Shipments of handsets by Taiwan-based ODMs and brand vendors totaled 25.56 million units in the fourth quarter of 2014, increasing 15% sequentially and over 50% from a year earlier, according to Digitimes Research.
For all of 2014, handset shipments by Taiwan's suppliers amounted to 85.15 million units, showing an increase of 39% from the previous year.
Handset ODMs Chi Mei Communication Systems (CMCS) and Compal Electronics both saw their handset shipments gain over 15% sequentially in the fourth quarter thanks to pull-in orders from major clients including Sony Mobile Communications and Microsoft Mobile, said Digitimes Research.
Brand vendor HTC managed to ramp up its shipments by 10% sequentially in the quarter, buoyed by the release of new mid-range models. Fourth-quarter smartphone shipments from Asustek Computer and Acer were up one million and 400,000 units, respectively, from a quarter earlier, powered by low-priced models.
Mainstream smartphone models shipped by HTC and Asustek in the fourth quarter came mostly with 8- and 13-megapixel cameras, while the cameras used in the major ODM smartphones from Sony Mobile have also shifted to 8-megapixel from the 3-to 5-megapixel models used previously, Digitimes Research noted.