Skip to Content

Get the latest on Wrath of the Lich King on WoW Insider!
AOL Tech

Posts with tag touch panel

HP gets hot on touchscreen technology, plans array of finger-friendly gear

by Darren Murph, posted Aug 6th 2008 at 8:29AM

In case you haven't noticed, HP has a thing for attempting (emphasis on attempting) to stay one step ahead of the sector. Now, it's being reported that touch technology is all the rage within Palo Alto, and HP is purportedly aiming to introduce "an array of products, including notebooks," that utilize the finger-friendly tech within the next 18 months. Details on those very products are few and far between, but Phil McKinney (CTO of the Personal Systems Group) sees touch "as the almost preferred method for nontechnical users." Funny thing, though -- it seems most everyone else recognized touch as the new hotness a good while back. We're betting HP has just been holding all of this mighty close to the chest... guess we'll see in 18 months, huh?

[Image courtesy of Old-Computers]

ASUS Eee PC 900 gets livened up with touchscreen

by Darren Murph, posted Jul 2nd 2008 at 7:10PM


If you're tired of waiting for ASUS to offer a touchscreen option for the Eee PC 900 (or you're the proud owner of an existing unit), jkkmobile is happy to show you their shortcut to touchy-feely nirvana. As we've seen on all those other Eees, installing the touch panel into the 900 doesn't seem to be extraordinarily difficult for those with a few mods under their belt and a reliable Chinese parts supplier. For those who'd prefer to simply watch from the sidelines, you can peek the video after the break and lots more photos in the read link.

Continue reading ASUS Eee PC 900 gets livened up with touchscreen

Microsoft's LaserTouch prototype brings hand control to any display

by Darren Murph, posted May 23rd 2008 at 8:28PM


We'll go ahead and get this out of the way: the fantastic product you're about to hear more on has "no plans" to go commercial. Now that we've thoroughly killed your buzz, let us introduce to you the LaserTouch. Said device is a prototype that recently emerged from Microsoft Research's labs, which essentially allows people to retrofit any display (monitor, projector, etc.) so that they can use their own hands to control the on-screen action. According to Andy Wilson, who played a vital role in the unit's creation, an infrared camera is used to track how a person touches the screen, while software that he developed handles the majority of the magic. Too bad this could totally undercut Surface sales, right?

LCARS-esque touchscreen controls home, excites Trekkies

by Darren Murph, posted May 15th 2008 at 11:57AM


za9000's LCARS-like touch panel isn't quite ready to hop aboard any spacecraft, but it sure seems to do a fine job of controlling his home. Truthfully, detailing this thing in words wouldn't do it justice, so we'll leave it to you to don your best Spock face and check out the three-minute clip waiting just past the break.

[Thanks, Daniel]

Continue reading LCARS-esque touchscreen controls home, excites Trekkies

Gigabyte's GSmart Smart Touch UI shown on video

by Darren Murph, posted Apr 30th 2008 at 11:57PM


Check it -- Gigabyte has just revealed details about a swank new user interface for its GSmart mobiles, and it has been coined Smart Touch. Sadly, multi-touch gestures aren't supported, but it does handle dragging / dropping and gives users oodles of customization options. Comically enough, the note on the new UI actually admits that it "works like [the interface on the] iPhone," but it claims to be superior due to its tight-knit integration and more "useful and interesting features." Sure, alrighty. We'll let you be the judge on this one -- jump on past the break for an excruciatingly long demonstration vid.

[Via the::unwired]

Continue reading Gigabyte's GSmart Smart Touch UI shown on video

Modder swaps touchscreen into Everex Cloudbook

by Darren Murph, posted Apr 9th 2008 at 7:35AM


Not content with just ordering a touchscreen-packin' Cloudbook from Japan, Azazel decided to take matters into his own wonder-working hands and hack up his vanilla unit to include the oh-so-coveted touch support. Based on his reports, disassembling the rig and stuffing the new panel in was a lesson in simplicity (save for one quick round with a soldering iron), but actual usability proved to be somewhat of a letdown. It was noted that using the small screen with just a fingertip was challenging, and while relying on a pen did make things marginally easier, we'd think long and hard about your needs / wishes before taking the plunge.

[Thanks, David]

Dell, Motion Computing sued for patent infringement over touch panels

by Darren Murph, posted Dec 7th 2007 at 6:21AM


You don't have to look far outside of the Eastern District of Texas to find yourself a fresh patent infringement case, and sure enough, that's precisely where this one was filed. Getting dinged up today is none other than the Round Rock powerhouse and Motion Computing, both of which are being sued for so-called willful infringement on Typhoon Touch Technologies / Nova Mobility Systems touch panel patents. Apparently, the two defendants are being accused of profiting off of two particular patents without paying the plaintiffs their respective royalties, and the lawsuit is seeking to "enjoin Dell and Motion Computing from the continued violation of [the] patents" while also extracting a presumably hefty sum of cash. No specific products are blamed, but we're told that the patents cover technology used in tablet PCs, slate PCs, handheld PCs, UMPCs, PDAs and a host of other gear.

Apple envisions tactility on touchscreen keyboards

by Darren Murph, posted Oct 25th 2007 at 11:51AM


Tactile feedback isn't exactly new to the mobile device arena, but Apple is apparently looking to add a bit of tactility to on-screen keyboards of the future. In a recent patent filing, the gurus in Cupertino have described four arrangements for accomplishing the aforementioned goal, some of which include adding dots / bars to keys and throwing an articulating frame underneath the panel to enable users to feel varying levels of resistance when mashing down. Per usual, we're left to imagine where such technology could eventually end up (tough job, we know), but considering that this is the third touchpad-related filing seen from Apple in the past 20 days, who knows what is (or isn't) brewing.

UPDATE: Check it out -- seems this diagram looks an awful lot like something designed by Fingerworks. Thanks for the heads-up, Jason!

[Via UnwiredView]

Toshiba rolls out automotive HD DVD player, improved LCD panel

by Erik Hanson, posted May 25th 2007 at 1:37PM

Toshiba Mobile HD DVD player and new LCD touch panel
Toshiba has shown off some auto-related products at the Automotive Engineering Expo 2007, including a mobile HD DVD player and a fresh take on touch panels. The high-definition in-dash player is under co-development with Alpine, and is planned for a 2008 release. The LCD is an improvement on traditional touchscreen technology, with no film coating -- which traditionally reduces contrast ratio and brightness -- to handle the user input, instead bundling optical sensors alongside each pixel. These sensors can then detect the shadow of a press during the day, and the reflection of the backlight at night. Toshiba also plans to upgrade that tech to use infrared instead of day/night sensors. Who cares if you can't see the difference between 1080 and 720 on a 7-inch screen, we just want our mobile touchscreen HD now!

Samsung's 3.5-inch Hybrid Touch Screen Panel LCD

by Evan Blass, posted Jun 5th 2006 at 10:53AM

Some behind-the-"screens" work just completed by Samsung will soon enable many of the portable devices you enjoy to offer thinner and lighter touch panel displays. The Korean electronics giant has announced a new LCD technology called hTSP (Hybrid Touch Screen Panel) that will allow manufacturers to incorporate touch screen functionality directly into the TFT fabrication process, whereas most current touch-sensitive applications require a separate, sensor-laden printed circuit board (PCB) attached to the top of the display. So far the company is able to create LCDs as big as 3.5 inches using the new method, meaning that you can expect to see hTSP-sporting smartphones, PMPs, and nav devices on store shelves in the near future.

Logitec intros USB touchscreen "faceplates"

by Evan Blass, posted May 25th 2006 at 1:15PM


As you've probably noticed, the Photoshopping skills around here aren't what you'd call top-notch, so we're thinking that maybe attaching Logitec's upcoming USB touchscreen to our monitor might help us give you the realistic product mock-ups and goofy photo-illustrations that you deserve. Coming in 15-inch or 17-inch varieties, respectively, the LTP-15UBK and LTP-17UBK (or LTP-17U, in white) simply attach to your existing LCD with velcro strips, and let you manipulate your pointer with either a finger, a la an ATM machine, or the included pen, as with a graphics tablet. Both models will go on sale in late June for an undisclosed sum of money, but we're not sure if these will even be available outside of Japan, so you may have to put up with our crappy Photoshops for just a little while longer.

[Via Everything USB]
    Play Pause



    Weblogs, Inc. Network

    AOL News

    Other Weblogs Inc. Network blogs you might be interested in:

    Joystiq
    Download Squad
    The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)
    BloggingStocks
    Xbox 360 Fanboy
    Autoblog
    Big Download Blog
    Fanhouse NFL Blog