of its education procurement orders.Lenovo's shipments slid over 20% on month in April because the company had been pushing its shipments in March in order to meet the shipment goal for fiscal 2013 ended March 31, 2014.Compal Electronics, Wistron and Inventec suffered large on-month drops in April, but these ODMs were also the ones who enjoyed strong shipment rebounds in March.Despite the weakened shipment growth of tablets in the first quarter, notebook shipments still suffered a 6% on-year drop during the period. Since the second half of 2013, notebook shipments have mostly been contributed by demand from the enterprise market, entry-level education procurement orders (including the Chromebook) and demand for entry-level consumer models. Raising notebooks' added value only has a limited benefit over boosting demand, according to Digitimes Research.

LCD monitor vendors focused on releasing 24- and 28-inch Ultra HD units in April 2014, according to Digitimes Research.Many of the new units displayed at NEC in April were equipped with GB-R white light LED backlighting, which helps in improving green and red color performance, in addition to IPS wide-angle panels with Ultra HD technology.Large-size units are also a major focus of monitor vendors aiming at niche markets and maintaining profits, added Digitimes Research.