Touchscreen mobile device sales to grow 97% by 2010: Gartner

The worldwide market for touchscreen mobile devices will surpass 362.7 mn units in 2010, a 96.8% increase from 2009 sales of 184.3 mn units, according to Gartner. By 2013, touchscreen mobile devices will account for 58% of all mobile device sales worldwide and more than 80% in developed markets such as North America and Western Europe.

The worldwide market for touchscreen mobile devices will be dominated by Asia-Pacific, lead by India and China. In 2010, touchscreen mobile device sales in AP region are projected to surpass 129.1 mn units, accounting for 35.6% of the global market. By comparison, Western Europe and North America are expected to account for 26.8% and 24.4% of global touchscreen mobile device sales. However, looking at penetration of touch devices as a part of overall sales in their regions, Western Europe leads the way with 49%, followed by North America at 46.65%. Due to the much larger size of the overall market, touchscreen sales will account for just 23.4% of the total mobile device sales in AP. 

"Touchscreens are no longer the preserve of high-end devices, and are now being included in many mid range phones as more and more companies are driving the consumer market for affordable touchscreen phones," says Roberta Cozza, principal research analyst at Gartner. "As phone capabilities increase, consumers are becoming much more aware of the benefits of touch interfaces, and vendors are responding to that."

With mobile phone vendors now focused on integrating touch technologies, many are now going a step further and beginning to deliver user interfaces that are truly optimized for touch input. They are also increasing their software skills to deliver deeper integration of touch UIs with the underlying platform, rather than software overlays.

The success of iPhones has shown the viability of capacitive touch technology in mobile phones, which enables more natural, responsive and intuitive gestures. Gartner predicts that capacitive and resistive touchscreens will coexist in the short term in mobile phones. Capacitive touch will be the mainstream technology; however, resistive touchscreens will still be around because of its lower cost.

However, vendors need to concentrate on delivering an experience rather than just a product. A consumer won't buy a mobile device purely for the touch user interface. Touch technology is just an enabler. Ultimately, it is a compelling user experience, which includes good user interface design, applications and services that will make or break a product.

Vendors should invest in expanding their user interface design capabilities and ensure that designs for touch-driven user interface integrate closely with the underlying device software, allowing for an uninterrupted experience. Vendors should also consider integrating touch with other form factors, such as numeric or QWERTY keypads, because touch user interface cannot fulfill all kinds of operations.

akhileshs@cybermedia.co.in