Touchscreen demand is on the rise, according to DisplaySeach-- with WW touch panel module revenues forecast to reach $13.4Bn by 2011's end, before reaching totals of $23.6Bn in 2017.

Fuelling such growth is the rapid growth in mobile phone, handheld games console and tablet screens accounting for more than $10.5Bn in revenue this year.

Demand is also growing in devices requiring larger touch-based displays, such as all-in-one PCs, notebooks and gaming machines.

Capacitative displays are the Continue reading...

Gartner revises its projections for the WW semiconductor market's growth in 2011, saying it will reach totals of $315Bn with 5.1% Y-o-Y growth (from 2010's $299Bn).

Such totals are down from Gartner's earlier projections (from Q1 2011) of 6.2% Y-o-Y growth.

One of the reasons for Gartner's forecast scaling down is the impact of the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan-- but not due to supply constraints.

The actual problem is vendors' response-- double ordering from March all through Q2 2011 "in efforts to secure supply in the face uncertainty and potential shortfalls", Gartner says.

The analyst now predicts residual effects on the supply chain in Q3 2011, which could impact some production and cause a few surprises in the process. Efforts to draw down inventory numbers can weaken the semiconductor market in Q4 2011 - Q1 2012.

TrendForce's WitsView predicts customers will be going for bigger tablets these year, saying 9.7" and 10.1" models will make up 88.6% of 2011 WW tablet shipments.

However the analyst suggests that customers will only go for bigger devices on the short term-- with 7" tablets having great long term sales potential, with their market share growing to 12.3% by 2013 (from 2011's 8.3").

The reason? Lower prices.

The LCD panel and touch module account for around 40% of a tablet's cost, and there's Continue reading...

IHS iSuppli's latest results suggest the WW PC market is feeling the effect of consumer interest in tablets-- particularly from the likes of the iPad.

WW PC shipments are down by -0.3% Y-o-Y in Q1 2011, reaching the total of 81.3m units (from Q1 2010's 81.6m units). The PC vendor top 3-- HP, Dell and Acer-- all see Y-o-Y decreases in their results, particularly Acer, whose shipments decrease by -20.4% in Q1.

Acer is an important vendor example since it sells a high proportion of netbook-type Continue reading...