New orders from camera brand vendors for their fall season product launches were not enough to prevent Taiwan's DSC shipments from falling in the third quarter of 2013, as overall demand in the end market remained weak.

Taiwan's notebook shipments rebounded sequentially as a result of significant orders from HP and Apple. But they registered a sharp drop on an annual basis, as demand for tablets continued to undermine the notebook market.

Seasonal factors had little to do with the sequential growth in Taiwan's DSC shipments during the second quarter, the traditional peak season of the sector. The on-quarter growth was contributed mainly by shipments delayed from the first quarter, rather than fulfillment of new orders.

Global all-in-one AIO PC shipments will increase 17.3% year-on-year in 2013, representing a big recovery from the 2.3% growth seen in 2012. However, the growth driver in the market will be Apple's iMac shipments and non-Apple shipments will not keep pace, especially for Lenovo, which will lose its number one ranking in the market. This Digitimes Research Special Report provides shipment forecasts and analysis of the key vendors and manufacturers in the AIO market.

Global all-in-one AIO PC shipments will increase 17.3% year-on-year in 2013, representing a big recovery from the 2.3% growth seen in 2012. However, the growth driver in the market will be Apple's iMac shipments and non-Apple shipments will not keep pace, especially for Lenovo, which will lose its number one ranking in the market. The report provides shipment forecasts and analysis of the key vendors and manufacturers in the AIO market. This is complimentary (non standard ICT Report) provided by Digitimes Research for our ICT Report members.

Own-brand and ODM handset shipments from Taiwan both saw strong sequential growths in the second quarter of 2013. Taiwan's handset shipments for the second half of 2013 will be about 30% higher than the levels for the first half.

Taiwan's notebook industry is facing a tough challenge amid a weak global economy and keen competition from tablets. Taiwan makers suffered their worst-ever on-year drop in shipments in the second quarter of 2013.

The global DSC market has been facing severe challenges from smartphones with powerful camera functions. DSC vendors' poor sales mean significant cuts to orders for their Taiwan-based manufacturing partners. As a result, Taiwan's DSC shipments dropped significantly to below six million units in the first quarter of 2013.

Seasonality played a key role in bringing down Taiwan makers' handset shipments by 18.3% sequentially in first-quarter 2013. Taiwan's top handset maker HTC saw an even steeper fall in shipments partly due to component shortages plaguing its high-end models. But shipments will rebound in the second quarter, as major client Sony Mobile Communications will introduce new models and HTC see the component shortages ease.

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.

Taiwan makers' notebook shipments dropped 15.7% sequentially and 14.3% on year to 36.89 million units in the first quarter of 2013 as more consumers chose tablets over conventional notebooks. Seasonality worsened the market conditions for notebooks. Taiwan's notebook industry will see its worst-ever on-year drop in the second quarter.

Thunderbolt interface technology (Light Peak) was created by Intel but licensed exclusively to Apple for one year in June 2011. However, once other system makers had the opportunity to use the technology in their products, implementation has not been as widespread as predicted. Due to this phenomenon, this Digitimes Research Special Report investigates the obstacles and problems that Thunderbolt technology has faced in becoming more widespread in the market and offers predictions concerning the development of the technology in the future.