Touch Screen Modules: Technologies, Markets, Forecasts 2012-2022

Along with the leading technology, projected capacitive touch, the industry has a dozen other ways of building a touch screen, but not all of them are suitable for the rapidly growing consumer electronics market that needs high performance and high clarity. Every single one of the 15 different touch technologies has its own strengths and weaknesses and is therefore used in very different applications. Hence, there will not be just one technology in the next decade, but a few that clearly lead the market. Even more so, since touch interfaces are added to more and more existing and new applications with display sizes ranging from only a few inches to over 150 inches. The next game changer will be alternatives for indium tin oxide (ITO) widely used as touch screen sensor material, which is comparably expensive due to the high price of the rare raw material indium. This will not only change the cost structure, but also open the gate to bendable, rollable and stretchable electronics with touch functionality.

This report covers the technical, market and application trends for touch screens including the activities of panel and component manufacturers of touch screens. Also covered are mainstream touch technologies and biggest emerging touch technologies, how they work and what the primary use markets are.

 

The market for touch screens is already large because touch screens have been around for quite a while in ATMs, point-of-sales terminals and Kiosks for example, all rather specialised touch applications. Only a few years ago the true mass consumer market use of touch screens was conditioned by Apple's adoption of projected capacitive touch screen technology for the iPhone in 2007. After this other global players, such as Samsung and LG Electronics, also started to use touch technology for their wide range of products. And today, touch screen interfaces are becoming increasingly common in mobile consumer devices.

 

 

 

Source: IDTechEx

 

Leading the touch screen technology market are high-end mobile consumer-electronic devices, such as smart phones and tablets. Here, the two main technologies used are analog resistive and projected capacitive.

 

The next big markets for touch screens are ebooks, (mobile) game consoles, car displays and navigation devices as well as digital cameras for small to medium size displays. Bigger touchscreens over 10-inch can be more and more found in laptops and PC monitors as well as other screens and TVs.

 

Along with the current leading technology, capacitive touch, the industry has a dozen other ways of building a touch screen sensor, but not all of them are suitable for devices for the professional high performance and clarity market. Every single one of the roughly 15 different touch technologies has its own strengths and weaknesses and is therefore used in very different applications.

 

From all technologies projected capacitive is growing fastest, but other technologies are gaining momentum as well, such as embedded LCD in-cell and on-cell touch and optical touch technology, which are not mainstream technologies today, but will become more and more important in the next decade.

 

Apart from adding touch functionality to more and more commercial consumer devices, the next big topic and also opportunity will be the replacement of ITO, esp. in the two main technologies projected capacitive and resistive.

 

Today, half of the costs of projected capacitive touch screen modules come from the indium tin oxide (ITO) sensor. The replacement of this widely used ITO sensor electrode material will not only change the game entirely in terms of costs, but also open the gate to bendable, rollable and stretchable electronics with touch functionality.

The report provides 10 year forecasts for the touch screen market by applications and by technology, giving you an overview of the primary use markets, applicability of the different technologies and application trends. In addition to this, there are chapters on key mainstream and emerging technologies and their future trends all pulled together with summary charts, graphs and profiles of latest company activity.

 

 

 

Source: IDTechEx

Those developing or making touch screens and transparent conductive films (TCF) of all types. Other interested parties such as chemical companies, equipment manufacturers, technology researchers, investors and supports of the industry.

Touch screen interfaces are becoming increasingly common in mobile consumer devices, such as mobile phones, tablets and e-books. IDTechEx forecasts revenue of the touch screen market to be US$14bn in 2012 and to triple in the next decade. The report provides a 10-year forecasts for the touch screen market by applications and by technology, explaining the primary use markets for each technology.

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