The latest market data shows that global shipments of feature phones posted an unexpected sequential gain in 2Q12, indicating that demand for feature phones has not been squeezed out completely by the rise of smartphones, commented the sources.

Some Taiwan-based IC design houses have also landed more windfall orders recently, since top-tier handset solution vendors have shifted their focus to the entry-level and mid-range smartphone segment, resulting in a balance in the supply and demand of chipset solutions for feature phones, pointed out the sources.

ILI Technology, a vendor of small- and medium-size LCD driver ICs and touch controller ICs, saw its revenues grow 8.6 percent on month and 62.2 percent on year to $29.6 million in June, buoyed by demand from the feature phone sector, the sources indicated.