Cypress Semiconductor (CEO Youngdo Lim, www.cypress.com ) announced that Longcheer, a leading Chinese mobile phone design company, has selected Cypress' TrueTouch® single-layer capacitive touch-screen solution for a new smartphone, a custom model for China Unicom, a major Chinese mobile operator.

Capacitive touchscreens offer many advantages over traditional resistive screens, including better optical clarity, lower power consumption, higher performance and durability. However, capacitive touchscreens have been a more expensive option, preventing their use in many low-cost mobile phones. The introduction of Cypress's single-layer sensor and accompanying TrueTouch controller has fundamentally changed this scenario.

Cypress has significantly reduced the cost of capacitive touchscreens while providing the same functionality and user experience as two-layer screens. This solution enables mass replacement of resistive touchscreens with capacitive touchscreens in many cost-sensitive applications.

“Cypress is well recognized as a leader in the high-end capacitive touchscreen controller market with its proven TrueTouch solutions. Working closely with Cypress and our design partner, Topsensing, Longchier was able to launch a highly cost-effective handset for China Unicom, a 3G carrier in China, to meet the growing demand for popular smartphone applications. Following the successful launch of this smartphone model, we look forward to using the same solution in subsequent models. “We also look forward to closer cooperation with Cypress in the future,” said Tang Xiao Xun, COO of Longchier.

“Cypress is pleased to work closely with Longchier to bring capacitive touchscreen technology to the broader Chinese market with this new smartphone for China Unicom. This clearly demonstrates the value of Cypress’s single-layer sensor solution in delivering capacitive touchscreen performance to a low-cost platform,” said Youngdo Lim, president of Cypress Korea.