Viewing that notebook vendors have taken conservative attitudes in developing new models for launch in 2014, global demand for notebooks is expected to remain stagnant in the first half of 2014, according to Taiwan-based supply chain makers.

　　Notebook shipments in first-half 2014 will hinge on sales in the North America and Europe markets from the Thanksgiving-Christmas period in 2013 because, if sales performance is short of expectation, retail chains will have to clean inventories and reduce shipments from vendors in the first half of 2014, the sources said.

　　Unlike component makers' conservative outlook, notebook ODMs Quanta Computer and Compal Electronics think that global notebook demand will rebound in 2014, the sources indicated. Quanta and Compal may see more orders possibly because notebook vendors are likely to concentrate ODM orders on Quanta and Compal to minimize production costs, the sources suggested.

　　Digitimes Research forecasts global notebook shipments at 158 million units in 2014, dropping 6.63% on year.