MicroTouch Launches Four New Touchscreen Flat-Panel Displays
(Business Wire; 06/23/98)
METHUEN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 23, 1998--
Capacitive and Resistive Desktop and Chassis Displays Aimed at Retail,
Industrial, Medical, Financial, and Public-Access Kiosk Markets
Capitalizing on the computer industry trend toward flat-panel displays,
MicroTouch Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTSI) today expanded its touchscreen desktop
and chassis display lines with the introduction of four new flat-panel models.
The new products reflect MicroTouch's strategy to build on its leadership
in the touchscreen industry by offering customers the widest choice of high-
quality flat-panel displays through its worldwide distribution channels.
MicroTouch's new flat-panel displays -- based on liquid crystal display
(LCD) technology and engineered specifically for touchscreen integration -- are
aimed at the retail, industrial, medical, financial, and public-access kiosk
markets, where the shift from curved-screen monitors to flat-panel displays is
most prevalent.
Markets and
Applications
Space savings, lower power consumption, higher color resolution and
brightness, and rapidly declining LCD prices are among the features, benefits,
and economic factors attracting more customers to flat-panel displays.
A flat-panel display saves as much as 75 percent of the space taken up by
a CRT monitor with the same size screen. Coupled with an intuitive, durable,
touchscreen interface, flat-panel displays are ideal solutions for applications
where space is valuable, transaction speed is critical, and a mouse/keyboard
interface is clumsy and easily damaged.
MicroTouch, which in 1995 became the first company to introduce
touchscreen flat-panel displays, is in the forefront of responding to computer
OEMs, systems integrators, and multimedia kiosk developers whose customers
increasingly are asking for a wider array of flat-panel displays with a
touchscreen interface.
Leading industry research firms, including Stanford Resources, San Jose,
Calif., and Venture Development Corp., Natick, Mass., are predicting annual
growth rates in excess of 20 percent for touchscreen flat-panel displays over
the next three years.
"The adoption rate for flat-panel displays is building momentum on a
global scale in market sectors where touch applications and the MicroTouch
brand are eminently popular," said Janet Muto, vice president of worldwide
marketing at MicroTouch. "We're expanding our TruePoint(tm) and
ChassisTouch(tm) product lines to meet this rising demand, and to give
customers the flexibility to choose from the industry's largest array of high-
quality, innovative, competitively priced touchscreen flat-panel displays."
Distinguishing Features and Capabilities
The new flat-panel displays include two TruePoint Profile(tm) desktop
models and two ChassisTouch displays for kiosk, ATM, and industrial enclosures.
Available in popular 13.8-inch and 15-inch diagonal screen sizes, all four
displays are based on thin-film transistor, active-matrix (TFT-AM) LCDs with
full-screen resolution of up to 1024 x 768 lines.
Several features and capabilities distinguish MicroTouch flat-panel
displays from competitive products.
First, only MicroTouch offers flat-panel displays with either ClearTek(R)
capacitive or TouchTek(tm) 5-wire resistive touch technologies, making them
suitable for the widest spectrum of touch applications, and giving customers
the flexibility to choose the best technology and display size for their
particular application.
Second, unlike many hybrid touch-enabled monitors in the market, the new
MicroTouch desktop and chassis flat-panel displays are designed and crafted
from concept to product for integration with touchscreens. This means they have
superior physical durability to withstand the rough handling and harsh
environments common to retail, industrial, and public-access kiosk
applications.
Third, all ChassisTouch monitors are encased in rugged metal instead of
plastic, and MicroTouch guarantees they will retain the same physical
dimensions for three years. This means that systems integrators can avoid
costly modifications or redesigns of enclosures to accommodate constant changes
in the dimensions of plastic bezel monitors which invariably occur in the
course of implementing projects.
A fourth important distinction is MicroTouch's capability -- unmatched in
the touchscreen industry -- to provide worldwide distribution and technical
support both directly to customers and through an extensive network of
partners, including OEMs, distributors, systems integrators, and software
developers.
Pricing and Availability
The new TruePoint Profile desktop flat-panel displays are available in
June. Single unit list prices are $2,046 for the 13.8-inch display and $2,281
for the 15-inch display. The new ChassisTouch flat-panel displays will be
available in July. Single unit list prices are $2,246 for the 13.8-inch chassis
and $2,481 for the 15-inch chassis. Volume discounts are available.
All TruePoint and ChassisTouch flat-panel displays come with a one-year
warranty on the LCD, and a five-year warranty on all touchscreen components.
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