Santa Clara, California, April 19, 2011—According to the latest Quarterly Mobile Phone Shipment and Forecast Report from DisplaySearch, revenue for mobile displays is forecast to grow 47% in 2011 and 19% in 2012—reaching $22.4 billion. Due to a strong Q4’10, 2010 mobile phone display shipments reached 1.6 billion units, up 10.8% Y/Y. Revenues reached $12.8 billion in 2010, up 10.4% Y/Y. Additionally, the 2010 mobile phone display ASP remained at $7.9—the same as in 2009—resulting in remarkable revenue growth. This is due to continuously growing emerging markets and to the smart phone trend, which is pushing demand for higher specifications including display size, resolution and technology.

“With mobile phone market growth occurring as a result of continuously growing emerging markets and the transition to smart phones, demand has increased for higher specifications, including display size, resolution, and technology,” noted Calvin Hsieh, Senior Analyst for DisplaySearch. “As a result, DisplaySearch forecasts continued growth for this segment into 2011—reaching 1.8 billion units.”

The fastest-growing display technology is AMOLED, which is forecast to reach 128 million units (191% Y/Y) in 2011 and 212 million (66% Y/Y) in 2012. AMOLED revenues for mobile phone displays will reach $4.0 billion in 2011 and $6.4 billion in 2012.

Figure 1. Mobile Phone Display Revenue Forecast (Millions)

Source: Quarterly Mobile Phone Shipment and Forecast Report

LTPS TFT LCD Shifting to Bigger Sizes for Smart Phones

a-Si TFT LCD continued to lead with 61.5% of mobile phone displays in 2010. However, LTPS TFT LCD is very competitive in smart phones, which requires higher resolution and pixels per inch LTPS TFT LCD display shipments for mobile phones reached 316 million in 2010, accounting for 19.5% of display shipments. Despite this, compared to shipment results for 2008 (320 million) and 2009 (298 million), LTPS TFT LCD has not grown as fast as a-Si TFT LCD because of limited available capacity. However, LTPS TFT LCD is shifting to bigger sizes for smart phones. To meet the growing demand for LTPS, capacity expansions are expected.

WVGA and hVGA Resolutions Show Strongest Growth

To compete with the iPhone 4, mobile phone manufacturers also upgraded resolutions of high-end models. Previously, the most popular resolution for LTPS TFT LCD was qVGA (240 x 320) at 42.5% share, but it quickly dropped to 17.5% in Q4’10. WVGA has been the most important resolution for mainstream smart phones since Q2’10. For WVGA formats, (including LCD and AMOLED), 480 × 800 shipments reached 29 million in Q4’10, up 26.1% Q/Q; and 480 × 864 reached 11.8 million, up 10.9% Q/Q.

Leading resolutions for LTPS TFT LCD in 2010 included WVGA (480 × 800 at 8.6% share and 480 × 864 at 12%), nHD (640 x 360, 15.5%), used by Nokia’s touch-based smart phones, and DVGA (640 x 960, 11.6%), the iPhone’s format. As a result of the iPhone’s popularity, DVGA shipments accounted for an 18.5% share of LTPS LCD shipments in Q4’10, up from 1.2% in Q1’10, and was the top smart phone resolution with 15.1 million shipments in Q4’10, up 13.4 Q/Q. hVGA (320 x 480) shipments fell 36% Q/Q in Q3’10, but surged in Q4’10 to 11 million, up 105.7% Q/Q. These trends signal a transition for smart phone displays, as WVGA took over the mainstream high-end lines and hVGA fell back to cost-effective models in order to maintain shipments in 2010.

Using detailed supplier surveys, DisplaySearch examines shipment, revenue, and pricing data by key metrics for small/medium displays, including market application, size, resolution, technology and supplier. Available research includes four quarterly reports focusing on different aspects of the market. The comprehensive Quarterly Small/Medium Shipment and Forecast Report provides full market analysis while the Quarterly Small/Medium Pricing Report, Quarterly Mobile Phone Shipment and Forecast Report and Quarterly Small/Medium Value Chain Report focus on ASPs, mobile phone displays, and market share data, respectively. For more information contact Charles Camaroto at 1.888.436.7673 or 1.516.625.2452, e-mail contact@displaysearch.com, or contact your regional DisplaySearch office in China, Japan, Korea or Taiwan for more information.

About DisplaySearch
Since 1996, DisplaySearch has been recognized as a leading global market research and consulting firm specializing in the display supply chain, as well as the emerging photovoltaic/solar cell industries. DisplaySearch provides trend information, forecasts and analyses developed by a global team of experienced analysts with extensive industry knowledge. In collaboration with the NPD Group, its parent company, DisplaySearch uniquely offers a true end-to-end view of the display supply chain from materials and components to shipments of electronic devices with displays to sales of major consumer and commercial channels. For more information on DisplaySearch analysts, reports and industry events, visit us at http://www.displaysearch.com/. Read our blog at http://www.displaysearchblog.com/ and follow us on Twitter at @DisplaySearch.

About The NPD Group, Inc.
The NPD Group is the leading provider of reliable and comprehensive consumer and retail information for a wide range of industries. Today, more than 1,800 manufacturers, retailers, and service companies rely on NPD to help them drive critical business decisions at the global, national, and local market levels. NPD helps our clients to identify new business opportunities and guide product development, marketing, sales, merchandising, and other functions. Information is available for the following industry sectors: automotive, beauty, commercial technology, consumer technology, entertainment, fashion, food and beverage, foodservice, home, office supplies, software, sports, toys, and wireless. For more information, contact us or visit http://www.npd.com/ and http://www.npdgroupblog.com/. Follow us on Twitter at @npdtech and @npdgroup.

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