Many companies are adding touchscreen to their handheld electronics. This iPhone-driven fad in the world of consumer electronics has many manufacturers considering whether it's time to do the same. However once you get past the gee-whiz factor, custom keypads made from silicone have a lot of advantages over touchscreens.

Fingerprints: Have you ever used a touchscreen? Even if your hands are clean the screen is soon full of greasy fingerprints. You have to keep wiping off the screen so you can see what you are doing. If keypads pick up a little oil from your fingers, that doesn't affect your ability to use the device.

No Click: Lack of feedback means that it is harder to tell when you have pressed a button correctly on a touchscreen. With no tactile feedback you have to watch the screen for some kind of visual signal. This is only a slight problem with something like surfing the web on a PDA but will substantially slow down texting on a cell phone. Custom keypads not only give a satisfying click but can be manufactured to give different levels of feedback, from soft to firm.

Can't Tell Where The Buttons Are: As devices get smaller so do their interfaces and that can be frustrating for the users. When buttons are smaller than fingers, they rely on being able to feel the keys on custom keypads to know where their fingers are. You can't do that on a touchscreen so sometimes you are stabbing blindly, hoping to hit the right key.

Custom Keypads Are Tough: The constant barrage of fingertips or styluses takes a toll on touchscreens over time. They get scratched up and that can interfere with both the image and the interface. Molded keypads can take years of abuse and even if the surfaces wear over time, they are still just as functional as the day they were manufactured.

Touchscreens are Expensive: Cost of manufacture directly affects the final cost of the product. Custom keypads are one of the most cost-effective choices for a variety of applications. Touchscreens are still very expensive and that means your product is going to be of interest to a limited segment of the buying population. It's possible for to completely price yourself out of the market if you aren't careful.

Touchscreen Repairs - Expensive and Difficult: Not only are touchscreens expensive to manufacture but when they inevitably break down repairs are equally expensive. They require specialized knowledge to fix and that is inconvenient to your customers.

Certainly touchscreens have their advantages but when looking at the entire picture, it is clear that for most applications custom silicone keypads are a better choice. Their traditional design, tactile feedback, and cost effective manufacture and repair make them ideal choices for most electronic devices.