Each issue of Touch Point will feature a commentary from a leading global industry expert. Chris Crotty, director-small and medium displays for DisplaySearch www.displaysearch.com, leads off with a short analysis on where touch technology is heading this year. DisplaySearch is a worldwide market leader in display market research and consulting.

Will the Economy Touch Touch in 2009?

By Chris Crotty

2008 was an exciting year for touch technology with high profile examples ranging from CNN’s Magic Wall during the election to exciting new mobile phones like the Apple 3G iPhone and the Blackberry Storm, notably the first Blackberry to forgo a keyboard for a touch panel.

But with slowing economies around the world, there’s a question whether the strong growth for touch technology will continue in 2009. The good news is that higher touch volumes, more suppliers, and competing new technologies continue to push down costs. Replacing keys with touch input is also an easy way to free up space for large displays better suited for more rising Internet and video usage.

So despite the economy, it seems right now that touch is heading toward becoming yet another standard feature in phones already equipped with cameras and music players that not too long ago were themselves the new feature only found in high end models.