iPad Sparks Boom in Touchscreen Offerings: iSuppli

To say the touchscreen market is taking off may be an understatement: Bolstered by sales of Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) hit iPad and its competitors, shipments of touchscreens for similar devices are set to rise by some 5,000 percent in 2010, according to iSuppli -- growing to 8.9 million from just 176,000 in 2009.

There's no slowing down going forward, either. iSuppli predicts shipments of iPad-like "slate" PCs will grow by a factor of seven by 2013, to 63.9 million units. As a result, iSuppli noted that the market for such slate devices -- defined by their lack of a physical keyboard -- is the fastest-growing segment of the larger tablet PC market.

Additionally, the research firm expects further touchscreen innovation beyond the two-finger touch that lets you slide and expand or shrink images. "While this represents a marked expansion of what users experience on your average ATM, it is a comparatively primitive version of the rapidly expanding touch universe," iSuppli said in a research note.

Not surprisingly, Apple's strong market position is influencing the direction of competing vendors and slate manufacturers. iSuppli notes that before the iPad, most of the slate PCs on the market relied on either active digitizers or resistive screens for touch functionality. Another technology, projected capacitive screens, only appeared in the market in 2008 and had a very small share. But since its adoption by Apple, iSuppli said projected capacitive screens have now shot to the lead, ahead of competing technology.

Challengers to the iPad

There will undoubtedly be cheaper alternatives to the iPad. If all you want to do is read books online, Amazon's Kindle is already a less expensive option. But to compete directly with a general-purpose media consumption device like the iPad, iSuppli said a vendor will have to offer a mix of superior industrial design, compelling applications and an expanded touch interface -- all at a competitive price. The basic Wi-Fi version of the iPad is priced at $499.

iSuppli said recent moves indicate several competitors are gearing up to take on Apple. Of particular note: Hewlett-Packard's (NYSE: HPQ) acquisition of Palm, Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG) acquisition of BumpTop and Amazon's purchase of Touchco, a startup specializing in touchscreen technology.

While Palm is best known for its smartphone line, HP is expected to use the company's WebOS operating system in a new line of tablet computers. BumpTop, meanwhile, makes a 3D user interface that might be particularly well-suited to mobile devices, industry observers have said.

David Needle is the West Coast bureau chief at InternetNews.com, the news service of Internet.com, the network for technology professionals.