Mobile Devices Help Bring Profits To The Semiconductor Industry In 2012

ELECTRONICS.CA PUBLICATIONS, the electronics industry market research and knowledge network, announces the availability of a new report entitled “Semiconductor Market Tracker. Quarterly Report”.

After a decent first quarter, the big players of the semiconductor industry are expecting smoother sailing throughout the next few quarters. Especially now that supply chain setbacks resulting from the flooding in the third quarter of last year have fully recovered and consumer demand is improving.

Specifically, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) announced in early May 2012 that global sales of semiconductors in Q1 2012 had reached nearly $70 billion. Although this was a slight decrease of about 8 percent from last year’s first quarter sales and a slight sequential decline from Q4 2011, the upwards trends are encouraging, especially in Europe and Japan, which had seen very poor results over the last few quarters of 2011.

As all regional markets continue to recover, it is expected that there will be moderate seasonal growth during the second quarter which will continue to build momentum as the year continues on.

The industry’s recent good fortunes can be especially attributed to the unrelenting popularity of mobile devices including smartphones and tablets, such as Apple’s market leading iPhone and iPad devices. Apple’s successes in these markets continued to mount when it announced in late April that its profits had jumped 93 percent in the first quarter from the same period one year ago, as stronger than expected iPhone sales and new revenue from China helped drive the firm to record profits.

The firm’s success has also extended to its Chip suppliers as well. For example, the price of shares of Cirrus Logic, a supplier of audio processors for Apple, jumped significantly upon news of Apple’s first quarter success. Meanwhile, OmniVision a supplier of semiconductor image-sensor devices to Apple also saw a boost in its share prices in the first quarter after Apple’s announcement.

While nearly all categories of chips have benefitted from the booming smartphone market, the greatest growth has come in higher end chips such as application processors, radio frequency (RF), power management, and wireless connectivity chips. Application processors, which help power the heart of the latest smartphone devices, have particularly flourished and no one firm has benefitted from this more than San Diego-based Qualcomm.

Qualcomm, which announced in April 2012 that its first quarter company revenues had reached $4.94 billion, or up 28 percent year-over-year, has reaped the benefits from the global move to more advanced mobile devices, as well as increased adoption in emerging markets. The company is also pegging that future growth will come from last year’s purchase of Atheros for $3.1 billion. Atheros, which designs wireless connectivity chips, will play a larger role in Qualcomm’s near term strategy of connecting smartphones to other devices in the home, including HDTVs and set-top-boxes.

However, Intel, the world’s largest chip supplier, is a new player in the mobile space with its Atom mobile processor, and although it is still a minor player in terms of sales thus far, it could end up being the greatest challenger to Qualcomm’s throne yet. The firm believes that the latest version of its Atom processor will help it gain a major foothold in this industry. The CPU, code-named “Ivy Bridge”, was released earlier this year and sports an industry leading 22 Nanometer (nm), tri-gate design that took Intel nearly a decade to develop.

In fact, as a leading edge firm with its own fabrication plants, Intel believes that it has a leg up on many of the “Fabless” firms that license the ARM architecture. Intel recently went on record saying that despite its minor share in the mobile market, it will have a major advantage the industry ramps up over the next few years and transitions from current generation 300mm Wafer technology to 200mm level technology.

Intel will first make its move in the smartphone markets of emerging regions, such as China and India. For example, the latest smartphone release for Intel was the India-based Lava International’s new XOLO X900 which debuted in India in late April and runs Intel’s low-power Atom Z2460 Medfield processor. But even with all of this said, Intel still has its work cut out for it, as this increasingly competitive market is populated by some of the world’s largest and most successful semiconductor firms, including the likes of Qualcomm, Broadcom, Samsung, Nvidia, and an even increasing number of ARM licensees, which will even grow to include software giant Microsoft sometime in the third quarter of 2012.

Additionally, there will be greater industry consolidation this year, which began last year with several high profile mergers and acquisitions including Qualcomm / Atheros, Texas Instruments / National Semiconductor, Broadcom / NetLogic, and CSR / Zoran. This will mean that competition among chip suppliers should heat up even further as the year goes on and as the booming smartphone and mobile computing markets help keep the semiconductor industry highly profitable.

Details of the new report, table of contents and ordering information can be found on Electronics.ca Publications’ website. View the report: Semiconductor Market Tracker. Quarterly Report

ELECTRONICS.CA PUBLICATIONS, the electronics industry market research and knowledge network, announces the release of a comprehensive global report on the World market for Radio Frequency Identification Technology, RFID that is projected to reach US$18.7 billion by the year 2017. Growth will be primarily driven by fast paced deployments of RFID projects in developing Asian countries, especially in China. Developments in the field of smart labels are projected to hold the key to future revenue growth.

Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology holds immense potential for businesses engaged in production, transportation, and retailing of products. Superior production efficiency, inventory updates in real-time, shipping and importing economies, greater product security and curbing of counterfeit products are among the numerous advantages of using RFID. It is due to these and other benefits such as declining Tag prices, greater end-user responsiveness and technological advancements that RFID is gaining widespread acceptance among various businesses for a wide range of applications. On the investment front, more than 40% of shippers have increased their investment in RFID technology for supply chain applications.

Over the last few years, the cost of the cheapest of RFID tags fell to just US$0.05, which is likely to further go down in the near future. The dwindling prices will help boost widespread adoption of item level tagging. The steep decline in cost of RFID tags is palpable by its mass production for widespread usage in tracking pets, and livestock, minute components in car assembly plants, and luggage at transit points. Consumer goods manufacturers have of late shown interest in adopting smart tags and the sheer size of the retail industry promises order inflows by the billions. Soon, these smart tags would replace bar codes in consumer goods packaging. In addition, government programs to replace plastic ID cards and paper passport with smartcards and electronic passports, which use contactless Chip technologies, spur adoption of RFID technologies.

While growth in the RFID market will continue to be driven mainly by security and access control applications such as e-identification, and other government sponsored security projects such as passport security, and border crossing cards, growing penetration of RFID technology into other application areas in manufacturing, transport, animal tracking, aviation and commercial segments such as retail and textile is expected to secure the future of the RFID market. Tagging of animals is expected to grow strongly, as laws and regulations governing livestock, wildlife, aquaculture and pet care become more stringent. RFID devices will also make rapid strides into food safety industry in the short to medium term period. Epidemic outbreaks such as bird flu, and concerns over animal health, and food safety, which makes traceability and origin of animal meat a critical necessity, will boost market prospects for RFID in the food safety sector. With consumer awareness on food safety on the rise, RFID devices, which can provide traceability of food product over the entire food supply chain is expected to witness considerable growth in demand in food safety applications.

Use of RFID technology for product-tracking and inventory management especially has gained momentum over the last few years. This is because RFID tags and readers help retail managers in improving stock visibility, monitoring shipment in transit, managing product movement, tracking goods on-shelf and in warehouse, and tracing other valuable and often utilized items, thus driving better on-shelf inventory replenishment, reduction of wastage, improved productivity, and efficient logistics. Retail chains and malls are increasingly adopting the concept of ‘smart shelves’, which enables consumers read related product information and other pricing data via RFID readers integrated in phones and other portable equipment. Although still in early stages of adoption in the pharmaceutical industry, RFID technology is slowly gaining in prominence in this sector. Regulatory demands such as implementation of e-Pedigree in supply chain, as mandated by California Board of Pharmacy will also generate substantial demand for RFID in the pharmaceutical sector. As pharmaceutical companies realize the pivotal role played by RFID technology in eliminating fake drugs in supply chain, demand for RFID hardware, software and services is expected increase. Aviation sector is another prominent area, where RFID is expected to gain momentum, especially for in-flight services, baggage handling, and cargo tracking.

Although developed markets such as US and Europe continue to remain the largest revenue generators for RFID, future growth in the market will be primarily driven by fast increasing RFID deployments in major countries such as India, China, Taiwan, Thailand and South Korea. Growth in these markets is largely attributed to the support extended by regional governments in promoting the adoption of RFID technology across various application areas such as transportation and national IDs. Increasing acceptance by private participants and falling prices of RFID hardware and software, will also increase market prospects further. Adoption of RFID in the region will increase further as success stories on early RFID installations emerge, and as customers begin to realize the benefits of RFID technology.

As stated by the new market research report on Radio Frequency Identification Technology, the United States represents the largest market worldwide, followed by Europe. Asia-Pacific represents the fastest growing regional market with a projected CAGR of 21.7% over the analysis period. Use of RFID in Security and Access Control Applications and in Manufacturing & Logistics Applications is expected to grow at a strong double digit CAGR of 17.9% over the analysis period.

Major players in the marketplace include HID Global, Brady Corporation, Checkpoint Systems Inc, Gemalto NV, Hitachi Ltd., Intermec Inc., NXP Semiconductors, Precision Dynamics Corporation, Savi Technology Inc., Sirit Inc., TagMaster AB, TagSys RFID, Texas Instruments Inc., TransCore, and Zebra Technologies Corporation, among others.

The research report titled “Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Technology: A Global Strategic Business Report” provides a comprehensive review of market trends, issues, drivers, company profiles, mergers, acquisitions and other strategic industry activities. Market estimates and projections in US$ Million are presented for all major geographic markets including the United States, Canada, Japan, Europe (France, Germany, Italy, UK, Spain, Russia, The Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, Ireland and Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, and Rest of Asia-Pacific), Middle East & Africa and Latin America. Product segments analyzed include RFID Tags (Active & Passive), RFID Readers (Low Frequency & High Frequency), RFID Software and RFID Services. Key end-use segments analyzed include Security and Access Control, Transportation, Manufacturing & Logistics, and Animal Tracking among others.

Details of the new report, table of contents and ordering information can be found on Electronics.ca Publications’ website. View the report: Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Technology: A Global Strategic Business Report.

Optoelectronics Market Sales and Demand Expected to Grow Strongly Through 2017

MONTREAL, April 27, 2012 / ELECTRONICS.CA PUBLICATIONS, the electronics industry market research and knowledge network, announces the availability of a new report entitled “Optoelectronics Market Tracker. Quarterly Report”.

The diverse optoelectronics segment includes both integrated and discrete products that use optical and electronic means to, source, detect, or otherwise control light. The need for increased integration of image sensors and LEDs is occurring in very high volume application designs and the opportunity for growth will continue to surpass many digital IC product markets.

The emerging areas that are driving new growth channels include applications like LCD televisions, lighting fixtures, and OLED displays in the short term. Meanwhile, developments in optoelectronic technology over the medium to long term will be driven by advancements in medical applications, and in “green” photonic applications.

For its latest optoelectronics product release, Sharp continued its transition away from CCFL-based LCD products into all-LED Backlight technology with a 10.1 inch WXGA LED-backlit LCD, specifically designed for use in tablet PC applications.

Panasonic brought to market a 1.3 megapixel MOS type image sensor for use in applications related to security cameras or networked cameras. Sony announced that it had developed a next generation back-illuminated CMOS image sensor.

Recent LTE Implementation for Europe

LTE smartphone availability in Europe is going slower than it was in the U.S. as European operators are not “as aggressive” as in the U.S. Two operators in Germany, Vodafone and Deutsche Telecom, have rolled out a few LTE smartphones. They started with LTE-enabled network in rural areas, moving to enabling cities later, a pre-condition upon getting required spectrum licenses.

In March 2012, Vodafone has launched the HTC Velocity 4G phone, the first LTE smartphone on the German market. Following this, there are a number of further launches of smartphones and tablets, including one by Asus. Sweden has also started selling the Samsung Galaxy LTE smartphone, with LTE services being made available in most northern European countries.

Market Trends

The consumer and communications application segments continue to account for the majority of optoelectronics revenue, coming from increased demand and high product volumes, which have resulted in new product innovations.

Led by LEDs, sales and unit shipments of optoelectronics are expected grow strongly for this year and for the duration of the forecast period through 2017. Demand for LEDs and OLEDs is growing due to new products ranging from television displays to general lighting applications. LEDs, including Organic LEDs or OLEDs, high brightness white LEDs, and others, will remain the largest and fastest growing individual product within the optoelectronics market

Another major product in the optoelectronics market is image sensors. Demand for image sensors primarily depends upon the health of its major application segments such as mobile communications, computers, and consumer electronics markets. Growth in the short term will result from increased demand for camera-enabled phones and consumer electronics such as camcorders and PC-based cameras. In terms of application consumption, the communications market, which is mainly composed of mobile phones and wireless infrastructure, accounts for the majority of optoelectronics revenue.

The automotive market will likely remain one of the smallest application areas for optoelectronics, but products are increasingly being used in lighting, cruise control, instrumentation, and infotainment systems. Industrial will remain the third largest market, due to the inclusion of the general and factory lighting segments which are major growth applications for high brightness white LEDs, and because of the significant growth seen in medical and in some mil/aero applications.

Current Trends

• China’s Huawei and ZTE growing market share in smartphones
• Recent LTE implementation for Europe
• Positive U.S. auto sales update
• Apple’s prediction for the future of tablets
• Sony’s 3D and OLED television strategies
• Mobile phone trends from Mobile World Congress
• Nokia introduces 41-Megapixel smartphone camera
• Samsung reveals ambitious medical strategy
• Stacked CMOS image sensor design for back illumination
• LED efficiency now exceeds 100 percent

Details of the new report, table of contents and ordering information can be found on Electronics.ca Publications’ website. View the report: Optoelectronics Market Tracker. Quarterly Report

Sales of Optoelectronics, Sensors, and Discretes Set Record in 2011

ELECTRONICS.CA PUBLICATIONS, the electronics industry market research and knowledge network, announces the availability of a new report entitled “Market Analysis And Forecast For Optoelectronics, Sensors And Discretes”.

Strong demand for MEMS-based sensors, Fiber-optic laser Transmitters, CMOS image sensors, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and power transistors enabled the optoelectronic, sensor/actuator, and discrete semiconductors marketplace to grow by a slightly better-than-average 8% in 2011 to a new record-high $57.4 billion despite a substantial pullback in most product categories at the end of the year. The new annual report forecasts a 7% increase in total O-S-D sales in 2012 to $61.6 billion, with nearly all of the product categories in the three market segments expected to achieve modest growth this year.

The new 348-page O-S-D Report shows the strongest 2012 growth rates occurring in acceleration/yaw sensors (+21%), laser transmitters (+18%), pressure sensors (+15%), magnetic-field sensors (+14%), and actuators (+11%). Solid-state lamp sales, which grew 16% in 2011 on the strength of high-brightness LEDs, are expected to rise just 10% in 2012 primarily due to price erosion from a buildup of inventories in some device categories as growth rates in LED-backlit display applications slow and suppliers wait for new room-lighting products to gain wider acceptance worldwide. The 2012 O-S-D Report expects relatively slow sales growth in high-brightness white LEDs until 2014, when expensive solid-state lights finally become cheap enough to compete with conventional lighting products in mainstream end-user markets.

Motion-activated user interfaces, embedded automatic controls, and location-aware features in cellphones and portable electronics will continue to drive up sales of sensors built with microelectromechanical system (MEMS) technology. The detailed five-year forecast in the 2012 O-S-D Report also shows power transistors and related discrete semiconductors steadily climbing to record sales levels due to the spread of battery-operated electronics, renewable energy systems, hybrid and electric vehicles, and the global emphasis on reductions in electricity consumption. CMOS image sensors are also expected to see another wave of strong growth from new imaging applications and machine-vision designs, which will include automotive safety systems and intelligent surveillance networks.

The semiconductor universe consists of integrated circuits (ICs) and optoelectronic, sensor, and discrete (O-S-D) components. Although often overlooked in the past, the O-S-D market segments now command more attention due to a number of high-growth product categories that have consistently outperformed ICs and several “hot” emerging technologies that have moved into volume production.  Among these technologies are microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) for sensors and actuators and high-brightness light-emitting diodes (HB-LEDs) for solid-state lighting applications.

The report covers all the product categories of the optoelectronics, sensors/actuators, and discretes markets, which together accounted for nearly 18% of total semiconductor sales in 2011 compared to about 14% in 2000.

Details of the new report, table of contents and ordering information can be found on Electronics.ca Publications’ website. View the report: Market Analysis And Forecast For Optoelectronics, Sensors And Discretes

 

Spanish Defense Industry Expenditure Expected to Decline During 2011-2016 Period

MONTREAL, Feb. 6, 2012 /ATR-Newswire/  ELECTRONICS.CA PUBLICATIONS, the electronics industry market research and knowledge network, announces the availability of a recent report entitled “The Spanish Defense Industry – Market Opportunities and Entry Strategies, Analyses and Forecasts”.

Spanish military expenditure grew at a CAGR of 3.07% during the review period. However, due to financial constraints caused by the global economic crisis, the nation’s military expenditure is expected to register a more moderate CAGR of 2.81% during the forecast period.  Despite cuts to the Spanish defence budget, Spanish defence expenditure is expected to be supported by security threats, international missions and the country’s strained relationship with Morocco during the forecast period.

During the review period, Spain allocated an average 0.8% of its GDP towards defence expenditure. However, during the forecast period this is anticipated to decline to an average 0.65% of its GDP, to reduce the overall budget deficit of the country

During the review period, Spain spent an average of 24% of its total defence expenditure on the acquisition of military hardware, whilst 76% of its total defence expenditure was allocated for revenue expenditure. Although the share of capital expenditure in the total defence budget is expected to decrease to an average of 20% during the forecast period, the capital expenditure budget is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 4.48% to 2016

As a result of the security threats faced by the nation from internal and external terrorist organizations, the Spanish homeland security budget is expected to grow at a CAGR of 2.22% to 2016. This reflects the increase in the threat posed by terrorist organizations such as Euzkadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) and Al Qaeda, maritime security threats, and the rise in the illicit drug trade.

To enhance the capabilities of its domestic defense sector, the Spanish government has made offsets mandatory for all defense procurements exceeding US$1.3 million. The main objective of the offset program is to build domestic defense capabilities to increase overall arms exports. According to the country’s offset policy, investors are obligated to invest 100% of the contract value into the nation’s economy.

To build a military sector capable of competing with major arms supplying nations such as the UK, the US, Germany and France, the Spanish government encourages domestic defence firms to form partnerships with a foreign defence companies. In addition, many companies enter the Spanish market by collaborating on research and development projects.

Details of the new report, table of contents and ordering information can be found on Electronics.ca Publications’ website. View the report: The Spanish Defense Industry – Market Opportunities and Entry Strategies, Analyses and Forecasts

Global Market for Metamaterials to Reach $1.9 Billion by 2021

MONTREAL, Jan. 18, 2012  ELECTRONICS.CA PUBLICATIONS, the electronics industry market research and knowledge network, announces the availability of a new report entitled “Metamaterials: Technologies and Global Markets”.

The global market for metamaterials was worth $222.3 million in 2010 and $256.1 million in 2011. Analysts expect the market to grow to $758.7 million by 2016, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24.3% since 2011, and to reach $1.9 billion by 2021, a CAGR of 19.6% between 2016 and 2021.

In October 2006, David R. Smith of Duke University and other researchers announced that they had created an “invisibility shield.”  Using concentric rings of fiberglass, circuit boards that had been printed with millimeter-scale metal wires, and C-shaped split rings, the researchers were able to divert microwaves around a metal cylinder placed at the center of the ring.  The microwaves behaved as though there was nothing there.

In principle, there is no reason why a similar device that cloaks an object from visible light could not be built, although such a visible-light cloak is probably years away from becoming a reality.  While not yet exactly the stuff of science fiction, the invisibility cloak is probably the most dramatic demonstration so far of what can be achieved with metamaterials, which are composites made up of precisely arranged patterns of two or more distinct materials.

Metamaterials offer seemingly endless possibilities, but it is unlikely that all of these possibilities will become reality.  The goal of this report is to survey emerging metamaterials technologies and applications, identify those that are most likely to achieve significant commercial sales in the next 5 to 10 years, and develop quantitative estimates of potential sales.  The report generally avoids futuristic speculation concerning technology applications that might be possible 10 years or further into the future and instead focuses on applications that are expected make it to market by 2021.

The report’s specific objectives, which include identifying the metamaterials with the greatest commercial potential in the 2012 to 2021 time frame, identifying market drivers and evaluating obstacles to their successful commercialization, and projecting their future sales, support this broad goal.

The information in the report is organized around specific technologies, but it is largely non-technical in nature and coverage.  Therefore, it is less concerned with theory and jargon, and more concerned with products that work, the amount of a particular product the market is likely to purchase, and the price consumers are willing to pay.

Details of the new report, table of contents and ordering information can be found on Electronics.ca Publications’ website. View the report: Metamaterials: Technologies and Global Markets

Total Market for Conductive Coatings Expected to Grow to $13.8 billion in 2016

MONTREAL, Jan. 19, 2012 /ATR-Newswire/ ELECTRONICS.CA PUBLICATIONS, the electronics industry market research and knowledge network, announces the availability of a new report entitled “Conductive Coatings in Electronics and Energy Markets”.

In a newly released report, industry analysts state that the conductive coatings market has morphed from a stable, established business ecosystem into a more dynamic and important growth opportunity for materials companies as new forms of electronics emerge. The report titled estimates that the total market for conductive coatings will grow at a CAGR of about 10% from a value of $9.5 billion (USD) in 2012 to approximately $13.8 billion in 2016.

This report analyzes the opportunities for emerging conductive coatings in various electronics markets. The major focus of the analysis is on growth opportunities in electronics applications for new kinds of materials, such as alternative transparent conductive oxides, nanometals, carbon nanomaterials, conductive polymers, and the like. The forecasts also contain projections for the legacy, large-volume conductive coatings materials such as ITO, metals, and conventional carbon. The major application markets covered are coatings used in displays, solar panels, energy storage, EMI/RFI shielding, and ESD/antistatic protection.

The report also discusses the strategies of some of the important suppliers of novel conductive coatings product, especially those in the emerging nanomaterial-based coatings sector. Firms discussed include Agfa, Cambrios, Carestream Advanced Materials, Cima NanoTech, Enthone, Heraeus, Linde Group, PolyIC, Saint Gobain, Toray, Unidym, Vorbeck Materials and others.

The display industry is looking for the next big thing beyond LCDs and new forms of conductive coatings will be an important factor in the development of flexible and transparent displays, as well as OLEDs and touch-screen based products. The display sector is where conductive coatings suppliers can expect to see the greatest opportunities going forward since the PV sector clearly has its work cut out for it in light of subsidy reductions, oversupply, China’s emergence and India’s domestic manufacturing policies.

On the materials side, the biggest news is the coming-of-age of nanomaterials for electronics applications. Finally, these materials based on nanoscale metallic particles or CNTs and graphene have serious commercial drivers and in the report nanomaterials are projected to see the biggest growth rates in our forecasts reaching $1.2 billion by 2016.

The increasing multi-functionality of all consumer electronics, and the ubiquity of wireless computing and communications is fueling growth in conductive coatings for energy storage applications as well continuing to drive demand for coatings used for EMI/RFI shielding and/or ESD protection of devices. And by 2016, analysts expect to see revenues for conductive coatings used for energy storage devices reach $1.4 billion and for EMI/RFI and ESD protection reach $2.9 billion.

Details of the new report, table of contents and ordering information can be found on Electronics.ca Publications’ website. View the report: Conductive Coatings in Electronics and Energy Markets

NanoMarkets Report Projects Rapid Growth in Metallic Nanomaterials Over the Next Eight Years

MONTREAL, Jan. 19, 2012 /ATR-Newswire/ ELECTRONICS.CA PUBLICATIONS, the electronics industry market research and knowledge network, announces the availability of a new report entitled “Nanometals in Electronics and Energy Markets: 2012 and Beyond”.

In this report, analysts estimate that the total market for metallic nanoparticles, nanoinks and pastes, and nanostructures will grow to around $2.0 billion (USD) by 2017. The report is the latest in the firm’s ongoing coverage of nanomaterials for electronics and energy applications which dates back to 2005. It also detailed revenue forecasts for the materials covered broken out by application including printed circuit boards, consumer appliances, optical storage and computer memories, printed and organic electronics, smart windows, solar panels, energy storage, sensors, and chemical catalysts. It also provides detailed forecasts by material type including silver, gold, copper, platinum, palladium and other metallic nanomaterials.

The report also discusses the strategies of some of the leading suppliers of nanometals and related materials including American Elements, Beijing NanoMeet Technology, Cambrios, DuPont, Inframat, Johnson Matthey, JR Nanotech, Meliorum Technologies, MK Impex, NaBond, nanoComposix, Nanocs, NanoLab, Nanoco, Nanopatz, Nanoprobes, Nano-Oxides, Nano Silver Manufacturing, Nanostructured and Amorphous Materials, NN-Labs, Pilkington Glass, QuantumSphere, Reinste Nano Ventures, PowerMetal, Samsung, Sigma-Aldrich, SkySpring Nanomaterials, US Research Nanomaterials, UT Dots, and others.

The nanometals business has made considerable efforts to break out of its dependence on the R&D community for sales. Nonetheless, its efforts to sell nanometal replacements for traditional conductive inks over the past few years have not been especially successful. As a result, nanometals suppliers will have to refocus their efforts on novel applications, such as optical storage disks and catalysts for the energy and chemical industries.

These applications are riskier than the inks business and will also require more aggressive marketing. Firms selling transparent conductors based on nanometallic materials for use displays and solar panels are setting an example to other nanometals firms of how to build a commercial customer base. Analysts believe that if nanometals firms follow this lead, by 2017 almost 93 percent of the revenues for nanometals will come from markets that barely exist today.

Today, almost 85 percent of the nanometals business come from silver inks, pastes, particles and nanostructures, but by 2017, NanoMarkets believes that this number will reduce to 54 percent. The three big gainers are expected to be platinum, palladium and gold.

Platinum and palladium nanomaterials are expected to find a ready market as manufacturers of both sensors and chemical catalysts seek higher performance materials for their products. Catalytic applications for these and other nanomaterials are expected to generate more money in the future as it becomes increasingly necessary to squeeze more value out of expensive fuel sources. Meanwhile gold nanomaterials are likely to find generate new business in a number of different applications, especially as an enabler of new forms of information storage.

Details of the new report, table of contents and ordering information can be found on Electronics.ca Publications’ website. View the report: Nanometals in Electronics and Energy Markets: 2012 and Beyond

Japan: One Quarter After

ELECTRONICS.CA PUBLICATIONS, the electronics industry market research and knowledge network, announces the availability of a recent report entitled “Semiconductor Market Tracker. Quarterly Report”.

It has been a little over four months since the disastrous earthquake and tsunami that rocked Japan and its infrastructure. The full impact of damage and subsequent recovery of the Japanese semiconductor market are finally being realized. Even though Japan will no longer be the world’s single largest semiconductor materials market, the industries importance to the country is unmatched.

Researchers predict a 5% annual growth rate of worldwide semiconductor revenue for 2011. This growth is forecasted, even after all of the supply chain issues in Japan, because the Japanese recovery was so expedient. Companies have compensated for this supply chain disruption by securing additional output from other sources and making adjustments in the production mix. Luckily for the global semiconductor supply chain, the Japanese government has given semiconductor plants priority in their recovering economy and exempted them from power cuts. Almost all vendors have re-established their productions levels to levels before the earthquake.

One of the main disruptions to the supply chain arose from the lack of some raw materials. For example hydrogen peroxide and 300 mm wafers were in short supply delaying fabrication. Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company, which supplies H2O2 to more than 60% of Japanese semiconductor suppliers, was severely crippled by the tsunami water. The chemical plant just reached normal shipment levels on June 23rd. Concurrently the world’s largest 300mm silicon Wafer plant, Shin-Etsu Hantodai’s Shirakawa plant, just restarted operations on July 1st. Shin-Etsu Hantodai supplies 20 percent of the world’s 300mm waters. With these large raw materials problems taken care of the regions recovery is well on its way.

Japan has proved its resilience to the world and after a short recovery, the regions semiconductor growth will be positive soon. Researchers forecast that in 2012 Japan will recover shipment levels to 112 billion units, which is 7 percent higher than 2011 levels. Revenue will take a hit in this region, dropping 10 percent in 2011 while companies in Japan retain the outsourced fabrication immediately lost after the quake are returned. Companies such as Freescale Semiconductor and Fujitsu have just recently reached normal production levels and are working toward full recovery. Renesas, which was hit hardest by the March 11th Quake, has pushed back their full recovery date until September. 2012 revenue for Japan is expected to grow by 6 percent.

All this data suggests that a swift and prosperous recovery for Japan is in the not so distant future. The biggest concern now is that the numerous aftershocks won’t further halt the regions semiconductor industry. The US geologic survey has reported around 100 aftershocks of a magnitude greater than 6. This number leaves the possibility of another earthquake and disruption to the industry very possible. Many companies have continued or implemented crisis management teams so that business can return to normal as soon as possible after a disaster. What the world should learn from the earthquake is that proper precautions should always be taken for hazards in the business environment.

Details of the report, table of contents and ordering information can be found on Electronics.ca Publications’ web site. View the report: Semiconductor Market Tracker. Quarterly Report

Global Smartphones Market to Reach 1641.82 Million Units by 2017

ELECTRONICS.CA PUBLICATIONS, the electronics industry market research and knowledge network, announces the availability of a new report entitled “Smartphones – A Global Strategic Business Report”.

World smartphones market is forecast to reach 1641.82 million units by the year 2017. Thriving economies, growing employment opportunities, rising income levels, continuous development of cellular markets, rising 3G penetrations, and increasing spending power in major countries will drive demand for smartphones in the post recession period.

Smartphones, the unison of mobile phones and other handheld devices, have become a hot topic in the global market based on its ability to play digital music, provide wireless Internet access, display color video, and provide basic mobile phone as well as typical handheld functions. A major portion of wireless users has migrated toward from voice-only handsets to feature-rich mobile devices such as smartphones that enable advanced messaging, email, browsing, data services (such as applications, media, location services), instant messaging, navigation, and MMS. The major catalysts for this trend are a confluence of various factors, such as mobilization of business, improved carrier focus on offering data services, faster 3G networks, third party mobile applications, and advanced handset technologies that offer compelling user experiences, in terms of display, battery, interface, form factor, and processor. Also, the price-performance ratio over the years had modulated to accommodate the rising communication, information, and entertainment needs of wireless users. Although the year 2009 was a difficult year for smartphones than previous years, the feature-rich devices ducked the negative growth trend in mobile device market. The growth of smartphones market is attributed to changes in consumer tastes, and manufacturers planned new solutions, such as the launch of new products with real added value.

Smartphones market is not impervious to the economic slowdown but remains resilient compared to general handset market. Smartphones is isolated from the wider economic cycle as pricing becomes more competitive, and underlying consumer perception that they will get better value for money by purchasing high-end devices. The year 2009 witnessed rapid and remarkable changes in smartphone sector, particularly in the area of operating systems. Exceptional third-party software ecosystems, such as Android OS, demonstrated its commercial viability and value. This year telecommunication service provider also made progress in 3G telecom networks arena thereby delivering value through competitive rate plans and diverse range of mobile digital services. All these factors encouraged increasing number of consumers to transition from traditional mobile phones devices to smartphones. While the 2009 sales figures for smartphones present a mixed picture, the year 2010 has seen a sort of mini boom. Smartphone market has staged a smart recovery in the year 2010, thus allaying fears over the possible continuation of the disruptive impact of the recession into the future.

Revived by latest generation of smartphones offering compelling new services to the consumer, and heavy promotions by key carrier partners delivered a source of data revenue in tough market conditions. Smartphone vendors are also catching-up in the App department, which has only turned out to be a key revenue generator for vendors and their wireless carrier partners but also a decisive factor in consumers’ buying decisions. However, vendors cannot remain complacent, as the years 2011 & 2012 is expected to be highly competitive with vendors seeking the use of new technology, such as NFC, 3D displays, and dual-core processors, to differentiate their products and maintain price margin.

As stated by the new market research report, Europe and Asia-Pacific accounts for a major share of the global smartphones market. By Operating System, Android is garnering increasing market share, threatening the existence of Symbian. Android is expected to become the dominant mobile OS attracting nearly half a billion users by the year 2015. Competition in this market is fierce, and Nokia’s recent alliance with Microsoft to power the next generation of smartphones with Windows Phone 7 OS is forecast to turn on the heat, especially for Google’s Android OS, and Apple’s iOS. Global market for Windows OS is expected to surge at a CAGR of 38.2% over the analysis period.

Major players in the global marketplace include Apple Inc, Fujitsu Limited, Hewlett-Packard Development Company, High Tech Computer Corporation (HTC), Motorola Mobility Inc, Nokia Corporation, Panasonic Corporation, Research In Motion Limited, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, Sharp Corporation, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB, Google Inc, Microsoft Corporation, Symbian Foundation, among others.

The research report titled “Smartphones: A Global Strategic Business Report” provides a comprehensive review of market trends, issues, drivers, company profiles, mergers, acquisitions and other strategic industry activities. The report provides market estimates and projections (in units) for major geographic markets including the United States, Canada, Japan, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and Rest of World. Operating segments analyzed include Symbian, Android, iOS, Blackberry, Windows, and Others.

Details of the new report, table of contents and ordering information can be found on Electronics.ca Publications’ web site. View the report: Smartphones – A Global Strategic Business Report