Shipments of panels used in media tablets have more than doubled in the first quarter of 2013, driven by the popularity of low-priced units with 7in displays, according to a new report from IHS.
The new report, “Tablet PC Touch Panel Shipment Database,” reveals that global shipments of capacitive touch screen displays used for media tablets totaled 45.2 million units in the first quarter.
The shipments represent a 111.9 percent increase over the same period last year, more than doubling the 21.3 million total in the first quarter of 2012. “Sales of smaller-sized tablets are rising at a rapid rate, driving shipments of capacitive touchscreen displays ranking in size from 7in to 8in,” said Duke Yi, senior manager for display components and materials research at IHS. “These tablets are inexpensive, with pricing at $199, making them popular among consumers.”
The price of tablet PC touch-panel modules is dropping due to a growing number of competitors, according to the IHS report. The average selling price (ASP) of 7in tablet touch panels fell to $15.60 in the first quarter of 2013, a 16 percent decline from $18.60 in the first quarter of 2012. Compared to the pricing of 7in panels in the fourth quarter of 2012, first-quarter panel pricing fell 7.5 percent.
At the end of the first quarter of 2013, display supplier TPK achieved the leading position in the tablet touch-panel market shipments, with a 29 percent market share in the tablet touchscreen market. The company’s clients include media tablet heavyweights Apple, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Microsoft and Asus. Other major panel suppliers and their Q1 shipments were:
- Iljin Display, the biggest supplier of tablet PC touch panels for Samsung Electronics, with 15.5 percent
- GIS, the touch panel subsidiary of Foxconn Technology Group, with 13.3 percent
- Wintek with 8.5 percent; and
- O-Film with 8.5 percent.
