Touchscreen expected to be adopted by 20% of handsets in 2009, says Young Fast chairman

The penetration rate of touchscreen panels in the handset market is expected to reach above 20% this year, double from a year earlier, thanks to Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics pushing touchscreen handset products, according to Taiwan-based touch panel maker Young Fast Optoelectronics chairman TJ Lin.

Lin indicated that the increasing adoption of touch panels in the handset market is mainly due to growing demand for touchscreen functions in the mid-range and entry-level segments. Lin said that demand for white-box handsets may be dampened by first-tier vendors' growing presence in the mid-range and entry-level touchscreen handset market.

In terms of its clients, Lin noted that orders from High Tech Computer (HTC), Samsung, and LG account for about 80% of Young Fast's total monthly revenues. While all three clients currently contribute similar amounts of revenues, the shares of Samsung and LG may increase in the future because of the Korea vendors' aggressive promotion of touchscreen handsets, he said.

Lin added that in 2009 capacitive touch panels will account for 30% of the total touch panel market, while resistive touch panels will account for 70%.