Display tech to watch this year: Multitouch catches fire

Computerworld - Touch-screen panels have been around for more than a decade, but it was the 2007 introduction of a multitouch screen in Apple's iPhone that galvanized the market. Now the business is going gangbusters -- as are the innovations that touch-screen manufacturers hope will build on Apple's success.

Multitouch technology has exploded into a $6 billion business for display manufacturers this year, with more than 200 vendors vying for a piece of the action -- and it's expected to grow to more than $13 billion by 2016, according to market research firm DisplaySearch. "It's already a huge market, and growing fast," says analyst Jennifer Colegrove.

Multitouch now dominates in smartphones, and with the introduction of the iPad in 2010, multitouch helped launch the market for tablet computers. The technology is now moving into everything from larger desktop PC displays to the in-flight entertainment systems found in the seatbacks of commercial airliners -- and beyond.

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