Touch Screens in Mobile Phones Types review

Technology is developing at a great pace. Every day or so we see a company come out with a new gadget. The best examples are cell phones. There were days when people used to have huge phone which were called as mobile phones at that time but now things have changed, mobile phones are compact and uber cool. They have all sorts of features in them which make them something more than mobile phones. Nowadays with a mobile you can make calls, listen to music, watch movies, take photos, etc. But now it looks like the buttons generation of mobile phones is coming to an end, touchscreens are slowly crawling in. Touch screens have huge screen sizes and are pretty user friendly as well. Well, touch screens have their own pros and cons but for that we need to know the different touchscreens. Different touch screens? Yeah! There are basically three types of touch screens used in mobile phones these days. Lets discuss them briefly:
1. Resistive Touchscreen:
Resistive touchscreens are the most widely used touch screens in mobile phones. They are cheap and resistant to water and dust, but they get easily scratched and cannot be used with sharp objects. You can use any object to touch it, for instance finger, stylus, etc. You need to apply a bit of pressure in order to press the touchscreen. They have a good lifespan of about 35 million clicks.

The screen is basically of two layers and there’s a small plastic dots layer between the two layers. Electricity is supplied through each one of the layers and in the event of contact, a chain is formed. The amount of the electricity, passing between the layers is then measured, in order to determine the point of touch. The biggest con of these type of touchscreens is that it can’t recognize two touches at the same moment. In addition to this they are more prone to damages and the sensitivity reduces when it gets scratched. Moreover only 85% of the light emitted by the screen is let out.
Examples of Resistive touchscreens: HTC diamond, LG Viewty
2. Capacitive touchscreen:
Capacitive touchscreens are basically of two types- one that can recognize multiple touches simultaneously and the other which cannot. These type of touchscreens are costlier than the resistive types. They are scratch, moisture and dust-proof.

This type of touchscreen employs just one layer known as grid. It’s covered with an electroconductive material which provides continuous current with a certain frequency. When screen is touched with an object emitting a constant electric flow, for example a human finger (the human body generates electricity), a change in the current occurs and that’s how the contact point is determined.
It has an extremely long life of about 225 million clicks. In addition to this it lets through about 92% of the light emitted by the screen. There’s one serious disadvantage- it can’t be touched with just any object that you may like.
Examples of Capacitive touchscreens: Apple iPhone, LG Prada, Samsung F480
3. Infrared touchscreens:
Infrared touchscreens are the most expensive of the all the three mentioned here. It doesn’t require physical force, just a gentle touch is enough. In addition to this it is not influenced by dust, moisture or scratches. Moreover it’s the most durable compared to the other ones. They are basically of two types: optical and heat-sensitive.
This optical type uses infrared beams, which are not visible to the human eye. It works, using a number of sensors, arranged above and around the screen, forming a grid of invisible beams. If an object (finger or a stylus) touches the display, it interrupts the rays in a certain area and thus the touch point is determined. It has a lifespan of about 7 years. It suffers from a serious disadvantage- a strong ambient light can have a negative impact on its productivity.
The heat-sensitive type is the widely used one, but it is rarely used in screens. It is applied in other components of mobile devices like buttons. The best examples are Samsung SGH-E900 and Samsung U600, which can only be touched with warm objects. It suffers from one serious drawback- If your finger is frozen in winter and you touch this phone it won’t respond to your finger as its cold.