Global shipments of smartphones, tablets and notebooks are expected to top 1.3 billion units in 2013, with smartphones and tablets accounting for more than 85% of total shipments and the ratio of notebooks continuing to scale down, according to Digitimes Research. However, price competition in the smartphone and tablet sectors will become increasingly fierce as the focuses of the two segments are trending toward production of models for mass market instead of the high-end sector.Since the global industry ecosystem has changed profoundly due to the overlapping functionalities and market boundaries of mobile devices, Taiwan-based ODMs should also pay close attention to the competition triggered by the rise of China-based white-box makers, particularly by their efforts to build up their brand names, said Joanne Chien, senior analyst and director at Digitimes Research.Traditionally, tablets and notebooks are categorized into the mobile computing market, but tablets and e-book readers are categorized as mobile reading devices. Furthermore, tablets, notebooks and smartphones are all included in the mobile connected device sector, noted Chien, adding that the three categories of products have continued to maintain sustainable growth in today's ICT industry.For the global mobile connected device market in 2013, shipments of smartphones are expected to reach 882 million units of total shipments for the segment, while shipments of tablets will exceed 250 million units and notebook shipments are likely to decline 5-10% to less than 190 million units, Chien estimated.Prior to the rise of the tablet in 2009, it is worthy to note that notebooks and smartphones accounted for 48% and 52%, respectively, of the global mobile connected device market.Although it is generally perceived that the growth of notebooks has reached its peak - making notebooks mature products, the rise of the Android OS may reignite the notebook industry, Chien commented.Chien believes that there is room for further development of Android-based smartphones and tablets, although Android smartphones and tablets are likely to account for 70% and 60% of global shipments of smartphones and tablets, respectively, in 2013.Taking the shipments of iPads and iPhones for example, the shipment ratio of the two product lines stood at 30:70 in 2011, and the ratio changed to 33:67 in 2012. However, the shipment ratio of Android tablets and smartphones is estimated to reach 19:81 in 2013, indicating that Android tablets have potential for further development, Chien added.However, dominating the smartphone and tablet markets seems still not enough for Google since the Internet search engine giant has not yet taken over the helm of the PC computing segment. While Google Chrome has become a popular search engine, the operations of Chrome still lack flexibility as the search engine is mostly set on operation systems run by rival companies. Additionally, Google is also facing increasing competition in its core business, as Microsoft and Apple have also stepped up efforts to develop their own search engines and other Internet related services.Given that Google's core business is centered on back-end cloud computing basic infrastructure and applications, the company is believed to be planning to have a strong presence in the notebook industry as application-centric notebooks are expected to contribute more in terms of revenues and profits for Google compared to tablets and smartphones, Chien said.Google has adopted two tactics to penetrate into the computing industry - firstly, with the launch of Chromebook, said Chien. "Since the launch of Chromebook in 2010, Google has stepped up its efforts, and various Chromebook iterations have begun to proliferate in 2013."Although Android has yet to enter the notebook market officially, a number of design-in projects have begun since 2012, said Chien. "However, some situations have changed since Google announced plans to integrate its Chrome and Android teams, and it is believed that Google has delayed plans for the development of Android notebooks. But Google definitely will bring out alternative projects," she added.Google has also shifted away from the low-price approach it adopted initially to promote the Chromebook. It rolled out a touch-enabled Chromebook with a price of US$1,449 in February 2013 targeting the high-end segment. The launch of US$1,299-1,449 models indicates that Google is expanding its notebook portfolios with different sizes and prices.Currently, Google is cooperating with Hewlett-Packard (HP), Samsung Electronics, Lenovo and Acer for the production of Chromebooks. Among those hardware partners, HP has already launched a 14-inch model and is likely to roll out another 13-inch model priced at less than US$350 in the second half of 2013.Samsung focuses on the production of 12-inch Chromebooks currently, and is expected to launch models in the 13- to 14-inch segments in the second half of 2013.The low-price tactics adopted by Google previously has nevertheless accelerated the downward adjustment of the price of mobile devices. With the exception of notebooks, prices of other mobile devices have been declining at a rate faster than traditional PC systems. Taking smartphones for example, the maturing of the supply chain in white-box industry, the rise of emerging markets combined with the fact that smartphones have accounted for over 50% of the total handset market, have made smartphones a mass-market device. Consequently, prices of iPhones are also facing downward pressure.Price cutting in the tablet sector will become more apparent in 2013 due to factors including a continued drop of price setting at Apple, Microsoft and Amazon, the availability of US$99 models from some brands, the increasing popularity of 7- to 8-inch models, and the maturing of white-box products.Meanwhile, the failure of Microsoft Windows 8 to stir up replenishment demand for notebooks has also driven notebook prices downward, Chien said, adding that prices of touch-enabled Windows 8-based ultrabooks are also too high to attract consumers. However, a low-priced touch-enabled model launched by Asustek Computer in the fourth quarter of 2012 has been well received by the market. Other vendors are expected to follow suit in 2013.Notebook vendors will also see the replacement effect of tablets for notebooks further expand if the prices of tablets continue to drift lower. Additionally, a possible price cut for models below 12-inch by Microsoft will also add more price pressure on notebook brands.According to a survey conducted by Digitimes Research, the BOM (bill of materials) of the lowest-priced smartphones stood at US$30 in the first quarter of 2013, with the BOM likely to drop at a rate of US$5 quarter on quarter during the rest of the year. "The price of smartphones has dropped to the lowest possible levels in the white-box market, but the price war will continue in 2013 due to the ever-changing ecosystem," Chien stated.On the other hand, the entrance of newcomers into the processor market for tablets is also expected to trigger price-cutting competition in the tablet sector in 2013. For example, MediaTek has begun shipping application processors for tablets to Lenovo and Acer and may also add other branded vendors such as Amazon and HP into its client list soon. The adoption of application processors from suppliers such as MediaTek by branded and white-box tablet vendors will heat up competition.In the smartphone sector, the impact of the fledging smartphone industry in China on the global market will continue to expand. The ratio of smartphones shipped by China makers to total global smartphone shipments will rise to 35% in 2013 from 32% in 2012, while the entire smartphone industry is expected to grow 27.8% for the year.Among the top-10 brand vendors, Sony Mobile Communications, LG Electronics, Huawei and Lenovo boast the highest growth potential, followed by ZTE, Samsung, Apple and HTC, while Nokia or BlackBerry might be expelled from the top-10 ranking group in 2013, leaving the position to China-based Coolpad. The inclusion of Coolpad as one of the top-10 vendors will further enhance the influence of China-based smartphone makers, Chien stressed.Competition among Apple, Google and Microsoft will also intensify in 2013 as each of them will try to take market share from the others' territories, but the three platform operators will also stress solidification of their core businesses and play less prominent roles in the integration of software and hardware products.The entrance of Amazon, Google and Microsoft into the tablet market has resulted in profound changes in the sector, as all three vendors have been following the steps of Apple to operate by offering hardware with a platform service. While Google takes a great portion of its revenues from search advertising, Apple has completed the integration of hardware and software through iTunes, and Microsoft is pushing sales of its Surface tablets optimizing its strong OS and software products such as Office.However, the four platform vendors – Apple, Google, Microsoft and Amazon – have revamped their strategies since 2012 and are therefore leaving more space for hardware vendors to develop, Chien said.The four platform vendors are expected to head in different development directions in 2013, while shifting their efforts to focus on maintaining the competiveness of their core businesses and profit sources as well – a move which is expected to ramp up competition among the four main platform vendors, Chien concluded.Note: Data include white-box productsSource: Digitimes Research, March 2013Source: Digitimes Research, March 2013Note: Data include white-box productsSource: Digitimes Research, March 2013Digitimes Research senior analyst & director Joanne Chien

The semiconductor industry, particularly the wafer foundry segment, is one of the most competitive industries in Taiwan. However, the global optoelectronics industry has also been growing at a fast pace since the beginning of the 21st century, which is likely to be named the era of optoelectronics industry, according to National Taiwan University Professor Ching-Fuh Lin.Global revenues of the optoelectronics industry totaled US$400 billion in 2011, of which Taiwan accounted for US$65 billion or 17%; Taiwan's contribution to the segment is rather significant given Taiwan's population accounts for only 0.35% of the global population.The rise of solar energy, growing demand for energy-saving lighting devices and ever-improving display technology together have contributed to the sustainable growth of the optoelectronics industry. Taiwan happens to boast a considerable degree of advantages in the solar energy, lighting and display industries, which will enable Taiwan makers to continue playing an important role in further integrating the electronics and optoelectronics industries in the future.High prices were the main reason for the slow popularity of solar energy previously. Solar module pricing stood at as high as US$76/W in 1977, Lin said, citing data from The Economist. However, quotes for solar PV modules have dropped to US$0.74/W on average recently. The availability of cadmium telluride thin film solar cells and the rise of solar module makers in China have contributed to the steep fall of solar module prices. However, there is still room for further reductions in solar energy prices. The total system cost of solar power stood at US$8/W in 2004 and has descended gradually to US$3-4 or even lower recently. Solar energy providers aim to bring down the system cost to US$2/W. Eventually, solar energy will be able to compete effectively with fossil-fuel power if the system cost of solar power can be reduced to US$1/W, Lin commented.Taiwan has been channeling its resources to the development of electronics and semiconductor industries, but has yet to commit significant investments to the energy industry, which is larger than the semiconductor industry in terms of market scale.Taiwan-based oil company Chinese Petroleum Corporation (CPC) and electricity supplier Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) posted revenues of US$31.1 billion and US$15.5 billion, respectively, in 2011, compared to the US$14 billion recorded by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) during the same period. Powered by a workforce of 84,000, Exxon Mobil generated revenues of US$486.4 billion in 2011, during which Intel posted revenues of US$54 billion with its workforce totaling about 100,000.Global production value of flat display products reached US$173 billion in 2012, with TFT-LCD panels accounting for over 93% of the total value. Within the industry, the production of OLED devices has been growing at a CAGR of over 23% during a period that covers 2009 when the global economy was hit hard by a financial crisis. In light of opportunities for a number of display products, including e-paper, 3D displays and portable display devices, the global display industry is set for robust growth in the future.While a number of makers have begun developing curtain- or wallpaper-type flexible roll-to-roll displays, production costs and reliability of the products still remain a major concern of the industry. Having control of key technologies and components such as light-emitting devices and transparent transistors will be essential to lowering the production costs and reliability of flexible display devices.In the field of solid-state lighting, Taiwan makers have the highest potential utilizing related LED technologies they have. According to Morgan Stanley, demand for LED lighting products will grow by a CAGR of 31% during the period from 2007-2020. But the local LED industry still needs to tackle some issues.While a LED bulb with an efficacy rate of 20% is able to deliver a brightness of 900lm/W at 15W, it is estimated that only 3W of the power is utilized to deliver the brightness and the remaining 12W is used for heat dissipation.However, if the efficacy can be ramped up to 80%, the bulb will just need to consume 0.75W for heat dissipation. As a result, a reduction in thermal design can help bring down the cost, while saving more energy.Taiwan's LED industry is also facing challenges in terms of production equipment and patents, as a bulk of production equipment needs to be imported, and it stands in an unfavorable position in the cross-licensing trade-offs.Issues concerning the availability, prices and related patents of fluorescent powder, a major material for the production of LED devices, are also unfavorable to Taiwan makers. Local manufacturers should develop new fluorescent technologies without the use of rare earth as well as new crystal growing equipment to enhance their competitiveness in the LED lighting segment.National Taiwan University Professor Ching-Fuh Lin

The launch of the iPhone in 2007, which has since kicked off the robust development of mobile devices and telecommunications applications, combined with the roll-out of the iPad in 2010, which delivered a brand new user experience through application service platforms, have triggered a new wave of cloud-based services, according to Quen-Zong Wu, managing director of data communication business group at Chunghwa Telecom (CHT).The profound and distinctive achievements recorded in the mobile communications industry over the past 5-6 years offer an opportunity for the industry to review the course of technology evolution, as well as figure out the direction for future development.However, observing the technological developments of recent years, either through PC systems, TVs, telephones or communication networks, there is an emerging trend calling for the convergence and integration of related technologies and devices.From the vertical point of view, the traditional communication networks include public telephone systems, mobile networks, and Internet and cable TV networks. Along with the evolution of technology the boundaries between these segments have become blurred recently, but all these segments are now moving consistently toward the same direction: the road of convergence.All communication networks today have been focusing on implementation of service platforms for data access, transmission and related applications that matter most to consumers, and therefore blurring the boundaries of market segments.Additionally, an increase in bandwidth has also ushered in an array of new applications and breakthroughs in the industry's ecosystem, encouraging content providers, hardware makers and application service vendors to step into the converged device market.The advancement of hardware devices will enable the delivery of convenient services to users, enabling them to gain access to necessary data, including transportation services, e-government facilities, news, and medical information and traveling, while utilizing as few as one or two converged devices.Since mobile phones, PCs and TVs are all digitalized, mobilized and even personalized, the next step for the industry is to make hardware devices more intelligent; future devices should be able to detect the need of user, and such functionalities can be accomplished through the use of sensors.The showcase of large-size, high definition screens and the integration of mobile devices with household appliances at CES 2013 trade fair demonstrated the ongoing converging trends towards making devices more intelligent.A survey conducted earlier by Google on the use of media by more than 1,600 respondents shows that 90% of consumers prefer to gain access to needed information through screen-based devices, while the remaining 10% still use non-screen-based media such as newspaper, magazines, radio broadcasting. That is to say non-screen-based devices will become less and less attractive.Two ongoing application modes are expected to bring new challenges to application services providers. The first is how to enable users to connect their mobile user experiences gained on notebooks, tablets or handsets with their experience at home on a PC or TV in a seamless manner. The application service providers would also be required to develop applications to enable users to play on multiple screens simultaneously.While developing application software for multi-screen environments, the storage, processing and connected capabilities for front-end computing should also be taken into account as more data loads have to be shifted to the cloud amid a rising use of application software.For example, CHT assisted in the production of the Hollywood movie Life of Pi, with its Cloud for Animation and Visual Effects (CAVE) center, a joint cooperation it set up with special effect producer R&H. Through CAVE, R&H's animation experts in Vancouver, Los Angles, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Kuala Lumpur were able to share the same platform to conduct back-end production and computing projects for the movie.Quen-Zong Wu, managing director of data communication business group at Chunghwa Telecom

STMicroelectronics, the largest semiconductor company in Europe, has been promoting the integration of multi-axis sensor technology to enable innovative MEMS applications for the growing number of multi-platform mobile devices, according to Chiung Lee, senior technical marketing engineer of analog, MEMS and sensors at ST.ST currently boasts a total of 12 wafer foundries and 48,000 employees globally, including 11,000 R&D personnel. The company posted revenues of US$2.16 billion for the fourth quarter of 2012 and a total of US$8.49 billion for the year.ST focuses on five major target segments: MEMS sensors, smart power supplies, automotive products, microcontroller units, and digital consumer and application processors.ST has pioneered the through-silicon via (TSV) technology for the production of smaller MEMS chips, with accumulated shipments reaching 5.5 billion units, including three billion motion/proximity MEMS sensors and 2.5 billion inkjet heads for temperature-controlled inkjet printers.ST applies to a dual-sourcing approach to allocate its production lines, including the establishment of 6- and 8-inch MEMS foundry houses in Agrate, Italy and Singapore, the set-ups of advanced front-end IC assembly plants in Rousset and Crolles in France, and the installation of packaging lines in Kirkop in Malta and in Calamba in the Philippines. The strategy aims to assure a daily production capacity of four million MEMS chips worldwide.ST is the first MEMS semiconductor supplier to have its revenues surpass the US$1 billion mark, taking the top rank in consumer electronics products and handset segments, according to data compiled by Yole and HIS iSuppli. The company currently accounts for a 51% share of accelerometers used in the smartphone sector and takes up a 78% share of the gyroscope market. The company has also managed to ramp up sales of motion and MEMS sensors from US$30 million in 2006 to US$650 million in 2011 and further to US$770 million in 2012.ST's gyroscopes have been widely adopted in the smartphone and tablet sectors since 2010, and the company has also extended its offerings to include 9-axis sensor devices, dual-core gyroscopes, 3-axis accelerometers, 3-axis gyroscopes as well as magnetometers and pressure sensors.The first wave of commercialization of MEMS sensors began with the launch of Nintendo 3DS gaming consoles, with notebooks, DSCs, smartphones and tablets following soon after. Looking at share by operating system, ST's sensor solutions account for 75% of sensor applications in the iOS-based smartphone and tablet sector, 31.4% in the Android OS segment and 54.4% for the Windows platform.ST's introduction of its iNEMO-architecture solutions integrating a 3-axis gyroscope, a 3-axis accelerometer and a 3-axis magnetometer has been further extended to sensing applications to include image stabilization, remote-control, augmented reality, sports activities, navigation and location based service (LBS).The third wave of MEMS product adoption will come at the time when MEMS micro-sensors begin to find their way into watches, refrigerators, beds, toys, clothes, among others.ST offers different types of MEMS sensors for entry-level, midrange and high-end smartphones, separately. For example, the 3-axis LIS3DE, LIS3DH and LIS3SDH are for entry-level models and the LSM303DLHC and LSM303D plus iNEMO-based compass software are for midrange to high-end models, while 9-axis integrated sensors, or 9-axis iNEMO-M1 modules and iNEMO SiP chips are ideal for flagship models.ST also supplies L3GD20H+LSM303D and LSM330+LIS3MDL integrated sensor chips for optimized performance. The company has also begun volume production of its 6-axis LSM330DLC sensor chips, which integrated a 3-axis accelerometer and a 3-axis gyroscope.Summing up, Lee revealed that ST is currently offering more than 60 sensor products and has shipped over 2.5 billion market-proven MEMS sensor devices. Backed up by over 600 related MEMS patents, ST has also been cooperating with software developers to further enrich MEMS applications.Chiung Lee, senior technical marketing engineer of analog, MEMS and sensors at ST

Intel, being a high-tech company with the spirit of innovation deeply engrained in every employee and with numerous innovative platforms and technologies, has been cooperating with ecosystem partners in Taiwan to deliver new technical know-how into end-market devices.Moreover, this cross-industry cooperation has led to numerous innovative ideas being incorporated into the development of new products, enhancing the structure of Taiwan's industries even further, according to Grace Wang, field application & support team director at Intel APAC.Intel's product architecture covers all cloud-based and terminal applications, with its cloud-related applications already being applied in an array of equipment, such as servers, storage systems, switches and network equipment.For terminal applications, Intel began to promote the concept of its ultrabook platform in 2011, using its Sandy Bridge processors and rolling out five concept ultrabook models at that time. By 2012, the notebook industry started producing ultrabooks built around third-generation Intel Core (Ivy Bridge) processors, resulting in the roll-out of more than 140 ultrabook models in volume shipments, while pushing the product into the mainstream price segment. Since then, notebook brands have also begun to adopt multi touch solutions for ultrabook devices and have launched over 40 touch-enabled models based on Microsoft Windows 8, said Wang.However, the notebook industry will once again be redefined when Intel soon unveils its fourth-generation Core (Haswell) family processors, Wang asserted.The impact of ultrabook devices on the notebook industry includes reducing the average thickness of notebooks from 35mm to below 25mm and cutting the TDP (thermal design power) to 17W for Ivy Bridge-based models compared to 30W for previous mainstream models. Additionally, ultrabooks have also ushered in new industrial designs, new applications, touch functionality, transformable chassis designs, thin form factor disc drives, and other new materials. Furthermore, Intel also unveiled its third-generation Core CPUs with only 7W TDP, which will enable OEM/ODM makers to roll out more lighter, thinner ultrabooks with longer battery life.Intel's fourth-generation Core processors will deliver advanced protection technology including Intel anti-theft technology (Intel AT) and Intel identity protection technology (Inter IPT), and come with quick response capabilities enabling interactive movements between touch and voice controls, fast boot and data updates. The new Core processors will also provide better mobility, with extended battery life to enable operations under all-weather conditions for more than nine hours and will support Intel wireless display (WiDi) technology that will allow users to quickly stream content and apps from devices to big displays, Wang highlighted.In light of the increasing popularity of natural intuitive computing applications, somatosensory, gesture control and face recognition technologies will soon be integrated into notebooks, with the prospects that interactive human sensory computing applications are also likely to be incorporated into notebooks.Wang also discussed the company's progress with the Intel Atom processor Z2760 (Clover Trail) launched in October 2012 for tablets. Intel has been shipping to OEM/ODM partners for the production of tablets, including models that will run on Windows 8.While the Atom Z2760 is based on a dual-core design with a clock speed of 1.8GHz and a battery life of up to 10 hours, Intel's next-generation Atom processor (Bay Trail) will come with a quad-core design made with a 22nn process and will deliver up to double the performance of the current generation Atom processors, Wang revealed. Intel is now cooperating with ODMs, including Wistron, Compal Electronics, Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS), Quanta Computer, Pegatron Technology, aiming to roll out Bay Trail-based tablets for year-end seasonal demand in 2013.Since the launch of the first smartphones with Intel mobile application processor inside in January 2012, Intel has been awarded 10 smartphone design wins, with products shipping in 20 countries through OEM/ODM partners and telecom operators, including Acer, Lenovo, ZTE, Motorola Mobility, Lava Mobile, Megafon, Saraficom and Orange.Intel's 1.2GHz Atom Z2420 (Lesington) smartphone platform, which support Hyper-Threading technology and enables optimization of Android OS, fast web browsing and HD video, has also found its way into a number of smartphones, including Acer's Liquid C1, Lava's Xolo X-500, Safaricon's Yolo, and Etisalat's E-20.The new Intel Atom processor Z2580 (Clover Trail+) for smartphones, which delivers up to double the CPU performance and triple the graphics capability compared to previous generation Medfield processors, is also helping to usher in an array of new devices, such as the Atom Z2580-based IdeaPhone K900 smartphone showcased by Lenovo at CES 2013.Intel's next generation smartphone products will come with a 22nm process and tri-gate transistor architecture for the delivery of the upmost performance and brand new user experiences, Wang concluded.Grace Wang, field application & support team director at Intel APAC

Mark Hopgood, corporate business development director at Dialog Semiconductor, emphasized that current projected capacitive touch technology have a limited penetration into large-size display products. Dialog has developed a multi-touch integrated circuit (MTIC) enabling FlatFrog's patented planar scatter detection (PSD) touch technology to roll out multi-touch solutions into consumer devices such as Ultrabooks, all-in-one (AIO) PCs and monitors delivering the same performance as projected capacitive technology and supporting Windows 8 multi-touch devices.Dialog, a Frankfurt-listed fabless semiconductor company, managed to ramp up its revenues from US$86.8 million in 2007 to US$774 million in 2012, representing a CAGR of 55% in the five-year period. The growth momentum continued driving revenues up to US$774 million in 2012. Dialog has been focusing on energy saving technologies and delivering analog/digital mixed signal IC devices, including the industry's highest integrated power management ICs (PMICs), ultra-low power audio codecs, short-range wireless ICs and multi-touch ICs.While branded PC vendors and software developers have been promoting the adoption of multi-touch applications to make them standard features of PC systems, multi-touch solutions have so far been found mainly in high-end Ultrabooks or AIO PCs priced more than US$1,000, because the prices of multi-touch solutions available today are still too high. As a result, the industry needs cost-effective multi-touch solutions to enable the roll-out of Ultrabooks or AIO PCs priced around US$600 to usher multi-touch functions into the mainstream segment in volume, Hopgood remarked.As forecast by a number of market research firms, including Digitimes Research, Arete Research and DisplayResearch, shipments of ultra-slim PCs (Ultrabooks and other notebooks with a thickness below 21mm) are expected to grow from 12 million units in 2012 to 32 million in 2013, 73 million in 2014, 115 million in 2015, and 170 million in 2016 – a vast market where Dialog is eyeing to make a strong presence, Hopgood indicated.Dialog has recently announced its DA8901 Smartwave infrared MTIC solutions designed to bring cost effective, premium multi-touch to mainstream Ultrabooks, notebooks, AIO PCs and monitors.While there are already a number of touch technologies available in the market, including resistive, acoustic, imaging and capacitive types, Hopgood described DA8901 as the world's first touch chip enabling FlatFrog's PSD in high-volume consumer electronics. Using in-lens infrared light, the FlatFrog PSD touch system can detect and track multiple touches, gestures and pressures from gloved hands, styluses and other objects, providing a more natural true-touch user experience at performance levels surpassing the latest capacitance-based solutions, but at a fraction of the cost.While the analog resistive touch technology is able to deliver cost efficient solutions for a variety of devices, the technology has gradually lost its appeal because it is unable to support multi-touch applications and its transmittance is rather limited, Hopgood indicated.Although the acoustic touch technology delivers solutions with a high degree of transmittance, it supports only up to two-point touch applications and its sensitivity will be affected if the surface of the screen is contaminated, said Hopgood.Projected capacitive touch solutions currently serve as a standard for smartphones due to its durability, dust-proof and stain-resistant capabilities, and bezel-free designs. However, projected capacitive touch solutions still need a layer of ITO conductive glass. Their production costs will skyrocket and yield rates drop when the solutions are applied to displays over 11 inches.Optical touch solutions support up to five-point touch applications, with 100% transmittance. But the need of overhead cameras and reflective baffles at the edge calls for an increase in the thickness of the display with the inclusion of a bezel. Additionally, the durability, and the dust- and contamination-resistant capabilities of optical touch sensors still need to be improved, Hopgood commented.Unlike projected capacitive touch technology, FlatFrog PSD touch featuring Dialog's MTIC solutions provide full edge-to-edge bezel-free industrial design with 100% transmittance because there are no expensive ITO layers to impede the light from the display reaching the eye. This also means the screen's backlighting does not need to be driven as hard to achieve the same brightness level, which will help save power.Supporting up to 40 simultaneous touches, the MTIC is able to detect changes in infrared light coming into the cover lens of the display. As users touch the glass surface, scattered light is detected by multiple infrared receivers. The resulting signals are received by the MTIC where they are amplified and pre-filtered before being converted to the digital domain. The data is then subjected to advanced signal processing using the MTIC's integrated detector engine, which enables the touch system to ultimately provide touch co-ordinates to the main device processor.Additionally, FlatFrog PSD touch works with glass or plastic cover lenses, eliminating the need for expensive ITO layers. It uses standard low-cost components and high-yielding assembly processes to provide superior multi-touch at a lower cost compared to projected capacitive touch solutions.A single MTIC, available in 5.7mm by 5mm 59pin aQFN packaging for ultra-narrow PCB design, can drive up to 12 infrared LED/emitter pairs directly. A typical Ultrabook, tablet or AIO PC would contain a number of MTICs configured in a master/slave arrangement catering for a flexible number of screen sizes up to 36 inches.Dialog will begin shipping an engineering version of its Smartwave multi-touch chips to clients in summer of 2013 with volume shipments slated for a quarter later. The company also expects the first wave of AIO PCs built on PSD-based infrared multi-touch solutions to hit retail channels in early 2014, Hopgood concluded.Mark Hopgood, corporate business development director at Dialog Semiconductor

In line with a set of guidelines for industrial development through 2020, the Taiwan government aims to build up a smart handheld device industry having a production value of NT$1.68 trillion (US$56 billion) and accommodating a total of 150,000 employees by the end of the next decade, according to Jang-hwa Leu, deputy director general of the Industrial Development Bureau (IDB) of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).The guidelines also call for more efforts to develop a number of key components, such as application processors, AMOLED panels and high-end touchscreens, to strengthen cooperation among various industry supply chains, and to enrich their pools of related patents, Leu added.While about 50% of key components including RF chips, processors, memory devices and sensors used in Apple's iPhone 5 are supplied by international players, Taiwan-based makers are also included in the iPhone 5 supply chain: TPK Holding (touch panels); Fortune Grand Technology (acoustic components); Acbel Polytech and Delta Electronics (power supplies); Simplo Technology (batteries); and some camera module makers, Leu noted.Local manufacturers enrolled into HTC's smartphone supply chain include: VIA Telecom (baseband chips); Catcher Technology, Ways Technical, Chenming Mold Industrial, and Ri-Teng Computer Accessories (cases and chassis); TPK, Young Fast Optoelectronics, and J Touch (touch panels); AUO and Innolux (flat panels); Lite-On Technology, Foxconn Electronics and Primax Electronics (camera modules); Dynapack (batteries); Unitech Printed Circuit Board, Compeq Manufacturing, Unimicron Technology, Tripod Technology, Flexium Interconnect and Career Technology (PCBs and FPCBs); and Largan Precision (camera lenses).For the production of iPad family devices, Taiwan also boasts a spectacular supply chain in support of the Apple tablets: Foxconn and Pegatron Technology (assembly); AUO and Innolux (displays); Wintek, TPK, and Innolux (touch panels); Simplo and Dynapack (batteries); and others such as Catcher, Unimicron, Zhen Ding Technology Holding, Foxlink, Largan and KYE Systems.Asustek Computer also leads a supply chain for the production of Google's Nexus 7 tablets: Quanta Computer, CPT, Wintek, TPK, Simplo, Celxpert Energy and Ju Teng International (casings); HannStar Board and Gold Circuit Electronics (PCBs); Aces Electronics (connectors); Elan Microelectronics (touch controller ICs); and Realtek Semiconductor (audio ICs).Taiwan makers rolled out a total of 220 million smartphones worth NT$445.5 billion in 2012, including 34.82 million units of branded models, 34.58 million units of ODM models and 151 million units of EMS products. Taiwan's production value of smartphones is expected to grow 21.2% to NT$537.2 billion in 2013 with output of 39.34 million branded devices, 40.27 million ODM units and 188 million EMS items, Leu indicated.Taiwan's production of tablets totaled 105 million units worth NT$34.4 billion in 2012, increasing 124.8% from the previous year thanks to orders for the iPad, the Kindle Fire and Nexus 7. Looking forward to 2013, Taiwan's production of tablets will grow over 50% to 159 million units in terms of volumes and gain 4.1% to NT$35.8 billion in terms of value, driven by shipments for the iPad mini and other brands.To speed up the development of smart handheld device industry in Taiwan, the government will also motivate related investments up to NT$20 billion in 2015 to ramp up the production value of the industry to NT$1.28 trillion in that year. The production value will increase to NT$1.55 trillion in 2018 and to NT$1.68 trillion in 2020.The MOEA's Department of Industrial Technology will also assist the development of high-end mobile technologies and applications, including 3D ICs, MEMS/sensors, advanced memory devices, low power technologies and application system architectures. Additionally, the National Science Council (NSC), academics and related industries will cooperate in developing multi-core CPUs and GPUs, computing subsystems, web browsers, compiler systems and low-power communications devices.While Samsung Electronics currently accounts for over 98% of global production of small- and medium-size AMOLED panels and has also begun trial production of flexible AMOLED products at its 5.5G lines, Taiwan-based AUO and Innolux have also entered the segment recently. IDB have policies that are aimed at helping local makers ramp up their yield rates for the production small- and medium-size AMOLED panels and AUO's AMOLED panels have found their way to HTC's supply chain.Through assistance provided by corporate bodies, the IDB will also help local makers develop related technologies, materials and equipment and enter the supply chain of AMOLED and flexible AMOLED products. The IDB will also work with academics to develop new display products such as temperature-resistant flexible substrates and oxide thin-film transistors.Taiwan currently accounts for 48.4% of global shipments of touch panels, with OGS (one glass solution) solutions enjoying a leadership position in the segment. The IDB will continue to push for the advancement of high-end touch panels using OGS, in-cell, roll-to-roll and IGZO (indium gallium zinc oxide) processes.For the battery industry, the IDB is working to enhance cooperation between Taiwan- and Japan-based makers, encouraging large-scale local companies to tie up with battery cell makers in Japan such as Sony and Panasonic to develop next-generation batteries, including ultra-high capacity, high output, super thin and ultra long-life models.For the development of application software products, the IDB has commissioned the Institute for Information Industry (III) to establish an application e-park in Taipei designed to accommodate and assist local R&D teams or companies to develop application software. A total of 44 such software teams have received related services, with seven of them already transforming into corporate entities. The local governments in Kaohsiung and Taoyuan are also evaluating the possibility of establishment of comparable application e-parks.Global production of LTE-enabled terminal devices (including smartphones) reached NT$425.5 billion in 2012, with Taiwan's production accounting for a 10.3% share. It is estimated that the number of LTE telecom operators will increase to over 350 globally in 2017 with a total of 870 million subscribers. In response to the growing LTE market and a call from local network equipment makers, the government plans to establish a multi-mode heterogeneous network testing environment to facilitate local markers' participation in the TD-LTE testing market. The government will also motivate telecom operators to offer mobile broadband services of over 10Mbps, aiming to allow over 50% Taiwan's citizens to access 10Mbps services by 2020. Together with assistance from academic organizations, the government will inject resources to develop B4G technology.In terms of intellectual property rights, Taiwan paid others US$5.8 billion in 2011, but only received US$800 million. The IDB is considering setting up IP funds or companies in order to secure key patents. Backed up by academic analyses, the government will also push for the development of advanced technologies to enrich the country's pools of patents.A task force set up by the MOEA for the promotion of smart handheld device industry is currently serving as a platform for cross-industry exchanges and cooperation; the task force will initiate international cooperation, motivate innovative developments, spur industrial integration and improve market environments for the industry, Leu concluded.Jang-hwa Leu, deputy director general of the IDB of Taiwan's MOEA

In the wake of an expanding smart handheld device market where iOS, Android and Windows are competing for dominance, Taiwan's industries are facing challenges never seen before because local manufacturers lack their own platforms such as those run by Apple, Google and Microsoft to control the integrated development of software, hardware and content, according to Colley Hwang, president of Digitimes.Sales of smartphones and tablets have been gaining momentum since 2010, and people are allocating more of their time spent previously on PC systems to smartphones and tablets. Apple triggered the paradigm shift, with its iOS-based smartphones taking up an incredible 83% share in 2010. The entry of new competitors drove iOS share down to 66% in 2011 and to 56% in 2012, with the ratio likely to dip to 48% in 2013. On the other hand, Android-based models managed to ramp up their share from 17% in 2010 to 40% in 2012. However, iOS and Android are expected to meet increasing challenges from Windows Phone in 2013.According to data released by Digitimes Research recently, shipments for iOS-based tablets totaled 64 million units in 2012 and are expected to reach 90 million units in 2013, while shipments for Android models will grow from 98.3 million to 144.8 million during the same period. Sales of Windows-based tablets are likely to expand from 2.6 million in 2012 to 12.5 million in 2013. In terms of market share, Android will account for 58.6% of the global tablet market in 2013, followed by iOS at 36.4% and Windows at 5%.Global notebook shipments have been sluggish since 2010. Global notebook shipments managed to edge up 3.5% to 251.7 million units in 2011 thanks in part to a substantial increase in netbook shipments. However, global notebook shipments dipped 4.5% to 195.96 million units in 2012 as a growing number of consumers chose to buy smartphones or tablets, while delaying their purchases of notebooks. Despite efforts initiated by Microsoft and Intel to defend their market share through the launch of new platforms, notebook shipments are expected to stay flat in 2013 and are unlikely to surpass the 200 million-unit mark once again.A report released by Strategy Analytics in November 2012 shows that sales of smartphones in the US totaled 23.3 million units in the third quarter of 2011 compared to 23.9 million units sold in China. Since then, smartphone sales in China have continued to gain momentum, reaching 38.5 million units in the third quarter of 2012, compared to 26.7 million units sold in the US during the same quarter.In China's smartphone market, sales for foreign brands totaled 73.4 million units for a 38.9% share in 2012, while local brands reached 115.5 million units for a 61.1% share, according to Digitimes Research. In 2013, foreign brands will see their combined share drop to 34.9% with total shipments of 114.7 million units, while local brands' share will ramp up to 65.1% with shipments of 214.3 million units. This indicates that sales for domestic brands in China are growing steadily. Additionally, China-based smartphone vendors are also making headway in overseas markets.Demand for smartphones in emerging markets will remain robust in 2013. Sales in China will grow to 250 million units in 2013 from 175 million in 2012, and in India, smartphone sales will double to 30 million units during the same period. Smartphone shipments in Russia are expected to rise to 20 million units in 2013 compared to 13 million units in 2012, while the penetration rate of smartphones in Indonesia will move up to 40% in 2013 from the previous year's 30%.Taiwan's media has often overlooked the importance of the markets in Africa, hardly aware that China has invested a total of US$16 billion in the region and that Malaysia, Korea and other emerging economies have also strengthened their deployments in Africa. Nigeria, a major oil exporter, has invested much to develop cultural and creative industries and is rolling out over 2,000 movies a year.South Africa has embarked on a new economic development program aiming to create five million jobs. Tanzania has slashed its value-added taxes levied on information and telecommunication products aiming to reach a penetration rate of over 70% for smartphones in the country by 2016. These pieces of information are enough to depict the potential of Africa.In regard to the semiconductor industry, global demand for semiconductor products are expected to reach US$303 billion in 2013, according to market research firm WSTS. Demand from Asia Pacific will contribute US$171.2 billion or 56.5% to total sales in the year, followed by North America (US$54.7 billion or 18.1%), Japan (US$43.4 billion or 14.3%), and Europe (US$33.7 billion or 11.1%). Although Japan and Asia Pacific will account for 70.8% of global semiconductor demand in 2013, major semiconductor players in the US still believe that the markets in North America and Europe are more important than those in Asia Pacific and announce new industry standards or promotional events mainly in the US and Europe.Meanwhile, the auto industry's foray into the smart car segment has ramped up the ratio of electronics parts and components used in the auto industry. The ratio of electronics parts to total production value of the auto industry surged to 40% in 2012 from 19% in 2005, and is likely to climb to 50% in 2020, according to Strategy Analytics.Hwang also stressed the importance of "backbone" enterprises – companies which come with an appropriate size, able to master some basic technologies, and have unique and highly competitive expertise in particular segments. A survey conducted by KOTRA (Korea Trade Promotion Corporation) in early 2013 shows that the current ratios of backbone enterprises to total number of businesses stand at 13.2% in Sweden, 11.8% in Germany, 4.4% in China, 3.7% in Japan, 2.2% in Taiwan, 2% in Switzerland, 1.2% in the Netherlands, 0.7% in the UK, 0.5% in Italy, 0.2% in the US and France, and 0.04% in Korea. This highlights the heavy reliance on large-size enterprises in Korea, making the "backbone" enterprises the most vulnerable sector in its industry structure.Latest industrial developments, including that of multi-display applications, are heading towards integrating cloud-based products. The next-generation Internet users are choosing tablets or smartphones as their first PCs, and products such as transformer tablets are enjoying brisk sales. These trends are encouraging hardware vendors to continue rolling out new integrated, converged devices, and therefore creating more market segments. As a result, building up a mutual support system among Taiwan's different supply chains has become an important issue as Taiwan seeks to maintain its advantages.Taiwan should also revamp its "cost-oriented" industrial development policy and encourage the creation of new business models, when PC systems are now being identified as items priced below costs, when Amazon is delivering a business model utilizing services and software to subsidize hardware sales, when international players such as Microsoft and Google are leaving the low margin markets to Taiwan makers.Digitimes president Colley Hwang

Digitimes celebrated its 15th anniversary by holding a technology forum, titled "Trends and Challenges for the Development of Platform Architecture for Diversified Mobile Devices in 2013," at the Taipei International Convention Center on March 21.Presiding over the symposium, Digitimes president Colley Hwang offered his view on the global technology development in a keynote speech. Joanne Chien, senior analyst and director at Digitimes Research, was also present at the event offering her insights into the latest market trends. Officials from the Industrial Development Bureau (IDB) of the Ministry of Economic Ministry (MOEA) gave an introduction to the supply chains of Taiwan's handset and tablet industries as well as the major tasks the Taiwan government is undertaking to promote the industries.Participants also included world-famous companies, including Intel, Digital Theater System (DTS), Dialog Semiconductor, STMicroelectronics and VIA Labs. These companies also showcased their latest solutions for mobile devices at the forum.In his keynote, Hwang urged Taiwan to continue pursuing innovations and refine its strategies. Taiwan should build up a mutual support system among its supply chains, since no Taiwan industry player is able to have control over software, hardware and content at the same time through unified platforms such as those run by Apple, Google and Microsoft. Taiwan needs to create innovative applications and new values to lift the selling prices and gross margins of end-market products.Utilizing Taiwan's advantages gained in a number of industries, including flat and touch panels, battery packs, chassis, PCBs and camera modules, and basing on a guideline for industrial development till 2020, the IDB will actively promote the development of application processors, AMOLED and high-end panels, enhance the formation of industrial supply chains, and assist local companies to develop related applications, said Jang-hwa Leu, deputy director general of the IDB.Leu noted that the government also aims to complete the infrastructure and testing environment for next-generation telecommunication services, to form an intellectual property (IP) fund or company, to enhance the deployment of key patents, and to build up a mobile device industry with a production value of NT$1.68 trillion (US$56 billion) and 150,000 employees by 2020. Vincent Ting, director of account management at DTS, pointed out that DTS has been committed to bringing the cinema-grade high-fidelity surround sound to tablets, smartphones and other connected mobile devices through cooperation with upstream and downstream suppliers. Taiwan-based mobile device makers should not confine their efforts only to hardware competition, and instead should strive to offer excellent user experience, and create innovative value, Ting added.Meanwhile, Dannie Lau, general manager of Phorus, a subsidiary of DTS, indicated that Phorus has been offering Play-Fi technology to enable Windows and Android users to download applications through GooglePlay for access to multiple-room, multiple-user wireless synchronized sound transmission.Grace Wang, field application and support team director at Intel APAC, emphasized that Intel has been delivering advanced semiconductor technologies and low-power, high-performance processors for ultrabooks, utilizing its effective and innovative R&D capabilities. Intel has also delivered powerful platforms for tablets, smartphones and other mobile devices enabling efficient web browsing/video playback, as well as helping Taiwan makers to deliver innovative and diversified user experience.Mark Hopgood, strategic marketing director at Dialog, pointed out that since the current projected capacitive touch technology has not yet extended its applications to large-size display products, Dialog has optimized its FlatFrog PSD technology to roll out touch solutions that deliver the same performance as projected capacitive technology and support Windows 8 multi-touch requirements. Dialog's touch solutions are also applicable to AIO PC systems in the 11- to 36-inch size range, and the touch functions can be performed with gloves on, styluses and other objects.ST has been promoting technology integration for multi-axis sensors, and currently has a total of 12 wafer foundry/packaging houses capable of rolling out four million sensor chips per day in more than 60 designs, said Chiung Lee, senior technical marketing engineer of analog, MEMS and sensors at ST. Having already shipped over 2.5 billion MEMS sensors and obtained more than 600 related patents, ST also offers clients SiP packaging technology for the development of more MEMS applications.Quen-Zong Wu, managing director of the data communication business group at Chunghwa Telecom (CHT), described cloud application systems as the most important infrastructure enabling access to computing resources anytime, anywhere through diverse display products including desktops, notebooks, tablets and smartphones. CHT assisted the production of the movie, "The Life of Pi," with services from its Cloud for Animation and Visual Effects (CAVE) center, a joint venture it set up with special effect specialist R&H. Through CAVE, R&H's animation experts in Vancouver, Los Angles, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Kuala Lumpur were able to conduct back-end production and computing for the movie on the same platform. This indicates that the integration of diverse display applications will enable the development of innovative business models to offer big data computing and other smart services, Wu added.Ching-Fuh Lin, a professor from National Taiwan University, pointed out that Taiwan accounted for 17% of global production of US$400 billion worth of photonics and optoelectronics products in 2011, with its solar energy, power-saving lighting and display industries having competitive advantages. However, to sustain the development and expansion of large-size and 3D displays, e-paper and other portable display devices, Taiwan makers need to have control over key technologies and discrete components for the development of new products such as roll-to-roll displays and transparent transistors. Lin also suggested Taiwan makers develop new fluorescent technologies without the use of rare earth, as well as new epitaxial wafer production equipment to enhance the competitiveness of Taiwan's LED industry.Digitimes Research senior analyst and director Joanne Chien urged Taiwan makers to also pay attention to the competition triggered by the rise of China-based white-box suppliers, in addition to the fierce price war among mobile device vendors. Chien also pointed out that Google, having made headway in the smartphone and tablet industries with Android OS, is also trying to enhance its presence in the notebook segment with its Chromebook. Google's cooperation with Hewlett-Packard (HP), Lenovo and Acer for the launch of low-priced Chromebooks is likely to accelerate the downward adjustments of mobile device prices, Chien commented.The DTF 2013 Ultra Mobile & Ecosystem Forum attracts almost 800 participants