HONG KONG -- Global touchscreen shipments are expected to grow 17% this year to 1.75 billion, led by higher demand for handheld devices, Digitimes Research says.

Shipments for touchscreens used in tablets are expected to reach 233 million units, up 38.2% from 2012, touchscreens for PCs are expected to reach 26.33 million in 2013, up 251%, and shipments for handhelds are expected to rise 14% to 1.28 billion, the firm says.

Resistive touchscreen shipments for phones are expected to decrease in 2013 due to Nokia, one of the largest users of the technology, switching to projected capacitive touchscreen technology. Shipments of embedded touch screen technology are expected to increase during the year thanks to the iPhone 5. Because the iPad mini uses DITO thin-film type projected capacitive touch screen technology, shipments of glass-on-glass (GG) touch screen technology, which is used in 9.7" iPad models, are expected to drop in 2013.