After only 4% growth in 2009, the mobile phone display market is set to grow by 14% in 2010, with shipments forecast to reach 1.68B units, according to the latest DisplaySearch Quarterly Mobile Phone Shipment and Forecast Report (http://www.displaysearch.com).
In the first quarter of 2010 (Q1’10), mobile phone display shipments fell 9% Q/Q due to seasonality, but increased 34% year-over-year, reaching 370.5 million units.
“With an average worldwide market penetration of mobile phones at 70%, manufacturers are eager to introduce new features, applications and user interface improvements, such as touch screens, to ensure continued growth for this segment this year,” says Calvin Hsieh, research director at DisplaySearch. “The migration of various display panel technologies and increasing average display sizes reflects these trends.”
The fall in shipments, combined with a 4% Q/Q decline in average selling price, produced a 13% quarter-to-quarter revenue decline. Active matrix OLED (AMOLED) displays were the only technology for which revenues increased quarter-to-quarter, as both unit shipments and average prices increased quarter-to-quarter. This reflects the success AMOLED is finding in high-end smart phones. These phones are demanding larger display sizes, and in Q1, the average screen size for AMOLED passed three inches, larger than TFT LCD, Hsieh adds.
