Touch-panel notebook shipments will reach 19.8 million units, or 11% penetration, in 2013. By 2017, touch-panel penetration is expected to reach nearly 40% (64.2 million units) according to DisplaySearch.

During the first half of 2013, global shipments of notebooks with touch screens reached 6.2 million units, or 7% share of the overall notebook market. Ultra-slim PCs led touch-screen penetration in the overall notebook category, with 1.7 million units, followed by standard notebooks, with 4.5 million units. Asustek Computer had the most shipments of notebooks with touch interfaces in the first half, followed by Lenovo, Acer, Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Sony.

"Touch penetration in notebooks was modest in the first half of the year, and we expect a slight increase to 10% in the second half. Premium pricing and a lack of compelling uses for touch screens on notebooks continue to hinder adoption," said Richard Shim, senior analyst at NPD DisplaySearch. "As touch interfaces become increasingly common across all mobile devices, however, it is just a matter of time before the technology also becomes more prevalent in notebooks."

Factors encouraging adoption include Intel's mandate that third-generation ultrabooks include touch, as well as hybrids, sliders, convertibles, and other new touch-friendly form factors that will become more common in the years to come. "A touch panel on a clamshell notebook seems less intuitive than it does on a tablet-like device, which is better suited to touch interactions," according to Shim''