Large-size (9-inch and above) TFT LCD panel shipments are expected to reach 675 million units in 2014, down 1.4% on year, according to Digitimes Research.LCD TV panel shipments will see only 0.7% growth. Panel shipments will outpace LCD TV shipments through the end of 2013, which means that inventory will be high going into 2014.Additionally, LCD monitor and notebook panel shipments are expected to drop further in 2014 but all-in-one (AIO) PC panel shipments are expected to slightly increase.Digitimes Research said despite the decline in large-size TFT LCD shipments, panel surface area shipped during 2014 will rise 4.1% on year, compared with 2% on-year growth in 2013.The on-year decline will be the second year in a row.Meanwhile, Ultra HD TV panel shipments are expected to reach 15.3 million units in 2014, up over 400% on year.Medium-size (7- to 8.9-inch) TFT LCD panel shipments are expected to increase 4.6% in 2014, added Digitimes Research.

Apple shipped a total of 33.8 million iPhones, including the 5s, 5c and older models, in the third quarter of 2013, increasing 25.7% from a year earlier, according to data compiled by Digitimes Research.Sales of the iPhone 5c have been lagging far behind the iPhone 5s because the 5c has a low price/performance ratio and a vague pricing as compared to the iPhone 5s, forcing Apple to push sales of older models with reduced prices in emerging markets, Digitimes Research said.As a result, the ASP of iPhones dropped to a historical low of US$577.2 in the third quarter, resulting in Apple's revenues growing at a pace slower than the growth in shipments and also affecting the vendor's profitability.After completing the first full quarter of sales in fourth-quarter 2013, sales of the new iPhone models are expected to hit a new quarterly high, but Apple is unlikely to see its market share moving upward due to low shipment growth and lack of competitiveness in emerging markets, Digitimes Research commented.Apple remains active pushing sales of the new iPhones to China, and its pending cooperation with China Mobile, which accounts for 70% of China's mobile phone user market, will be a shot in the arm for its efforts to ramp up its share in China.Sales of iPhones in Japan have been growing steadily, although the impact of sales of new iPhones to the market by an additional distributor, NTT DoCoMo, has not been fully revealed. With NTT DoCoMo holding a leading market share in terms of the number of mobile users, shipments of iPhones in Japan are expected to grow significantly in the fourth quarter, Digitimes Research indicated.Source: Company, compiled by Digitimes, November 2013

Global smartphone shipments are expected to reach about 1.24 billion in 2014, up 30% on year, according to Digitimes Research.The increase in growth is expected to be driven by demand in Russia, India, Indonesia and Latin America countries.Digitimes Research believes that Samsung Electronics will lead the way in shipments followed by Apple, LG Electronics, Sony, Lenovo, Huawei Device, Microsoft, ZTE, Coolpad and TCL.Android and IOS operating systems are expected to be used in about 93% of the devices shipped in 2014, added Digitimes Research.

Shipments of smartphones in the China market declined 8.8% sequentially to 78.2 million units in the third quarter of 2013, according to data compiled by Digitimes Research.The top-four smartphone vendors in China - ZTE, Huawei, Coolpad and Lenovo - saw their respective shipments slip in a range from 800,000 to 2.6 million units in the third quarter as the vendors were forced to delay the launch of new models amid stockpiles of entry-level models.However, smartphone sales in China are expected to rebound to over 100 million units in the fourth quarter of 2013, driven by an increasing number of smartphone subscribers and falling smartphone prices.The number of 3G service subscribers with China Mobile increased by a rate of 10 million in August alone, while prices of dual- and quad-core smartphones and display sizes of 4.5-5-inch have fallen to the sub-CNY1,000 (US$164) segment, Digitimes Research indicated.For non-local brands, Samsung Electronics shipped 16 million smartphones in China in the third quarter, while HTC saw its shipments drop 34.2% sequentially to 1.5 million units during the period.Apple is expected to see shipments of iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c in China reach 30 million units in the fourth quarter after the two models were launched in mid-September, Digitimes Research estimated.

LCD monitor vendors are looking to new sizes for high-end products as a way to further carve out a niche in the market amid declining sales and increased competition from ultra-mobile devices.Evidence of this has already made its way into the market when Hewlett-Packard (HP) released two new 30-inch LCD monitors, one in the China market and one in Japan. Both units come equipped with WUXGA (2560 by 1600) resolution and IPS panels.Digitimes Research expects other monitor vendors to release similar sized products in addition to 29-inch units through the end of 2013 and into 2014. Monitors sized 29- and 30-inch, however, have limited panel supply as most panel makers do not focus on production of those sizes, therefore the monitors are expected to be aimed at niche markets.In addition to the new sizes, the vendors also plan to include HDMI/DisplayPort dual interface technology and other high-end features to attract customers, added Digitimes Research.

Global tablet shipments are expected to reach 289 million units in 2014, up 23.6% on year. The growth, however, will be weaker than that for smartphones due to the fact that the tablet market has already entered the maturity stage, according to Digitimes Research's latest figures.In 2014, non-Apple first-tier brand vendors' products are expected to have more room for price cuts, making their products even more competitive in China than their white-box competitors. The lower pricing means retailers will be more eager to promote their products. The gap in terms of functionality between Google's official Android operating system and Android Open Source Project (used mostly by China white-box vendors) are also expected to be widen. As a result, the non-Apple first-tier vendors' combined shipments are expected to grow dramatically to 105 million units in 2014, slightly surpassing China white-box vendors' combined shipments of 104 million units, according to estimates by Digitimes Research.Although the fifth-generation iPad (Air) is expected to attract consumers and stimulate replacement demand, the device's high pricing are expected to limit iPad series products' shipment growth in 2014 with the volume to reach only 80 million units.As for brand vendors' rankings, Apple and Samsung Electronics will remain in the top two in 2014. Since Samsung will adopt more aggressive marketing and pricing strategies in 2014, its shipments will reach 52.5 million units, reducing its gap with the market leader Apple. Lenovo, as the largest PC vendor worldwide and with advantages in its home market of China, is expected to ship 9.5 million units in 2014 to take third place in the tablet market.Having failed to obtain orders for the next-generation Google Nexus tablets, Asustek Computer is expected to step up promoting its own-brand tablets, and it will ship nine million units in 2014, becoming the fourth largest vendor.Acer will have a strong presence in entry-level segment, shipping 6.7 million tablets in 2014 to take sixth place, while Google will be the fifth largest vendor. Amazon's and Microsoft's shipments will stay flat or grow only slightly on year.Digitimes Research expects 7-inch models to remain as the mainstream size for branded tablets in 2014 with shipments set to reach 89.1 million units. But the segment's share of total tablet shipments will drop below 50%. Brand vendors are expected to place more emphasis on 8-inch models as they look to avoid fierce competition in the 7-inch segment, which is crowded with low-price and white-box products. Shipents to the 8-inch segment are expected to reach 30 million units in 2014, triple the volume in 2013 and surpassing 10-inch models' 25.4 million units.As for Taiwan ODMs, their shipments will hit 117 million units in 2014, accounting only for 63% of the global total, down 5.2pp on year. The share will decline because Samsung and Lenovo, the second and the third largest vendors, are making most of their tablets internally.To seek lower manufacturing quotes and to diversify risks, brand vendors are expected to further divide their tablet orders among ODMs. Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) and Pegatron Technology will remain as the top two ODMs for tablets in 2014. With more orders coming from Apple and Asustek, Pegatron will see significant tablet shipment growth in 2014, narrowing its gap with Foxconn. Compal Electronics is expected to surpass Quanta Computer to become the third-largest table ODM, thanks to orders from Apple and its acquisition of Compal Communication.

Global shipments of application processors for smart devices are expected to grow 43% on year to 1.32 billion units in 2013, powered by robust sales of Apple and Samsung Electronics branded products, according to Digitimes Research.The growing market in China has also helped boost global AP shipments in 2013 since the AP market in China is expected to expand by at annual rate of over 60% to account for over 30% of global sales in the year.However, growth of global AP shipments will slow to 23% in 2014 due to the saturating market in China, where AP shipments are likely to expand at a pace slower than the industry's average, to reach only 17% in the coming year as sales of domestic-branded tablets will be affected by international brands, and the growth of overseas shipments of smart devices will not be able to offset the impact of scaling back domestic sales.In 2014, sales of ARM's Cortex-A12-based application processors for smartphones are expected to grow significantly, while the sales ratio of 64-bit processors is likely to rise over 20% thanks to strong promotions by Apple and Samsung. With the exception of Samsung, Apple and Qualcomm, other AP vendors are unlikely to step into the 64-bit segment until 2015, Digitimes Research commented.

Nokia's recent release of three Asha-series feature phones and two Lumia smartphones is aimed at ramping up the market share of Windows Phone. But the effectiveness of the strategy remains to be seen, according to Digitimes Research.The new Nokia Asha feature phones will inevitably face competition from low-cost smartphones, as the series is positioned in the high-end feature phone market, said Digitimes Research.Nokia shipped 5.9 million Asha phones globally in the third quarter of 2013, up from 4.3 million units in the second quarter but down from the 6.5 million units shipped a year ago, while Nokia's overall feature phone shipments grew 3.9% on quarter but declined 27.2% on year to 55.8 million units during the same period. The results show that Asha phones have not made a significant contribution to Nokia's feature phone business, Digitimes Research observed.As for the Lumia series smartphones, although shipments of models targeting the entry-level and mid-range segments have helped boost Nokia's overall smartphone shipments, the brand is still struggling to compete in the high-end smartphone segment, Digitimes Research indicated.Nokia's smartphone shipments arrived at 8.8 million units in the third quarter of 2013, up from 7.4 million units in the previous quarter and the 6.3 million units shipped a year earlier. Nokia's entry-level and mid-range smartphones have been selling well, but the brand is still finding it tough to compete in the high-end market segment dominated by Samsung Electronics and Apple, Digitimes Research noted.Microsoft in September 2013 announced its acquisition of Nokia's devices and services business for EUR5.44 billion (US$7.3 billion), and the recent rollout of Nokia's new Asha and Lumia devices marked the first release of Nokia phones since the deal.

China panel makers are expected to make up 33% of global small-size TFT LCD panel production from 2013 onwards, up from 20% in 2012, due to newly constructed lines and expanded production capacity, according to Digitimes Research.The makers are expected to make significant increases in TFT LCD panel production through to 2016, with BOE expected to see the largest increase in small-size as well as medium-size TFT LCD panel production. Approximately 40-45% of BOE's revenues by 2016 are expected to come from the two segments, said Digitimes Research.Additionally, the makers are also continuing to see support from the China government and have tariff advantages over panel makers not based in China.Digitimes Research also estimated that China-based panel makers will make up nearly 17% of PC and TV panel production by 2016.

While a number of IC vendors have begun shipping chips supporting TD-LTE, including base band chips, radio frequency chips, application processors, SoC solutions and soft modems, shipments of base band chips account for a majority share of total TD-LTE chip shipments currently, according to Digitimes Research.China Mobile, while planning to officially launch TD-LTE services in 2014, has required chipset suppliers offer TD-LTE chips supporting five modes (LTE/LTE FDD, TD-LTE, TD-SCDMA, WCDMA and GSM) and also 10 operational frequency bands.Since the specifications are high, chipset suppliers which can meet the requirements are mostly international players, including Qualcomm, Marvell Technology and MediaTek. Most IC design houses in China, with the exception of HiSilicon Technologies, are unlikely to enter China Mobile's supply chain initially.ASPs of TD-LTE chips are expected to remain stable initially because of high product standards and limited suppliers. However, local chipset suppliers in China are expected to gradually enhance their hardware specifications and to step into the segment with aggressive pricing later, forcing international brand vendors to focus on more sophisticated devices such as application processors and SoCs, said Digitimes Research.