Intel is set to ship 40 million application processors (APs) for tablets in 2014, up 400% from the volume in 2013, though most market watchers believe the goal is rather difficult to achieve. Digitimes Research has found that Intel is currently placing its focus on penetrating into the Android tablet market and is persuading brand vendors and China white-box players to join its camp by offering subsidies and support from its China-based supply chain, which Intel has been nurturing.With Microsoft also seeing success for its detachable tablets with high price-performance ratios and set to become more aggressive in the entry-level Windows tablet segment in the second half, Digitimes Research expects the Windows on Intel platform to become another important contributor to Intel's tablet AP shipments for 2014.Digitimes Research expects Intel to ship 32 million tablet APs in 2014, achieving 80% of its goal.In terms of platform proportions, 60% of Intel's shipments will be adopted in Android-based models because the Android-on-Intel tablet is the main focus of Intel for 2014. Intel started offering technology support, marketing subsidies and CPU price cuts for Android-on-Intel tablets in the second half of 2013 and has been nurturing China's supply chain to provide low-price components.Currently, Android-on-Intel tablets' costs are already lower than those of the same level Android-on-ARM models. Asustek Computer has already turned to adopt Intel's platforms for all of its Android-based product lines, while many brand vendors and China white-box players have also been considering following suit.Since the Android tablet market's scale is far larger than that of Windows tablets, penetrating into the Android tablet market is much easier than expanding the Windows tablet market, Digitimes Research believes.Although only 40% of Intel's tablet APs will be used in Windows-based tablets, the volume will still grow significantly to 12.8 million units in 2014. The growth will be contributed mainly by two factors: Microsoft and Asustek's jointly developed T100, which successfully entered a market segment that other notebook and tablet vendors have never touched; and Microsoft's decision to offer free Windows for 9-inch and below mobile devices, which provides Microsoft with chances to cooperate with white-box supply chain to develop entry-level Windows tablets.Digitimes Research expects 65% of Intel's tablet AP shipments to go to brand vendors because their shipments are more stable and the two sides have been cooperating over notebook products for a long time.The remaining 35% will be shipped to China's white-box players. In addition to providing the same subsidies to white-box players, Intel is also investing in China's supply chain to gain white-box players' trust.

Samsung Display is expected to make nearly US$5 billion in capital expenditures for developing AMOLED panel technology, according to Digitimes Research.Samsung made nearly US$4 billion in expenditures in 2013 for developing AMOLED panel technology and is expected to add another US$3-5 billion in 2014 amid increasing market prospects for the technology.The company also has intentions to expand flexible AMOLED display 6G production facilities by the end of 2014, which is likely to add another 9,000 substrates of monthly production capacity for the technology, said Digitimes Research, adding that Samsung will also invest in Ultra HD TV panel technology.Samsung's overall revenues from AMOLED panels are expected to be higher than those for LCD technology in 2014.LG Display meanwhile also plans to make over US$3 billion in capital expenditures for developing Ultra HD TV panel technology as well as 8G facilities for AMOLED TV panels and 6G facilities for developing LPTS handset panels.Taiwan-based AU Optronics (AUO) and Japan-based Sharp plan capex budgets of US$670 in 2014, while Innolux is expected to make US$830 million, showing that Korea-based makers are taking more initiatives to develop Ultra HD and AMOLED TV technology in 2014, added Digitimes Research.

Taiwan LCD TV makers' shipments reached 7.53 million units in the first quarter of 2014, down 20.8% on quarter, according to Digitimes Research.The decline marks the 9th consecutive quarter Taiwan makers have seen their shipments drop.Shipments to Asia dropped largely due to a decline in orders from China-based TV vendor Haier, according to Digitimes Research's freshly published quarterly Taiwan FPD Tracker report on TV shipments.About 14.7% of the makers' shipments were for 50-inch and above size units while shipments for 32-inch units declined due to decrease panel production capacity in the segment from Taiwan panel makers.TPV Technology, Hon Hai Precision Industry and Compal were the top three makers in Taiwan in terms of shipments during the first quarter, said Digitimes Research.Looking to the second quarter, the makers' shipments are expected to increase to 9.1 million units, added Digitimes Research.

There were 20.4 million white-box tablets shipped globally in the first quarter of 2014, decreasing by 27.4% on quarter and by 2.4% on year, according to Digitimes Research.The decrease in shipments was mainly because most white-box vendors are based in China and there were fewer working days in the first quarter due to the Lunar New Year holidays, Digitimes Research pointed out.Of the shipments, 7-inch models accounted for 70.5%, 7.85/7.9-inch ones 21.3%, 8- to 9-inch ones 4.2%, above 9- to 10-inch 2.9%, above 10-inch 1.1%.Due to strong demand in emerging markets including India, Indonesia, Thailand, Russia and Eastern Europe, global white-box tablet shipments in the second quarter of 2014 will increase 14.2% on quarter and 45.6% on year to 23.3 million units.

BOE and China Star Optoelectronics Technology (CSOT) both have reported more than 8% in net profits in the first quarter of 2014, beating out Korea- and Taiwan-based panel makers, including Samsung Display, LG Display, Innolux and AU Optronics (AUO), according to Digitimes Research.Both Korea and Taiwan panel makers suffered from decreased tablet panel shipments during the quarter due to the traditional off season while China makers continued to secure orders and expand overall panel production.BOE's and CSOT's net profits grew 31% and 114% on year in 2013, respectively, and are expected to continue growing in 2014, bringing competition to the forefront against Taiwan and Korea makers, added Digitimes Research.

Taiwan panel makers' shipments of 9-inch and above size TFT LCD panels reached 62.21 million units in the first quarter of 2014, down 3.2% on quarter, according to Digitimes Research.In the notebook panel segment, AU Optronics (AUO) shifted production on one of its 5G lines to notebook panel production while Korea-based makers shifted production away from notebook panels to tablet panels, bringing in slight notebook panel shipment growth of 0.6% for Taiwan makers during the quarter, according to Digitimes Research's latest quarterly FPD Data Tracker report on Taiwan's large-size panel shipments.Taiwan makers tablet panel shipments increased 2.2% during the first quarter while TV and monitor panel shipments declined 2.9% and 9.3% respectively.Digitimes Research said Taiwan panel makers are losing their competitive edge in the 32-inch LCD TV panel market due to price competition from China makers, adding that 32-inch LCD TV panels made up 35% of overall LCD TV panel shipments in the first quarter.

The bit-growth rate of non-PC DRAM chips is expected to reach 46% in 2014, led by strong demand for mobile, specialty and graphics DRAM parts, according to Digitimes Research.Powered by demand from the cloud computing and big data sectors, the bit-growth rate of server DRAM chips will grow by anannual rate of 27.2% in 2014, slightly lower than the 28.8% of a year earlier but much higher than a projected 9.7% rise for standard DRAM in 2014.The rate of bit-growth for mobile DRAM parts is expected to top as high as 62.7% in 2014, buoyed by brisk sales of smartphones and tablets, said Digitimes Research.Meanwhile, demand for graphics DRAM is likely to grow at an annual rate of 42%, propelled by a several-fold increase in use of graphics DRAM chips in Sony's Playstation 4 and Microsoft's new Xbox One as well as by hardware upgrades of multimedia devices.

Shipments of smartphone application processors in the China market are expected to grow 13.6% sequentially and 10.9% on year in the second quarter of 2014, according to Digitimes Research.The mobile communication industry in China has entered into a period with steady growth, with shipments now to be more regulated by seasonality. Individual chipset suppliers thus will see their shipments gain momentum along with a take-off of the LTE chip market, Digitimes Research believes.MediaTek is expected to see its AP shipments climb 10.9% sequentially in the second quarter, led by rising shipments of its 8-core MT6592 processors as well as dual-core CPUs, Digitimes Research estimates in its latest quarterly data report on China's smartphone AP market.Shipments of single-, dual- and quad-core solutions by Spreadtrum Communications will gain momentum in the second quarter. Additionally, the IC design house will begin to ship 3-mode LTE SoCs in the quarter.Qualcomm will continue to push sales of its Qualcomm reference design (QRD) solutions as well as its LTE chips and 64-bit family products with its shipments likely to expand 22% sequentially in the second quarter.HiSiliconTechnologies and Nvidia will be able to maintain their shipment momentum in the second quarter thanks to continual orders from their respective clients, according to the Digitimes Research report.

China touch panel makers' shipments to the handset, tablet and notebook segments dropped 19.9%, 13.5% and 44.7% respectively in the first quarter of 2014, according to Digitimes Research's latest quarterly data report.The drop was mainly due to shipment slowdowns that generally take place in the first quarter of each year coupled with holiday seasons and worker shortage.Thin-film type touch panels are expected to make up 77.5% of the makers' shipments as of second-quarter 2014 as China handset vendors put in increased orders for the technology to meet entry-level and mid-range smartphone demand in China during 2014, Digitimes Research estimates in its latest quarterly data report on China's touch panel industry.The demand will push China-based O-Film's handset touch panel shipments to around 35 million units in the second quarter as a result, added Digitimes Research.Digitimes Research also expects the makers' shipments of 11-inch and below size touch panels for use in tablet products to increase 7.9% in the second quarter due to increased demand from Samsung Electronics, Lenovo and various white-box vendors.

Taiwan makers' LCD monitor shipments dropped 18.9% on quarter and 4.4% on year in the first quarter of 2014 to 19.83 million units, according to Digitimes Research.The global LCD monitor market saw limited growth in 2013 and continues to fluctuate going into 2014. Shipments are expected to rise in the second quarter by about 2% due to demand in China, however.Digitimes Research added that many panel makers are shifting production capacity away from monitor panels to small- to medium-sizes.