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Last updated: Thursday, October 9, 2008

When Sam Hurst, a professor at the University of Kentucky, developed touchscreen technology nearly four decades ago, he probably had no idea his innovation would be the basis for a popular consumer interface and change the way humans and machines interact. We have come a long way since Hurst’s touch technology, which is now used in several products, including smartphones. Apple’S iPhone and its finger-tapping touchscreen and Research In Motion’s Blackberry Storm with a clickable touchscreen have captured the market’s attention. And analysts predict the technology will pop up on more smartphones. Apple’s iPhone interface is different than other touchscreen smartphones that use a stylus. Many features of the multi-touch interface require users to touch multiple points on the screen at the same time. For example, a user can zoom into pictures by putting a thumb and a finger on the screen and spreading them apart. Then the user can zoom out by bringing the thumb and finger back together. Causing its Own Thunder The BlackBerry Storm gives a different touchscreen experience than that of Nokia’s XpressMusic consumer-focused smartphone and Apple’s iPhone. The Storm, available later this year, comes with a touchscreen that clicks when depressed very lightly and released. That gentle click is similar to the feeling of a keyboard or a mouse. The Storm also supports slides, multi-touch taps, and other touchscreen gestures, giving users the ability to highlight, scroll and zoom, according to RIM. “The BlackBerry Storm is a revolutionary touchscreen smartphone that meets both the communications and multimedia needs of customers and solves the long-standing problem associated with typing on traditional touchscreens,” said Mike Lazaridis, RIM’s president. RIM’s Storm will be offered to Verizon Wireless customers in the United States and Vodafone customers in Asia, Europe, India and Australia. Need for Touch While worldwide sales of smartphones continue to increase with 32.2…

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Touchscreen Smartphones Are Leading the Market

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