Touch panel makers believe that netbooks will make a head start in adopting touch panels to utilize the Windows 7 operating system (OS), compared to regular notebooks and LCD monitors, according to industry sources.
The touch panel makers are basing their prediction on their involvement in notebook makers’ product developments, the sources said. The models being developed, sampled and validated show that touch panels will first take off in the netbook segment before moving to larger-size notebooks and monitors, the sources added.
With prices of projective capacitive touch panels at about US$2.50-3.00 per inch, the average cost for a touch panel module will be about US$30 for a mainstream-size netbook (smaller than 12-inch), the sources noted.
Touch panels can replace trackpad and mouse functions on netbooks, giving makers more room to solve the issue regarding keyboard size, the sources added.