WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.
Some brand handset vendors including HTC will start manufacturing their touch-enabled smartphones using the Touch on Lens technology aiming to lower production costs as well as weight, according to industry sources.
While the strength of cover glass used in Touch on Lens solutions still remains an issue, the adoption of such touch panel solutions , as demonstrated by HTC on its 3.5-inch models, is expected to gradually extend from small-size panels to medium-size ones, the sources asserted.
Additionally, more tablet PC vendors will also adopt Touch on Lens solutions for their production of tablets to counter Apple's aggressive pricing for iPad 2, the sources added.
Taiwan-based touch-panel makers, including TPK Holding, Wintek, Young Fast Optoelectronics and Cando, have all entered the development of Touch on Lens solutions, with Wintek being the first to ship the solutions to handset clients, according to earlier reports.
In other news, most touch panel makers have reported increasing orders from the tablet PC segment and played down concerns of possible supply chain interruptions caused by the earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan.
TPK and Wintek both believe that the possibility is dim for them to revise substantially their second-quarter guidance despite market rumors saying that Apple may reduce iPad 2 shipments for the quarter.
