Analyst: Touch-enabled notebooks to hit 20M in 2013

According to the latest report from NPD DisplaySearch, touch-panel notebook shipments will approach 19.8 million units, or 11 percent penetration, this year. By 2017, touch-panel penetration is expected to reach nearly 40 percent (64.2 million units), stated the market analytics firm.

During 1H13, global shipments of notebook PCs with touch screens reached 6.2 million units, or seven percent share of the overall notebook market. Ultra-slim PCs led touch-screen penetration in the overall notebook PC category, with 1.7 million units, followed by standard notebooks, with 4.5 million units. ASUS had the most shipments of notebooks with touch interfaces in 1H13, followed by Lenovo, Acer, HP and Sony.

Worldwide notebook PC with touch shipment forecast (Source: NPD DisplaySearch).

"Touch penetration in notebooks was modest in H1, and we expect a slight increase to 10 percent in H2. Premium pricing and a lack of compelling uses for touch screens on notebooks continue to hinder adoption," said Richard Shim, senior analyst at NPD DisplaySearch. "As touch interfaces become increasingly common across all mobile devices, however, it is just a matter of time before the technology also becomes more prevalent in notebooks."

Worldwide top five brands by touch-based notebook PC shipments, 1H13 (Source: NPD DisplaySearch).

Factors encouraging adoption include Intel's mandate that third-generation Ultrabooks include touch, as well as hybrids, sliders, convertibles, and other new touch-friendly form factors that will become more common in the years to come. "A touch panel on a clamshell notebook seems less intuitive than it does on a tablet-like device, which is better suited to touch interactions," according to Shim.