Global smartphone shipments are expected to top 1.24 billion units in 2014, with Samsung Electronics, Apple, LG Electronics, Sony Mobile Communications, Lenovo, Huawei, Microsoft, ZTE, Coolpad and TCL serving as top-10 vendors, according to Digitimes Research.
Sharp, Japan Display and LG Display are all expected to make breakthroughs in producing TFT LCD panels with in-cell touch technology in 2014. Previously, due to production constraints with the technology panel makers were only able to produce panels around 300ppi but that resolution is expected to jump in 2014, according to Digitimes Research.
Mobile devices changed our life enormously. Mobile technology is essential for our lifestyle. A few years ago, a mobile phone was just a device used to make phone calls. However, time has gone by, nowadays most of us have a smartphone or tablet and use it just more like a computer...
Shinodo Plasma has ended production of Plasma Tube Array (PTA) display technology as of December 2013 due to capital-related issues. The technology allows screens to have curved features in addition to thin and energy-saving features, but was unable to make an impact in the market due to high pricing...
Facing the fact that the notebook industry is no longer enjoying strong growth, brand vendors have been trying to transform, or are searching for new business opportunities. Observing brand vendors' latest innovations at CES 2014, Digitimes Research believes 2-in-1 devices and Chromebooks will become star products that the vendors will focus on pushing in 2014.
December average retail prices for LED light bulbs equivalent to 40W incandescent bulbs in the US, Europe, Japan and South Korea all decreased on month, according to Digitimes Research.
Among main lighting markets around the world , Japan will remain as the largest LED lighting market with a global share of 25.6% in 2014, down 3.4pp on year, according to Digitimes Research.
The digital home industry saw various trends continue to develop in December 2013, including Japan vendors increased focus in the southeast Asia market; the release of AllCast on Google Play; and Amazon's launch of online video services in Japan, according to Digitimes Research.
With brand vendors aggressively investing in the second half of 2013, 8-inch tablets accounted for 15.2% of global tablet shipments in December, while Android-based tablets acquired a combined 53.2% shipment share in the month. Almost 50% of global tablets featured 2GB memory in December, helping the specification to become the mainstream for tablets.
After a visit to some of the handset supply chain players in China at the end of 2013, Digitimes Research found that China-based vendors' smartphone shipments in the fourth quarter of 2013 saw a slight growth sequentially, but entry-level models had poor shipment performance, especially those from white-box players in Southern China that mainly sell products to Indonesia and India...
