Money that Intel has diverted to notebook manufacturers to stimulate demand for the machines is set to dry up next year.
That’s according to Taiwanese government quango Market Intelligence and Consulting (MIC), which also predicts the PC industry will flatline or even fall during the year.
Analyst Charles Chou told the Taipei Times that firms that got subsidies from Intel in an attempt to push notebook sales will find themselves out of pocket when Intel cancels the subsidies. He said that the only growth areas were likely to be Chromebooks and sales of machines to educational markets.
But in brighter news he said that we’ll all see more affordable 4K LCD TVs in 2015. He expects that the market wordwide will hit close to 30,000 units.
But if you don’t want a 40-inch or above LCD TV, the news is not too bright. 32-inch panels don’t have big margins and the manufacturers are concentrating their efforts on making ever bigger LCD TVs, in a pursuit of healthier profits.
However, the manufacturers can’t pull the plug on 32-inch or smaller LCD TVs because people in many countries don’t have the money to spend on mega TVs.
It’s also likely they don’t have the space, either.
