The server market did not perform well in 2014 though rising demand from Internet data centers (IDCs) and China brands helped global shipments (measured by motherboards) grow 7.1% to 10.4 million. Using this as the base for growth, in 2015 the market is expected to see shipment growth of 13.5%, with Taiwan makers accounting for 88%. With Taiwan playing a major role in the global supply chain, this Digitimes Research Special Report focuses on shipment data and customer relationships between Taiwan makers and global OEMs and major data centers.

Digitimes Research estimates that the global LTE market doubled in size to 445 million users in 2014 and we further forecast that annual growth in the number of LTE users will remain above 70% between 2015-2016, with the overall market reaching 1.466 billion users by 2016, representing 70% of the total number of global mobile broadband (including 3G+4G) users. Driving that growth is the Asia-Pacific region, especially China, and the region will surpass North America to become the world's largest consumer LTE market in the first half of 2015.

Digitimes Research forecasts that in 2015, the global high-brightness (HB) LED industry will have annual growth of 7.5% in terms of output, reaching US$13.7 billion. The total number of LEDs used will reach 186 billion units, representing annual growth of 32.6%, out of which lighting applications will have the highest annual growth rate in terms of usage, reaching 65%. This Digitimes Research Special Report analyzes the various applications, technologies and market trends that will drive demand in 2015.

Smartphone shipments from Taiwan's brand vendors and manufacturers broke the 20-million mark in the fourth quarter of 2014, buoyed by strong demand from the end market and OEM clients.

In terms of demand in the China market, non-Apple vendors saw weak sales for their high-end models in China's smartphone market in the fourth quarter of 2014 as Apple's newly launched iPhone 6 series smartphones took a large portion of their high-end devices' demand away.

Smartphone AP shipments to China grew 38% on year and 10.1% on quarter in the fourth quarter of 2014, as the expanding coverage of LTE services helped drive shipments.

Taiwan makers saw an on-year rise in DSC shipments during the fourth quarter of 2014, as driver IC shortages that had hampered their shipments in the previous quarter eased. But shipments for the entire 2014 continued to fall, and the trend of decline does not show any sign of stopping in 2015.

Global economic growth is forecast to reach 3.8% in 2015, up from 3.3% in 2014. From the perspective of the electronics industry though, PC shipments will continue to decline, smartphone shipment growth will drop, and tablet shipments may decline. Despite the gloomy outlook, Digitimes Research forecasts that China's IC industry output will reach CNY340.4 billion, up 15% annually. While the growth rate will be down from the 18% seen in 2014, it still represents a far better growth rate than the 3.6% annual growth rate of the global IC industry.

Digitimes Research estimates that total 2014 AP shipments will reach 1.52 billion units worldwide, up 19.6% from 2013, and in 2015 the global market will see shipments of 1.65 billion units, growing 8.5% on year. The slowdown is mainly due to a shrinking tablet market. Qualcomm is still expected to lead the market with MediaTek closely trailing thanks to its mature 4G solutions. Intel, assisted by Rockchip and Spreadtrum, will show significant growth in 2015 with global shipments.

The notebook market saw significant demand for entry-level devices whose pricing levels were comparable to those of tablets in the fourth quarter of 2014, which maintained Taiwan ODMs' overall shipments at a level comparable to that of the previous quarter. But the on-year drop in shipments is a clear indication of the notebook market's persisting woes.

This Digitimes Research Special Report analyzes the strategies of key China-based major panel makers BOE, Tianma and IVO for attacking the different market segments through technology and pricing, and their relationship to local vendors Huawei, Lenovo, ZTE, Xiaomi and Coolpad.

The global tablet market experienced significant growth in 2011-2014. However, Digitimes Research predicts shipments will drop 11.8% in 2015. Demand for consumer tablets is slowing, as larger smartphones and a maturing market squeeze demand, and vendors will turn to the enterprise to push demand. This Digitimes Research Special Report provides a 2015 forecast for the global tablet market and analyzes the strategies of key market players such as Google, Apple, Intel, and Microsoft.