Smartphone display shipments up 42% in 2012

Smartphone display shipments surged 42 percent on-year in 2012 despite an overall decline in shipments for the global handset market, data showed Friday.Display shipments for smartphones jumped to 738 million units last year, while total mobile phone display shipments fell 2 percent, according to the data by market researcher DisplaySearch.The on-year increase was largely attributed to best-selling smartphones such as Samsung Electronics Co.'s Galaxy S3 and Apple Inc.'s iPhone 5, which were both released last year.The data showed that 720 HD shipments, the resolution for the Galaxy S3 phones, rose to 109 million and those of 1136×640 resolution panel shipments, used for iPhone 5 devices, increased to 70 million.Meanwhile, DisplaySearch said the fall in overall mobile display shipments came as demand for displays used in entry-level and mid-range mobile phones shrank.The data predicted smartphone display shipments will continue expanding this year as manufacturers are racing to roll out gadgets with bigger and brighter displays.Earlier this month, top smartphone maker Samsung Electronics unveiled the Galaxy S4 smartphone, which features a 5-inch full HD Super AMOLED display.Other South Korean smartphone makers have also jumped on the trend, with LG Electronics Inc. releasing the 5.5-inch full HD Optimus Pro G and Pantech Corp. launching the 5.9-inch full HD Vega No. 6.