Introduced in 2011, the Chromebook was initially developed mainly for the education sector and has achieved outstanding sales in the past two years...

A number of start-ups, which apparently have made a fortune from producing smartwatches and smart bracelets, have begun to develop other wearable devices, particularly smart rings. Some start-ups have raised new capital from fund-raising websites and have begun accepting pre-sale orders and also delivering products, according to Digitimes Research.

Generally, the touchscreen technology used in a tablet is related to the device's specifications: high-end models usually adopt cutting-edge technologies, first-tier brand vendors' mid-range/entry-level models mostly adopt GFF-based touch panels, and white-box products normally use lower-end technologies. The traditional GG technology has been mostly left to gradually disappear from the sector.

Wearable devices have become a fast growing segment. Global technology pioneers are moving quickly to introduce new products such as smart glasses and smart watches. The first generation of connected wearable devices is paving the way for more sophisticated products and new applications. Top tech brands are not sitting idle while others seize the market...

South Korea paid about KRW350 billion (US$342.81 million) in royalties to ARM for AP licensing in 2012, up significantly from KRW180 billion in 2008 and the fee is expected to rise to KRW900 billion by 2020 if the country does not have a home-grown AP architecture.

MediaTek's open LinkIt platform developed for wearable devices may offer opportunities for hardware developers to come out with wearable devices with killer applications rather than general-purpose smartwatches being rolled out by vendors, according to Digitimes Research.

In mature telecom markets, most carriers have faced saturation in customer bases and slow revenues growths in the past five years...

In the US tablet market, the lowest price point for a 7-inch brand tablet dropped to US$79 in June, according to Digitimes Research. With 7-inch tablet specifications gradually converging and prices declining, Samsung Electronics' 7-inch tablets, which are priced at a relatively higher level, are expected to face more and more pressure from price competition.

Taiwan-based PSS (patterned sapphire substrate) makers have been expanding production capacities, with total monthly capacity to increase from 2.19 million 2-inch-equivalent substrates in the first quarter of 2014 to 2.63 million units in the second, 3.55 million units in the third, and 4.27 million units in the fourth as demand has been growing from the LED sector, according to Digitimes...

China smartphone vendors' shipments started weakening in mid-May with the upstream supply chain also seeing orders turning week despite the fact that several China-based smartphone players are still able to deliver over 10 million units each quarter, according to Digitimes Research.