August 29, 2011 – BUSINESS WIRE — Touchscreens went from showing up in 7% of smartphones in 2006 (prior to the first iPhone launch), to being integrated into 75% of the devices in 2010. Touchscreens were a key driver for the smartphone market’s 325% growth over the 5-year period. The next 5-year period will increase touchscreen infiltration to 97% of all smartphones (by 2016). Touchscreens will be as important as 3G speeds and as common as WiFi, predicts ABI Research.
The evolution of screen and touch technologies triggered rapid growth. Lower-cost resistive touch technology is overwhelmingly being replaced by projected capacitive technology in smartphones, ABI Research reports. The "more elegant" projected capacitive touchscreen was first introduced in mobile phones through the iPhone.
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Low-cost capacitive touch controllers that use a single layer of sensors instead of two, reducing costs by up to 30%, are opening up a lower-end touchscreen phone market. eReaders, the most fragmented device category in display and touch technologies, now have options that enable finger touch and are "at a cost that could standardize the segment’s displays," says Kevin Burden, vice president, mobile devices, ABI Research.
ABI Research’s report, "Mobile Displays and Touchscreens," covers emerging display and touchscreen technologies for smartphones, handsets, eReaders, media tablets, and PNDs. It also examines competing technologies such as EMR, ERT, resistive, capacitive, and SAW and technologies still in lab development. It provides unit shipments and attach rates by technology and region across the various mobile device segments. Order the report at http://www.abiresearch.com/research/1003804.
The report is part of the Smartphones and Mobile Devices Research Service. ABI Research provides in-depth analysis and quantitative forecasting of trends in global connectivity and other emerging technologies. For more information visit www.abiresearch.com.