As of 2013, the 10 ASEAN nations had a total of over 700 million mobile subscriptions, with the CAGR from 2003-2013 reaching 24%, and the share of the global user base rising from 4.9% to a high of 10.6%. This Digitimes Research Special Report analyzes the various mobile broadband markets in ASEAN and looks at the respective trends in 4G LTE development for those markets.

A delay in the launch schedule for low-cost 4G smartphones resulted in a mere 4.8% increase in second quarter shipments in the China market. However, with telecom operators planning on increasing their subsidies in the second half of the year, demand will be stimulated.

This report is divided into two sections; the first covers the China smartphone market, including shipments from international players and China-based players. The second section covers the China smartphone industry and covers shipments from local makers in the domestic market and export shipments.

China first-tier smartphone players - Lenovo, Huawei, CoolPad and ZTE - started releasing new smartphones in the fourth quarter of 2013 because their entry-level model inventories, accumulated over the first three quarters of 2013, were mostly digested by October 2013. The new models' larger screen sizes and better application processors also increased China consumers' demand.

This Digitimes Research Special Report examines two aspects of the China smartphone market. The first part covers the China smartphone market, measuring local shipments in China from both China-based vendors and international vendors such as Samsung and Apple. The second portion of the Special Report covers the China smartphone industry and measures shipments from China-based makers and vendors in the local China market as well as their shipments to overseas markets.

This Digitimes Research Special Report provides a market forecast of the 2014 application processor market (AP). In addition to shipment forecasts for each major vendor, Digitimes Research presents the various development trends in AP design, including the decision to implement 64-bit architecture, the development direction of eight core applications, the evolution of the bigLITTLE core designs, the advancements of GPU architecture, and overall software developments for supporting new processor architecture.

This Digitimes Research Special Report outlines the key factors in the rapid growth of the touch-panel industry in Greater China in recent years, as well as the technology trends and industry relationships that will affect touch panel makers moving forward. The report provides forecasts through 2015 for Greater China touch panel shipments with breakdowns based on technology (glass, film, resistive), application (smartphone, NB and tablet) and by firm.

In 2014, smartphones are expected to continue penetrating rapidly into emerging markets such as Russia, India, Indonesia and Latin America, while China's smartphone shipments will see weakened on-year growth in the year, but still enormous volume. This report will provide in-depth analyses to forecast whether global smartphone shipments in 2014 will maintain a growth similar to that of 2013 and what the global shipment scale will reach in 2014.

South Korean manufacturers currently have more than 95% of the AMOLED market, but panel makers in China, Taiwan and Japan will still compete in these sectors. This report analyzes the current state of development and strategies of the two largest AMOLED panel makers, Samsung and LG Display, examines the potential of the AMOLED handset panel and OLED TV markets, and takes an in-depth look at the competitiveness of South Korea in the AMOLED sector and the reasons behind it, including brand strength and supply chain integration.

ARM architecture for application processors (APs) remains the mainstay for mobile applications, with the top five suppliers of ARM architecture-based APs - Qualcomm, Apple, Samsung, MediaTek and Spreadtrum - currently accounting for around 90% of the market. Digitimes Research looks at each supplier's strengths and weaknesses through a comprehensive analysis of technology, architecture, product positioning and shipments, providing the industry with an overview of the latest trends and developments in the AP industry.

During the 12th FYP period, only semiconductor companies established from 2011 are eligible for tax incentives. Moreover, only profitable firms working in areas consistent with government goals will be offered subsidies, with a quota of 40 firms also imposed. These requirements and assessments may encourage IC design startups, while also focusing R&D resources on product and technology sectors the government views as promising. The ultimate impact will probably be to weed out poorly performing firms and expedite the consolidation of the industry.

Global touch screen shipments are expected to reach 1.75 billion in 2013, up 17.2% on year. Among the shipments, approximately 1.28 billion or 73% are estimated to be for handsets, which will be a 14.2% on-year increase. Shipments for touch screens used in tablets meanwhile are expected to reach 233 million units, up 38.2% on year, while touch screens for PCs are expected to reach 26.33 million in 2013, up 251.3% on year, according to Digitimes Research.