Worldwide shipments of touch screen panels are set to double from 2012 to 2016, reaching nearly three billion units as a wide variety of products beyond smartphones and tablets adopt the technology, particularly notebooks, according to research firm IHS.
　　A total of 2.8 billion touch screen panels will ship in 2016, up from 1.3 billion in 2012, said IHS, adding that shipments in 2013 will surge 34% to reach 1.8 billion units.
　　"Growth in the touch screen market will be driven by increasing penetration in markets beyond the smartphone and tablet businesses," said Duke Yi, senior manager for display components and materials research at IHS. "Demand so far has largely been limited to these two markets. However, touch screen sales are increasing dramatically across a broad range of products, particularly notebooks."
　　In addition to smartphones, tablets, notebooks and PCs, Yi said opportunities exist in the markets for LCD monitors, digital still cameras, portable navigation devices, portable media players, portable game devices, automobiles, e-book readers, camcorders, digital photo frames, and portable DVD players. While the size of these markets varies widely and some are quite small, their aggregate growth will propel the rapid expansion and massive volumes of the touch screen market in the coming years, noted IHS.
　　Notebooks get touchy
　　"The notebook represents the key near-term growth generator for touch screen displays," added Yi. IHS added that global shipments of touch screen-equipped notebooks will rise to 78 million units in 2016, up from just 4.6 million in 2012. By 2016, notebooks will account for 12.3% of global touch screen shipments by area, up from less than 2% in 2012.
　　Prices for touch-enabled notebooks are declining, with a popular model from Asustek Computer falling to a US$700 price in China, Yi noted. This is making touch screens more affordable for mainstream consumer notebook buyers, the firm believes.
　　The form factor of notebooks is evolving to suit touch technology, with new alternatives to the traditional clamshell arising, including detachable, slide, foldable, flip and twist, added IHS.
　　Touch leaders
　　IHS also believes projected capacitive is expanding its dominance of the market with 96% of touch screens expected to use the technology in 2016, up from 79% in 2012.
　　The firm further noted that Asustek Computer took an early lead in the touch notebook market, taking the number one rank in the first quarter of 2013. Among touch screen panel suppliers in China and Taiwan, the dominant suppliers in 2012 were number one TPK and number two Wintek, which are far ahead of the other suppliers in terms of revenues. In Korea, Iljin Display was the top touch panel supplier, said IHS.