Notebook computer shipments will grow 0.6% in 2015 to 174.6 million units, while tablet computer shipments will decline 3.5% to 185.6 million units, according to TrendForce, a Taiwan-based market intelligence firm. Notebook manufacturers largely vied for market share this year by slashing prices, said Caroline Chen, a notebook analyst at TrendForce.
Global notebook shipments reached 45.8 million units in the third quarter, an increase of 7.2% over the quarter ending in June and 4.2% over the same period last year, according to TrendForce. Among the top 7 notebook vendors, shipment growth was an exceptional 8.6%. Despite the strong performance of notebooks in the third quarter, TrendForce is concerned that that momentum will be unsustainable and shipments will decrease 3% to 5% in the fourth quarter.
Global smartphone shipments grew 9.1% to reach 310 million units in the peak-season third quarter, buoyed by the iPhone 6 launch. Apple’s market share expanded 5% on year, the most of any major handset brand. The larger screen of the new iPhone was a decisive factor in Apple’s strong performance, said Avril Wu, an assistant vice president at TrendForce, a Taiwan-based market intelligence firm.
Approximately 14 million 4K2K – ultra-high definition (UHD) – television sets will be shipped globally in 2014, penetrating 6-7% of the overall TV market, according to WitsView, a subsidiary of the Taiwan-based market intelligence firm TrendForce.
When the iPad was launched in 2010, it was an instant hit and spurred a tablet PC craze. Such was the popularity of tablets that notebook PC sales stagnated and eventually began to fall as consumers increasingly switched to tablets.
