The growth momentum of global tablet sales is expected to slow down in 2015 due to the rising popularity of large-size smartphones and a rebound in demand for notebooks, according to related PC chip suppliers.

The notebook market has stabilized in 2014, buoyed by regular demand and is unlikely to suffer a drastic decline in the future, said the sources. Additionally, the small-size tablets are losing their appeal to the large-size smartphones, said the sources.

While global tablet sales are expected to reach 260-270 million units in 2014, new tablet models rolled out by most vendors recently lack new functions or applications, as prices have been flat, said the sources.

Meanwhile, white-box tablet vendors in China have stopped cutting prices, as such pricing strategies can no longer stimulate demand, said the sources.