While Japan is less active than the US, Europe and China in promoting application of UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), the UAV industry is significantly developing following the establishment of Japan UAS (unmanned aircraft system) Industry Development Association (JUIDA) in October 2014 and there is potential demand for commercial application of UAVs in Japan, according to Digitimes Research

US-based Cree will spend US$85 million to restructure its LED device business through reducing total production capacity for LED chips. The move is mainly due to negative impact price competition from China-based LED makers, according to Digitimes Research

During a survey of southern China's white-box tablet supply chain recently, Digitimes Research found that Intel will not be able to supply its Cherry Trail-based solutions to white-box players until the end of the third quarter. Most white-box players will only be able to use Bay Trail-T CR solutions for their Windows 10 tablets, reducing these devices' attractiveness to consumers

Panel makers aim to tackle the 8K market starting 2018 when Japan will offer various channel transmissions in 8K, and the World Cup is held in Russia. Demand will continue to grow around 2020 when major sporting events will be held in Japan, according to Digitimes Research

The Internet of Things (IoT) has brought multiple applications and new business models for the development of smart home, which in turn may also bring about a take-off for the smart home industry, according to Digitimes Research

As Samsung Electronics is expected to continue pushing AMOLED panels into mid-range handsets it will continue to decrease orders for touch panels equipped with LCD panels in 2015, which in turn is expected to affect Korea makers' revenues and profits during the year, according to Digitimes Research

China makers' production capacity for small- to medium-size AMOLED panels is expected to increase 373% in 2017 compared with what it is in 2015 as makers continue to invest in new facilities and capacity expansion, according to Digitimes Research

Smartphones launched by the top-three Japan-based telecom operators for summer 2015 are almost identical in hardware specifications, but the carriers have been trying to differentiate their products with special features, according to Digitimes Research

Since the first curved-panel LCD monitor model was launched in the second half of 2014, the price gap between curved models and flat-panel ones has narrowed to as low as 18%, and as prices are expected to further drop and additional vendors will join the market in the second half of 2015, global demand for curved-panel LCD monitors will take off in the year, according to Digitimes Research

The global top-five notebook brand vendors together achieved an on-month shipment growth of 14%, but an on-year drop of 15%, while the top-three ODMs together had 5% on-month growth, but 9% on-year drop, all weaker than Digitimes Research's original forecast

May average retail price for 7W LED light bulbs (equivalent to 40W incandescent ones) in the China market increased 8.6% on month to CNY39 (US$6.3), while that for 9W models (equivalent to 60W incandescent ones) rose 3.4% to CNY39.4, according to Digitimes Research

Lighting is a major application of UV (ultraviolet) LED currently and 385nm (spectral wavelength) UV-A LED is competitive with mercury-vapor lamps in terms of performance-cost ratio while 365nm UV-A LED is expected to increase in power output by 84.8% and decrease in production cost by 71% during 2014-2016, according to Digitimes Research