Resistive Touchscreen

• Resistive touchscreens are comprised of a series of layers of material. The top two layers of the screen are coated with a conductive film, and have a slight separation between them. When pressed against, the two layers are forced together at that point, causing the reactive layers to send a signal to the computer, informing it of the location of the touch. Many non-smartphones that have touchscreens use resistive screens, as they are durable and have a low manufacturing cost.
  
  

Capacitive Touchscreen

• Capacitive touchscreens operate around the idea of the human body acting as a conductor of static electricity. On capacitive touchscreens, the screen is covered with a conductive film, designed to react with a person's touch. When a person touches a capacitive touchscreen, static electricity is transferred, and the touch information is relayed to the phone's computer, allowing it to react more accurately. Capacitive touchscreens are most often seen in smartphones and tablet PCs. On these types of phones, there is normally an etched axis along the coated film, allowing the device to register the touch more accurately.
  
  

Single Capacitance

• Single capacitance touchscreens are a basic form of the capacitive touchscreen. The columns and rows of the axis on the conductive layer each act independently of each other, reporting the information to the controller separately. While this tends to be highly accurate for determining the location of the touch, it is unable to process multiple simultaneous touches, restricting the speed at which the device can be used. This form of the Capacitive touchscreen is becoming more uncommon, as many smartphone users require the use of multiple rapid key presses.
  
  

Mutual Capacitance

• Mutual Capacitance touchscreens make use of a system of rows and columns, with a capacitor at every intersection, ensuring accuracy. This type of touchscreen is used more commonly in devices, replacing Single Capacitance touchscreens due to the increased functionality. With this type of touchscreen, the user is able to perform multi-touch funcitions in virtually any applications.