Posted by Mike on November 20th, 2007 in display, user interface

Nokia has made a great leap in the world of haptic technology- touch feedback. They have created a touch screen that touches back! Using piezo technology, the screen “jostles” your fingers (.1 mm, hardly a big whack, but enough apparently), along with a click sound, to give you the feedback that you actuated the key.

I wonder if this is something that we all need, or if it just a nice concept. I am old enough to remember typing on a “manual” typewriter. Believe it or not, even before the electric IBM Selectric typewriters (these had a silver type ball, that moved and impacted the ribbon and paper to make an image), there were finger-powered movements of the keys. We had to pound the tar out of those things to get them to make an image consistently. When the electrics came to the fore, we had to back off the force to keep from breaking the things, which we did learn eventually. Now, the springy keys that I am touching require even less effort. At what point do you require only the display of the results of your touch and perhaps a sonic note to provide the feedback for successful typing?

I can remember an old girl friend, a stenographer by trade, who while we were driving and holding hands (I was driving) was unconsciously transcribing our conversations through her fingertips. She did not require feedback, she was not even aware that she was doing it. Maybe with a couple of locator/reference points, typing on flat, non-tactile screen is something we will all just adapt to, like a Selectric. At any rate, touchscreen computers will probably get easier and easier to use with advancements like this.

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/nokia/nokias-haptikos-technology-makes-phys ical-keyboards-obsolete-hopefully-319318.php