Wintek Ships Early OGS Panels to HTC

Taipei, Jan. 3, 2012 (CENS)--Wintek Corp., a major small- and medium-sized panel maker in Taiwan, reportedly has shipped early OGS (One Glass Solution, or TOL, Touch on Lens) products to local smartphone maker HTC Corp. OGS production now accounts for less than 10% of Wintek's revenue, but has very strong potential.

Industry sources said that Cando Corp., a subsidiary of TPK Holding Co., Ltd., has also begun small-volume production of OGS panels recently, with Wintek to be a rival in the in-cell touch-panel sector in 2012.

TPK's chief financial officer (CFO) S.L. Liu, however, said that the company has not begun shipments of OGS products, but mass production is expected to kick off in July this year.

According to the NPD DisplaySearch Touch Panel Market Analysis, growing popularity of projected capacitive touch technology among cellphone brands is propelling the technology into the mainstream, estimating over 566 million projected capacitive touch screens will ship for mobile phone application in 2012.

An emerging configuration for projected capacitive touch screens is sensor-on-cover, also referred to as OGS or TOL, which requires the capability for on-cover lens finishing, as well as a new ITO (indium-tin-oxide) patterning processes.

“Sensor-on-cover touch devices are now being shipped by firms including Wintek and Cando,” said Jennifer Colegrove, Vice President of Emerging Display Technologies for NPD DisplaySearch. “With the benefit of thinner structure and lighter weight, DisplaySearch expects this approach to grow rapidly in 2012.”

By taking the lead to develop and mass-produce OGS panels, industry sources said, Wintek stands to win big orders in the future.