Touch Screen Phones Ready for Take Off. Touch Screen Phones Could Reach 40 Percent of Handsets by 2012

Strategy Analytics: The touch screen user interface in mobile phones will start to see significant growth by the end of 2007, assuming that the right conditions are present. By 2012, 40 percent of all phones may incorporate touch screen technology.

The touch screen market in cellphones is nearly ready to take off, but before it can do so certain conditions must be met. First, the cost of touch screen technology must shrink from $5-10 dollars to under $3. Second, revenue-generating applications must be developed to differentiate touch screen devices from menu or icon driven phones. Finally the market requires a catalyst, such as the presence of an iconic touch screen phone in a Hollywood blockbuster, to generate demand.

Touch screen interfaces for mobile phones will remain at under 2 percent of total devices until such a catalytic event occurs, predicted to be at the end of 2007, at which point rapid growth will ignite interest in touch screen phones, growing the market to around 40 percent by 2012.

Most demand to come from finger-sensitive technology built into high-end feature phones. This will be a significant shift from today's wireless PDA segment, where most stylus-driven touch screen devices can be found.

Touch Screen Technology in Mobile Phones: Ready and Waiting for a Blockbuster Publ 20060628