DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Media tablets are set to become the world's fourth-largest
application for semiconductors by 2014, led by Apple Inc.'s (AAPL)
iPad, said industry researcher IHS iSuppli.
Sales of semiconductors for tablets are expected to surge to
$18.2 billion in 2014, up from $2.6 billion in 2010, the year that
Apple launched its iPad. By 2014, semiconductor sales for tablets
are expected to be exceeded only by mobile handsets, mobile
personal computers and desktop PCs, IHS said.
Media tablets ranked as the 35th largest market for
semiconductors in 2010, they jumped to the No. 8 position in 2011
and will climb to fifth place this year, IHS said.
"The speed of the media tablet's rise from near insignificance
to top-tier prominence is unprecedented in the history of the
global semiconductor industry," said Dale Ford, IHS's head of
electronics and semiconductor research. "Driven primarily by
Apple's iPad, the media tablet in four years is expected to scale
semiconductor heights that took more than a decade for other
products to attain, such as notebook PCs and cellphones. This
meteoric ascension will have major repercussions for the global
semiconductor industry, as it realigns to accommodate the fast
growth and vast size of the media tablet market."
IHS also said mobile handsets will become the world's largest
semiconductor application this year, exceeding mobile PCs for the
first time ever. The rapid rise of media tablets will also spread
growth opportunities among a wider set of suppliers than previous
platforms did, IHS said.
"While there will be a handful of suppliers that will stand out
as the leading suppliers of semiconductors for media tablets, there
are many component markets that represent highly attractive
opportunities for a diverse group of suppliers," Ford said.
"Interestingly enough, media tablets and handsets are a key driving
force in reducing some of the consolidation in the semiconductor
industry that has developed in more mature markets like PCs."
-By Nathalie Tadena, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-3287;
nathalie.tadena@dowjones.com