According to a recent report from analyst firm NanoMarkets LC, revenues from touch-screen displays are expected to grow from $2.2 billion in 2010 to $3.4 billion in 2014. The demand for touch-screen technologies in mobile and personal computing will create new opportunities for suppliers of conductive coatings, substrates and sensors in addition to the display firms themselves. NanoMarkets projects that revenues from in-pixel technologies will reach almost $500 million in revenues by 2014. The report also identifies an interesting and possibly disruptive trend taking hold in the touch display market, in which mainstream display makers are developing their own in-pixel technologies. This is an alternative to the industry practice in which third-party suppliers add a touch-sensor subsystem on top of an LCD display and then sell it to OEMs. The net effect is that, instead of supplying companies such as LG, Samsung and Sony, midsize touch-screen manufacturers may wind up competing against them. The report also states that the fastest growing touch-screen technologies will be traditional IR and optical technologies, both of which are based on IR sensors and LEDs. These technologies are used in digital signage and computer monitors, which are rapidly expanding addressable markets for touch technology. By 2014, the market for traditional IR and optical touch technologies will be approximately $490 million in revenues. NanoMarkets expects that transparent conductor materials sold into the touch-screen display market will reach revenues of $280 million by 2014. However, by then only 64 percent of these revenues will be accounted for by expensive ITO-based materials as opposed to 92 percent today. The report provides analyses and forecasts of the commercial potential of all the competing touch-screen technologies and covers surface capacitive, APR, DST, force sensing, SAW, digital-resistive and emerging touch technologies, examining each in the light of existing and emerging applications including kiosks, ATMs, POS terminals, mobile communications and computing, office automation, gaming, digital signage, appliances, industrial control and medical devices. The report also examines the opportunities emerging for the substrate, conductive coatings and optoelectronics industries and includes detailed eight-year forecasts of the touch-screen industry, broken out by technology type and applications, as well as a quantitative assessment of opportunities for suppliers of materials and components. It profiles the activities of many touch-screen technology suppliers, including leading touch-screen integrator Elo, and technology innovators such as 3M, FlatFrog, RPO, Microsoft, NextWindow, TouchCo and Vissumo. For more information, visit: www.nanomarkets.net