Tablet devices running on Microsoft Corp’s new Windows 8 operating system are expected to account for just 5 percent of the world’s overall tablet market next year, market researcher IDC said yesterday, because demand would be capped by their higher retail prices compared with major rivals.
Shipments of Windows 8 tablets, equipped with Intel Corp’s processors, are expected to reach 7 million units next year, IDC vice president Bob O’Donnell said on the sidelines of a technology forum arranged by the research house in Taipei.
Apple’s iPad series would continue to dominate the market by capturing a more than 50 percent share with shipments totaling nearly 150 million units next year, O’Donnell said.
“The problem is that Apple has set a [price] standard for tablets,” O’Donnell said. “In people’s minds, US$499 is the price for a tablet.”
Windows-based tablets are likely to be priced between US$599 and US$899 per unit, according to a forecast by Taipei-based research house Digitimes.
People may spend US$699 for a PC, but not for a tablet, as shown by the weak sales of tablets made by Samsung and HP, O’Donnell said.
O’Donnell said that worldwide PC shipments would grow by 5 percent this year from last year’s 350 million units, helped by replacement demand following the sales of the Windows 8 system and sales of new Ultrabooks.
The growth would come mainly from the BRIC nations — Brazil, Russia, India and China — he said.
O’Donnell said Ultrabooks would make up 10 percent of all notebook computer shipments this year, accounting for 15 percent of consumer-type notebooks, meaning that there was still a long way to go before reaching the 40 percent penetration rate of consumer-type laptops forecast by Intel.
Another IDC analyst, Helen Chiang (江芳韻), said that notebook computer shipments from contract manufacturers led by Quanta Computer Inc (廣達電腦) would grow at an annual rate of 6.93 percent to 213 million units this year.
Separately, IDC’s display analyst Annabelle Hsu (徐美雯) said disappointing flat-panel TV sales in China during the three-day May 1 holiday shopping season could jeopardize the price uptrend for TV panels.
TV sales in China only grew at 6 percent annually during the holiday, falling short of an estimate of a 10 percent expansion, Hsu said.
Prices for LCD TV panels with sizes larger than 40 inches are expected to slide again as inventories rise amid weaker-than-expected TV sales and an increase in new output in the second half, Hsu said. She did not provide a detailed forecast.
The DBS Foundation yesterday announced the launch of two flagship programs, “Silver Motion” and “Happier Caregiver, Healthier Seniors,” in partnership with CCILU Ltd, Hondao Senior Citizens’ Welfare Foundation and the Garden of Hope Foundation to help Taiwan face the challenges of a rapidly aging population. The foundation said it would invest S$4.91 million (US$3.8 million) over three years to foster inclusion and resilience in an aging society. “Aging may bring challenges, but it also brings opportunities. With many Asian markets rapidly becoming super-aged, the DBS Foundation is working with a regional ecosystem of like-minded partners across the private, public and people sectors
BREAKTHROUGH TECH: Powertech expects its fan-out PLP system to become mainstream, saying it can offer three-times greater production throughput Chip packaging service provider Powertech Technology Inc (力成科技) plans to more than double its capital expenditures next year to more than NT$40 billion (US$1.31 billion) as demand for its new panel-level packaging (PLP) technology, primarily used in chips for artificial intelligence (AI) applications, has greatly exceeded what it can supply. A significant portion of the budget, about US$1 billion, would be earmarked for fan-out PLP technology, Powertech told investors yesterday. Its heavy investment in fan-out PLP technology over the past 10 years is expected to bear fruit in 2027 after the technology enters volume production, it said, adding that the tech would
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has secured three construction permits for its plan to build a state-of-the-art A14 wafer fab in Taichung, and is likely to start construction soon, the Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau said yesterday. Speaking with CNA, Wang Chun-chieh (王俊傑), deputy director general of the science park bureau, said the world’s largest contract chipmaker has received three construction permits — one to build a fab to roll out sophisticated chips, another to build a central utility plant to provide water and electricity for the facility and the other to build three office buildings. With the three permits, TSMC
YEAR-END BOOST: The holiday shopping season in the US and Europe, combined with rising demand for AI applications, is expected to drive exports to a new high, the NDC said Taiwan’s business climate monitor improved last month, transitioning from steady growth for the first time in five months, as robust global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) products and new iPhone shipments boosted exports and corporate sales, the National Development Council (NDC) said yesterday. The council uses a five-color system to measure the nation’s economic state, with “green” indicating steady growth, “red” suggesting a boom and “blue” reflecting a recession. “Yellow-red” and “yellow-blue” suggest a transition to a stronger or weaker condition. The total score of the monitor’s composite index rose to 35 points from a revised 31 in August, ending a four-month
RSS