In order to meet fast growing demand for TD-LTE, China Mobile is likely to kick off commercial deployment of Nanocell networks in the second half of 2015, according to Digitimes Research

Qualcomm's top-notch product in 2015, the Snapdragon 810, has been rumored to have defects and see unstable mass production with some media even speculating that volume production for the application processor (AP) would not start until the second quarter of 2015. However, judging from LG's and Xiaomi's scheduled launches of their Snapdragon 810-based new products, as well as information gathered by Digitimes Research, the Snapdragon 810 has already entered mass production

There were an estimated 46.059 million notebooks shipped globally during the fourth quarter of 2014, increasing by 3.1% on quarter and remaining unchanged on year, according to Digitimes Research

Global tablet shipments are estimated to drop 11.8% on year to reach 244 million units in 2015 as demand for high-end and entry-level tablets has both become saturated, while large-size smartphones and inexpensive notebooks are gradually taking demand away from the device, according to Digitimes Research's latest Special Report about the tablet industry

Epistar has invested NT$825 million (US$25.94 million) to merge with TSMC Solid State Lighting (SSL), helping to enhance Epistar's capability in the lighting industry. Before the decision was made, many companies such as SemiLEDs and Advanced Optoelectronic Technology (AOT) had also been talking to TSMC SSL about merger

Xiaomi Technology has continued to build up its ecosystem by expanding its product lines through either joint ventures or equity investments in other companies. However, Xiaomi's products other than smartphones are not attractive to consumers and its business model of relying on software and services for generating profits may not be as positive as expected, according to Digitimes Research

The production value of Taiwan's IC design industry reached NT$541.9 billion (US$16.98 billion) in 2014, representing an on-year growth of 14.8%, higher than the 11.7% growth recorded a year earlier, according to Digitimes Research

Following developments to push Ultra HD TVs in the market vendors have begun to promote curved units as well and aim to push the technology throughout 2015-2016. However, due to higher panel costs, limited market prospects and higher retail pricing, shipments during the time period will be limited, with only about 2.8-3 million curved LCD TV panels shipped in 2015, according to Digitimes Research

Panasonic is showcasing an Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc player (BDP) prototype at CES 2014 and is the only exhibitor with such a device at the show. Digitimes Research believes Ultra HD BDPs will wait at least until the end of 2015 before hitting store shelves, but demand may pick up in 2016

December average retail price for 7W LED light bulbs (equivalent to 40W incandescent ones) in the China market decreased by 8.7% on month to CNY35.7 (US$5.8), while that for 9W models (equivalent to 60W incandescent ones) decreased by 9.1% to CNY37.1, according to Digitimes Research

Observing major LCD TV brand vendors' strategies for 2015, Google's Android TV has become the official platform for Sony's and Sharp's smart TVs, but vendors such as Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and Panasonic are still resisting Android, and bent on using their in-house developed platforms to carve out their own territories in the market

Despite the fact that Russia's IT market has been greatly impacted by the fast depreciation of the country's currency, Digitimes Research expects demand for LTE tablets from Russia to continue growing in 2015 due to the rise of its regional brand vendors and strong consumer demand for high price/performance-ratio products