Touchscreen remote controls

	Shenzhen C&D of mainland China has the URCT-52D, an 8-in-1 key-in touchscreen remote control with an LED or EL backlight. The model also has nine plated rubber keys at the bottom and 15 macro control functions for easy usage.

Good looks at a fair price is the name of the game for this line. User-friendly units with LED backlights emerge popular.

Touchscreen remote controls, being regarded as a high-end product line in the controller market, are usually applied in high-priced electronics such as home theater systems. Some manufacturers noted, however, that home security and automation are also industry drivers for the line. The launch of the iPhone has additionally made touch panels an important feature in a wide range of applications.

Touchscreen remote controls have improved in cosmetic design. Most employ LCD panels with LED backlighting, and are embedded with a variety of features, such as the learning function and a combination of wireless technology. They can usually control eight to 16 devices at the same time.

About 200 makers specialize in remote controls in mainland China, with at least 15 percent offering touchscreen units. Nearly 100 percent of output is exported to overseas retail and distribution markets. Makers from the region started offering touchscreen LCD remote controls in 2005 and 2006. LCD units cost about five times higher than regular remote controls with almost equal functions. This has led to poor sales in the past year, causing some manufacturers to abandon the line. Suppliers now face a major challenge of balancing price and performance to remain viable. Some have turned to alternative materials to preserve the aesthetics at a fair price.

In Taiwan, touchscreen remote control suppliers can be divided into two groups: traditional manufacturers and system solutions providers.

Most traditional makers offer rubber key remote controls and touchscreen remote controls. Their main R&D focus is to improve cosmetic design, increase compatibility and enhance operating range.

The other group of suppliers mainly works on the system, and the communication between the system and the remote control. Most makers in this category do not manufacture touchscreen remote controls, but rather design and determine the product features for such. Ammamsic Technology Corp. (AMMA) is one such solutions provider that offers touchscreen remote controls for home automation systems.

Taiwan touch panel makers generally use 4-wire resistive touchscreen technology, which the industry considers the most basic touch technology in the market. Some suppliers plan to upgrade to 5-wire capacitive or 5-wire resistive models. As for wireless technology, most are devoted to infrared (IR) transmission with an operating range of up to 10m. A number of companies also offer Bluetooth-enabled products, while some others have plans to adapt Wi-Fi technology. At Taiwan maker Aifa Technology Corp., water-resistant units have begun to roll out.

The LED backlight is considered the latest product enhancement. Most contacted companies have this feature in their R&D focus.

	Taiwan maker AMMA's home automation system integrates the home theater , intrusion alarm, fire/gas detector and lighting/air-conditioning control in one 10.4in Wi-Fi touchscreen remote control.

The remote control has evolved into a device that can control several home appliances or electronic devices. Some companies, however, have gone one step further with the development of touchscreen remotes that control a whole system, such as an automated home.

AMMA, which offers Wi-Fi-enabled 7in and 8.4in touchscreen controls, has introduced an IP-based home automation system that combines home security and safety with control of home appliances, lighting and air-conditioning. The homeowner can control the system both inside and outside the house, via the touchscreen remote and via a 3G mobile phone or PDA, respectively. The system uses Wi-Fi for communication between devices and IR for control commands.

Sunwave Technology Corp. of Taiwan produces universal remote controls for home theater systems. Its SRC-3200 is a touchscreen remote with rubber keys combined for easy operation. The model supports up to eight devices, as well as PC software. It features seven different backlight options.

To stay competitive, one company in mainland China said it is pushing to develop new models with LCD panels. Shenzhen Seneasy Industrial Co. Ltd’s SRC-8250 has an LCD and can control up to 16 devices. The learning remote’s LED backlight illuminates the entire touchscreen. The unit has macros where the user can assign up to 60 commands, including time delays between two commands.

The maker also has the 16-in-1 preprogrammed SRC-8850 universal learning remote control with a blue LED- backlit LCD panel. A new model with a seven-color LED backlight is expected to be launched in H2 2008.

Shenzhen Seneasy launched the first of its touchscreen products in 2005. It has a 20-member R&D staff dedicated to software development and chip programming. Another 30 engineers design new molds and provide technical support. The R&D unit usually takes four to five months to produce a new mold for a touchscreen unit, within which programming takes two to three months. Shenzhen Seneasy can roll out 20 to 30 new remote control models each year.

	Mainland China maker Shenzhen Seneasy's SRC-8850 learning touchscreen remote control has a blue LED-backlit LCD panel. It can control up to 16 different devices.

Several makers, however, have taken to designing models that use a set of fixed, touch-sensitive buttons in place of LCD panels. This retains the aesthetics while pushing down manufacturing costs.

This cheaper type of panel can also use an LED backlight, usually blue in color. Some makers print the blue buttons onto the panel to further lower the price. The unit costs two-thirds to half the touchscreen LCD unit.

Shenzhen C&D Electronics Co. Ltd was among the first batch of makers to launch this type of “key-in” touchscreen remote controls in 2004. The panels have LED backlighting and are covered by a layer of glass-like plastic. The company also offers a model with EL backlighting for symmetrical brightness and lower power consumption. The panels are made in-house and all designs are patented. Shenzhen C&D gets technical support from an overseas partner. It also sources learning chips from Europe and the US.

The maker’s URCT-52D is an 8-in-1 (TV, satellite, DVD, audio, VCR, CBL, CD and auxiliary) key-in touchscreen remote control available with an LED or EL backlight. It has an additional nine plated rubber keys at the bottom and 15 macro control functions to facilitate easy usage. It has a 2min memory retention function that prevents losing codes during battery change.

Moving forward, Shenzhen C&D said it will keep developing “key-in” units. Its 50-member R&D team is also looking to launch LCD models with panels sourced overseas and dual wireless models (IR and Bluetooth or other wireless technology) once demand for such picks up. The manufacturer’s other R&D points are to improve its external designs, update its database and simplify the controllers, possibly into a one-key operation.

Anhui Aibo Electronics Group Co. Ltd also launched a touch button unit, the AB08-0004, in the beginning of 2008. The model has a key-printed panel with an LED backlight.

Anhui Aibo also has the AB08-0003, an 8-in-1 touchscreen LCD remote control with learning function. The manufacturer aims to develop a new kind of control signal for its high-end offerings, through which the customer can block another person from using his universal control.

Anhui Aibo has a long-term partner in Taiwan from where it sources control ICs. Its Taiwan partner also provides related technical support. Four engineers in its six-member R&D team work closely with the chip supplier.

	Taiwan maker Sunwave's SRC-3200 touchscreen remote can control up to eight devices. It features seven different backlight options.

A touchscreen remote control is usually quoted at $10 to $20. A new model can reach $20 to $25. Being major components, the panel and ICs account for 30 percent and 20 percent of the finished product’s total cost, respectively.

The fixed touch button unit with backlight is priced at $5 to $10. Midrange and high-end universal controls with learning functions fetch $3 to $8. A product with the learning function is 80 cents to $1 higher than a unit without it. Entry-level products below $1 can only be used for a single device. The price of touchscreen remote controls was stable in 2007, but makers see a likely movement this year, citing the appreciating yuan.

Shenzhen C&D sold 250,000 touchscreen remote control units in 2007, a 50 percent sales increase from 2006. With 8,000sqm of manufacturing space with 25 production lines, the company can produce 1.5 million remote controls a month, 60 percent of which are for export. The factory meets ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 14001:2004 requirements.

Shenzhen C&D employs 800 staff members, including 40 in QC. All processes—including bonding IC, plastic injection, PCB design and silkscreen printing—are done in-house. The maker also has various testing equipment, such as salty-fog test machine, life test machine, loading test machine, constant temperature and humidity machine.

The supplier ships 60 percent of its remote controls overseas. ODM accounts a higher percent of its patented designs. The company complies with CE, FCC and RoHS standards.

Founded in 1995, Anhui Aibo has a 70,000sqm, ISO 9001-standard factory and 600 staff based in Tianchang city, Anhui province. Inside this factory is a 30,000sqm workshop with six production lines, which can produce 35,000 to 40,000 remote controls daily.

Anhui Aibo started its touchscreen remote control line in H2 2007. It sold 4 million remote controls last year, half of which were universal units, including models with touchscreens. The maker sources PCBs and conductive rubber from local suppliers.

Shenzhen Seneasy, established in 1997, started producing finished touchscreen remote controls in 2005. Last year, it sold 30,000 touchscreen units and 20,000 fixed touch button types, accounting for 5 percent of total sales. The maker maintains a 6,000sqm factory with eight production lines in Shenzhen. All processes are done in-house, including mold design and making, COB and SMT, injection, paint spraying, case printing and assembly. It has a 30-strong QC team in its 400-member staff and a laboratory that has aging, drop and shaking testers. Shenzhen Seneasy can produce 1 million remote controls monthly.

Sunwave, established in 1995, specializes in touchscreen remote controls. The company is based in Taipei with a 20-member staff. Most of the company’s products support an IR transmission of 8m to 10m. Its export markets include the US, Japan, Europe and Australia.

AMMA, founded in 2002, is an R&D-oriented company specializing in home and office building automation. It has cooperation deals with other companies to introduce new products. The maker’s focus is on the domestic market, with system integrators as its major clients.

Aifa has four R&D engineers at its head office in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, but it also maintains an R&D center at a factory in mainland China. The company provides OEM/ODM universal remote controls for export markets and produces own-brand products for the domestic market. Up to 70 percent of output is sold to Japan and Europe.