Advantages and Drawbacks

Please let me know advantages and drawbacks of a touch screen.

OK. The advantages and drawbacks of a touch screen are summarized in the table below. Considering that various input interfaces can be created with a touch screen, we can say that touch screen is a great HMI. But, you will notice that it is not better than other HMI in every respect. Let's look at the general advantages and disadvantages of a touch screen here.

Advantages Drawbacks
  • Switch and buttons are not physically required. Device makers can make and modify various input interfaces creatively by software.
  • With multi-touch function, various operations/inputs (eg: zoom-in/zoom-out, rotation) are possible.
  • Because a user operates an electronic device by directly touching the images on the display he is seeing, the operation will be intuitive, thus anyone can operate it from first use.
  • The whole unit is space-saving because display and input space are integrated. There is a lot of flexibility in design.
  • Unlike keyboard or physical switch, there will be no dirt, dust, and moisture getting into the spaces between buttons. Thus, it is easy for maintenance.
  • Since a display is directly touched, the display may get dirty, then become less-visible. A direct touch may also cause scratches on the screen that may cause malfunction in some cases.
  • Unlike push-button and mouse, users will not feel "click" when a user input a touch screen, thus operation may become clumsy sometimes. However, there are certain touch screens that provide "click feeling" when touched.
  • Touchscreen is difficult to be operated for the visually impaired. Some creative ways to let them know where to touch are needed. Sound navigation and/or physical buttons might be helpful in combination with touch screen.
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