Surely you're not content with just multi-touch and built-in accelerometers, right? Microsoft Research is expecting not, as it's already working towards integrating force-sensing technology that will enable gestures to twist on-screen imagery without crafting UMPCs out of flexible material. Essentially, the gurus behind the idea feel that implementing said tech would "turn an otherwise passive component that just holds the device together into an active input surface." In the future, it's likely that auditory cues would enable users to know when they've applied enough pressure to cause a change, and of course, they expect it to work hand-in-hand with existing human-computer interfaces. Yeah, who needs keypads these days, anyway? [Warning: PDF read link]

[Via BBC, thanks Joe]

It's no secret that Apple loves its touchscreens, and a freshly published patent application provides a little reinforcement to that belief. The documentation explores a method for tossing in pressure-sensitivity to touchpads in order to add functionality, or as Cupertino puts it, "a new element of control." Furthermore, it's noted that "force information may be used as another input dimension for purposes of providing command and control signals to an associated electronic device," and it goes on to explain how spring membranes could be placed under the surface to detect force. Notably, the verbiage tends to "describe a touchpad like those used for the company's MacBook lines," but it does leave open the possibility for the newfangled pads to be used in mobile / portable devices such as the outfit's own iPhone.