Keyboards and Keypads: North American OEM and Aftermarket Demand Analysis, 10th Edition

Abstract

Overview

This report covers the North American market for those keyboard and keypad products that are either produced and consumed within North America; or produced elsewhere, and consumed in North America.

Report Highlights

• There is an overall shift in preference toward membrane switch-based products, especially in the industrial, medical, and POS application markets, which will drive a 7.2% annual growth for membrane switch products through 2008.
• POS and military/aerospace have exhibited the most significant growth since 2002. Marked increases in share of consumption were also seen for commercial equipment applications, whereas a decline in share was seen for appliances/white goods, consumer electronics, industrial controls, and datacom/telecom applications.
• A major application market for full and short travel rugged keyboards is rugged mobile computing, e.g. rugged notebook PCs, tablet PCs, and handhelds, that are used in military and industrial environments. This market is poised for solid growth through 2008, and will drive the consumption of rugged full travel and short travel keyboards.
• Wireless technology has made significant inroads for aftermarket keyboards. Currently, the majority of wireless demand is in aftermarket keyboards for PC and workstation applications, but demand is also emerging for set-top ¥Internet applications, living room media centers, entertainment/gaming applications, and accessories for portable devices such as PDAs.

ANALYSIS COVERAGE

Product Categories

• Full Travel: X greater than 3.0 mm or X greater than 0.12 inches (Greater than 3.0 mm)
• Short Travel: 3.0 mm greater than X greater than 1.5 mm or 0.12 inch greater than X greater than 0.06 inch (Greater than or equal to 1.5 mm, but less than or equal to 3.0 mm)
• Flat Panel: X less than 1.5 mm or X less than 0.06 inch (Less than 1.5 mm)
• Rugged/Industrial Characteristics
  • Casing Types (stainless steel, polycarbonate, other)
  • Enclosure Types (panel mount, rack mount, desktop/stand-alone)
  • Peripheral/Feature Type (biometric, illumination, memory devices, etc.)
• Aftermarket Product Features
  • Auxiliary pointing devices
  • Backlighting
  • Collapsible (for handheld devices)
  • Ergonomics
  • Hot keys
  • Wireless

Switching Technologies

(Full Travel, Short Travel, Flat Panel, and Rugged only)

• Conductive rubber
• Mechanical
• Membrane
  • - Tactile Metal Dome
  • - Tactile Poly Dome
  • - Non-Tactile No Dome
• Other switching technologies
  • - Capacitance
  • - Hall effect
  • - Reed
  • - Solid state piezo
  • - PushGate�E

Vertical/Application Markets

Full Travel, Short Travel, Flat Panel, and Rugged/Industrial only

• Appliances/White Goods
• Commercial/Retail Equipment
• Consumer Electronics
• Data Processing/Computers/Peripherals
• Datacom/Telecom
• Industrial Controls/Process Automation
• Instrumentation
• Medical Devices
• Military/Aerospace
• Office Automation
• POS Devices/Kiosks
• Transportation/Automotive

Aftermarket only

• PC Gaming
• Home Entertainment/Media Center PC
• PC/Workstation/Laptop
• Handheld Devices

Geographic Regions

• North America (U.S., Canada, Mexico)