In Q2, 2014, another strong quarter, Chromebook shipments increased 67% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) and the annual shipments are forecast to double the previous year's, according to technology market intelligence firm ABI Research. Taiwanese personal computer (PC) vendor Acer continues lead other vendors, including Samsung, HP, and Dell, by dominating 37% of the market in Q2. The top-three vendor...

All major Taiwanese makers of thin film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panels have publicized operational results for October, in which only one saw month-on-month (MoM) decrease. Industry sources say that both Taiwanese heavyweight TFT-LCD makers, Innolux Display Corp. and AU Optronics Corp. (AUO), have announced plans to raise capital spending in 2015, indicative of uptrend ...

TPK Holding Co., Ltd., a leading provider of touch-screen solutions headquartered in Taiwan, recently announced consolidated revenue of NT$12.92 billion (US$430.5 million) in October, up 12.9% month-on-month (MoM), and up 15.7% year-on-year (YoY), which the maker attributes to strong demand for Apple iPads and Amazon Fire tablet PCs. Industry sources say the launches of new tablet PCs by vendo...

Quanta Computer Inc., major contract assembler of notebook PCs based in Taiwan, recently confirmed plans to launch healthcare solutions based on the advanced healthcare platform, QOCA, jointly developed with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), in Q1, 2015, also targeting sales to both big hospitals, clinics and medical-system integrators. With shrinking margins and fierce rival...

Global shipments of Personal Navigation Devices (PNDs) declined from 28 million units in 2012 to 22 million units in 2013, according to a new research report from the analyst Berg Insight, which says signs show slowing decline and some emerging markets are still experiencing growth. However, on the whole the PND market is set for continual downturn globally. Berg Insight forecasts that PN...

Acer Inc. of Taiwan, a major international personal computer (PC) vendor, recently announced encouraging results for Q3, 2014, including operating income of NT$1.10 billion (US$36.27 million), up 66.8% sequentially or quarter-on-quarter (QoQ); profits after tax (PAT) of NT$651 million (US$21.38 million), up 34.23% QoQ; and earnings per share (EPS) of NT$0.24 (US$0.008). The company attributes ...

More than 20 million on-cell thin film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) touch panels were shipped globally in the first half of 2014, compared with just 4.7 million in all of 2013, thanks to their adoption in the expanding entry-level and mid-range smartphones market, according to NPD DisplaySearch, a display-market research firm. NPD expects global shipments of the panels to reach 129...

Taiwan's foundry provider United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) has made major progress in its 28nm process technology, with its 28nm high-K metal gate (HKMG) process having been verified at wireless chip vendor Broadcom, according to the Chinese-language Economic Daily News (EDN). UMC executives, EDN reports, have confirmed that the company’s 28nm HKMG process shows considerably improved defect...

Taiwan’s LED makers are swamped with orders from manufacturers of LED ultra high definition TVs (UHDTVs). Market consultant DIGITIMES Research estimates global demand for the TVs to shoot up to 12 million units this year from 2013’s two million. According to LED maker Lextar Electronics Corp., UHDTVs require 50% to 100% more LEDs than typical LED-lit TVs. China's TV makers are rushing the i...

The global TV market shrank last year for the second year in a row, with total shipments declining by 6% to 225.1 million units from the already soft 2012 level of 238.3 million, according to a new report from IHS Technology. This followed a 7% loss in 2013 following increases of 11% and 1%, respectively, in 2010 and 2011. "The global TV market continues to be in transition following a golden...