Should I buy resistive or capacitive touchscreen?

Asked By TomBabauta 0 points N/A Posted on - 08/29/2011

I've been shopping around for  new touchscreen phone and reading reviews on the net about it.  I notice that on the specs of some phones they describe the touchscreen as either capacitive or resistive. 

I already know how to tell if a screen is resistive or capacitive but I want to know which is better from others who have actually tried either one or both.

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Answered By KevinN 5 points N/A #111979

Should I buy resistive or capacitive touchscreen?

Hello! Tom Babauta.

I've tried these two types of touchscreens and hopefully I can help you decide.

Here's how I compare the two:

1.  Price:  Resistive touchscreen is cheaper than capacitive.  The technology used in capacitive screens is more advanced and much more recent than resistive (which has been in use since around 1995) which makes it more expensive.

2.  Touch sensitivity:  capacitive is more responsive but you need to touch it with your finger while resistive has the advantage that you can use the tip of your fingernail or a stylus to tap the screen.  This lessens smudges.

3.  Resistive screen is prone to scratch and damage.  Because resistive screen has a thin plastic film on top of the screen, it is very easy for it to get scratched or if pressed too hard, you get tiny indentations.  Capacitive screen uses glass which is more resistant to tiny scratches (but can still break with strong impact).

It seems capacitive has more advantages than resistive but if you have big fingers or wear gloves (because it is cold where you live) and comfortable with using a stylus then a resistive screen is actually a better choice.

Hope this helps!

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• Posted on - 08/29/2011
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Answered By Vivian Drake 10 points N/A #111980

Should I buy resistive or capacitive touchscreen?

Thanks Kevin,

Iwas planning to buy a nokia smart phone (Nokiac6 00 & nokia c6 01).

One have resistive touch and other is capacitive…  so i was little bit confused on selecting the phone….

Anyway this post really helped me for clearing my doubts..

Thank you so much for making it more understandable…..

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• Posted on - 06/26/2012
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