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.
While China technically hosts 400-500 IC design firms - more than Silicon Valley or Hsinchu Science Park, the world's two largest IC design centers - a closer inspection of the list of players shows that around half of these firms are in fact China subsidiaries of international companies, while many others are purely technological research organizations. The real number of homegrown IC design firms in China is therefore no greater than 100 at most.
Three main factors will influence the smartphone industry in 2013: relationships between platform leaders and hardware manufacturers, market demand and carrier support, and the decisions of a number of major players with regard to key transitions or major trends. This Digitimes Research Special Report analyzes how Windows Phone and its supporting telecom carriers are trying to break the dominance of Android and iOs and how individual vendors, such as former giants Nokia and RIM, will tackle the smartphone race.
The China LED industry has developed at a breakneck pace over the last two years, thanks largely to a clear government policy on solid-state lighting (SSL) and the inclusion of LED as one of the key areas of industry for development within the 12th Five Year Plan. Looking at China's LED chip and packaging industry, there is considerable variation in the level of success achieved by the various major players, and this Digitimes Research Special Report analyzes these differences in terms of financial position, capacity and industry presence.
Global production capacity for large-size TFT LCD panels (9-inch and above) is expected to grow only 3.4% in 2013, which represents the lowest growth rate ever for the industry, while Taiwan-based makers' production capacity for large-size panels is expected to rise by 3.2% on year in 2013.
The global notebook market will continue to face challenges in 2013. Although the launch of Windows 8 is supposed to give a boost to the notebook market, challenges including tablets, as well as notebook makers looking to develop more detachable designs and questions about the health of the global economy, make it unlikely that 2013 will be a better year for notebook shipments than 2012. Digitimes Research expects that global notebook shipments will suffer a further drop in 2013 while facing the specter of strong price pressure.
