Hewlett-Packard (HP) internally estimates its notebook shipments to reach only 21 million units for 2014, and the volume in 2013 is estimated to be less than 30 million, down from about 32 million in 2012, according to sources from the upstream supply chain.

　　The volume may drop even further to only 19 million units by 2015, the sources said.

　　The sources believe HP is turning its focus away from the notebook business, where profits are growing slim, and will focus more on cloud computing servers, software and services. The shift could impact Taiwan's supply chain in the long term.

　　Digitimes Research expects HP's notebook shipments in the third quarter of 2013 to surpass those of Lenovo, and the US-based vendor will return as the largest vendor worldwide in the quarter.

　　HP's CEO Meg Whitman has mentioned several times in public that the company will not give up its PC business, but seeing the company hardly talk about PCs at HP World Tour, which was hosted in Beijing, China in June, the sources believe the PC industry may no longer be the main battlefield for the US vendor.

　　The notebook industry had shipments of 200 million units in 2012, but the volume will drop to 180 million in 2013, and continue declining on year despite Intel's and Microsoft's efforts to boost demand, the sources noted citing figures from research firms.