Cylindrical Lithium Battery Demand Picking Up
Given that lithium polymer battery and ultrabook are inseparable, ultrabook prompts the battery to be “ultra slim.” Despite many ultrabook brands’ high popularity, lithium polymer battery’s high cost will still prevent it from reaching wide adoption. In the meantime, traditional notebook market sees upswing stimulated by the release of Intel processor and old notebooks with old Intel processors on sales.
Source: EnergyTrend
The upgrade from Sandy Bridge to Ivy Bridge has provided a welcoming boost to component suppliers. According to EnergyTrend, the green energy research division of TrendForce, the demand has been climbing since March, 2012. Certain more aggressive PC assembly companies even already received orders for 3Q12.
Cylindrical Lithium Battery on Tight Supply with Price Staying Flat
Traditional notebook market sees demand surge due to the release of new processors. According to TrendForce, currently the market still needs to go through a transition phase (new processor with old OS), and the players make acquiring market share and increasing brand awareness the first priority. During the transition phase, the market demand will not positively reflect on lithium battery prices.
Lithium battery prices always fluctuate on a quarterly basis. Due to the conservative outlook for 2Q12, the prices stayed flat, so did the amount of orders from component suppliers. As a result, assorted components are currently on a tight supply, and whether or not the prices will change remains to be seen.