Samsung Mobile Display said on Sunday that it predicts the global smartphone market to grow to 500 million units in 2012 from 170 million in 2009, accounting for 29 per cent of the entire mobile phone market in 2012. And OLED screens could appear on 50 per cent of all mobile phones within next five years, the company predicted.

The touchscreen is to be adopted by approximately 50 per cent of major portable devices by 2013, the mobile display venture of Samsung Electronics estimated, like in mobile phones, digital cameras, navigations and digital media players.

With the growing of smartphone and touchscreen markets, the demand of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays will also be boosted, said the company. OLED display is seen as a promising next-generation display as they are thinner and offer higher quality pictures than LCD and plasma panels, but a shorter life span is a drawback.

OLED screens could be seen in 50 per cent of all mobile phones within next five years, said Samsung Mobile Display, the world's No. 1 maker of active-matrix OLED.