touch screen
Latest
Chrono Trigger DS features optional SNES play mode
For fans of Chrono Trigger, the news that the game would be ported to the DS was like finding an extra toy in your box of cereal. Or, actually, it was probably a bigger deal than that. Like, a lot bigger. But, what about those purists that don't like touch-screen controls changing up the game? Well, Square Enix will be including a single-screen mode, which you can see to the right of this text. The bottom screen will display health information for the enemies you're currently engaging, so it still plays a role in the game. Are touch-screen controls really that big of an issue, though?%Gallery-27682%
Double-sided transparent touch display would make Battleship amazing
You've got to feel bad for the vendors at the Sign and Display Show 2008 that's going on in Tokyo right now for being totally overshadowed by IFA, but this nifty dual-sided transparent touch display from Teraokaseiko is definitely noteworthy, even if it just because it'll make future versions of Battleship and Connect 4 super fun. It's just a monochrome 256 x 120 EL-panel prototype for now, but it recognizes simple multitouch gestures like pinching, and there's definitely promise in the idea -- now if it could make it out of the Sign and Display Show and into the big leagues, we'd be all set.
HP gets hot on touchscreen technology, plans array of finger-friendly gear
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]
Nintendo sued over touch-screen technology
Another day, another lawsuit for Nintendo. Their wacky ideas have probably been done in some form or another over the years, and now everyone wants a profitable piece of the action. The latest candidate for a chunk of Nintendo's payroll is John R. Martin, who claims to have patented touch-screen and pointing gaming technology in 2005. One year after the DS was released. Despite being a bit late, the origins of the patent date back to 1995, so it's fair game for the courts now.This image was submitted with the patent filing, apparently showing a device "switchable between an amusement mode and a gaming or gambling mode." The whole touching thing can be found under "operating a touch screen on a CRT or ICD." But gambling? Looks like that diagram is for someone who hides stuff under the table to cheat at blackjack or roulette.Nintendo has denied the infringement, while Martin is pursuing another suit against Apple.
Nintendo helps make a better prison guard
We can imagine what makes for a good prison guard: somebody who has seen the show Oz and is skilled in the ways of the nightstick. What else could a wannabe prison guard need? Nintendo, apparently.At North Branch Correctional Institution, prison Warden John A. Rowley mentioned that the state-of-the-art touch-screen system that the prison uses to control the population is, apparently, very similar to that of the DS. He commented that "Nintendo was a great tool to train today's officers." We couldn't agree more, since the DS is not only a great handheld system for gaming, but also a cheap way to introduce folks to the interface of a touch-screen, not to mention how to effectively use a stylus.So, while the Warden comments that Nintendo helped train his guards, we think the system can go further. It can train grandparents on how to use a PDA (or you can turn it into one for them), among other things. What a great little system![Via Kotaku]
DS Clone Wars project lead talks up the game
We don't have to tell you how promising upcoming Star Wars: The Clone Wars game is. Drop-in anytime wireless co-op play? Awesome! Stylus-driven gameplay akin to Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword? Awesome. We're excited.For the Padawans out there looking for more, know that the game's project lead, Feargus Carroll, recently spoke with IGN. He details the story, which has Count Dooku joining force with the Nightsisters, whom are described as "Sith Witches with Force powers and Lightsaber skills." They have nasty things planned for the Jedi and it's up to the player to stop them with the six available characters, which are Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mace Windu, Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano, Plo Koon and Kit Fisto.Feargus also talks a bit about the stylus-driven controls, stating that just about everything will be controlled with the stylus. Movement, attacks, Force powers and just about anything else you can imagine is utilized through the stylus. It sounds ambitious, but it's been pulled off once already.All in all, we're excited for Lucasarts' DS entry. What say you?
ATTIGO TT elegantly integrates touch panels into DJ setup
Just after seeing how the Nintendo DS's touch panel could be used to scratch things up, along comes a full-blown turntable setup that relies heavily on interactions with touchscreens. Dreamed up and designed by Scott Hobbs, the ATTIGO TT enables DJs to manipulate sounds via sensors, and the added visual effects are fantastically beautiful, if not useful. Check out a video of the creation being used after the jump -- just make sure one earcup is firmly planted around the ear first, alright?[Via Coolest-Gadgets]
Microsoft's LaserTouch prototype brings hand control to any display
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?
Introducing unique baseball title Major DS
Tomy, who you're more likely to know for their involvement with Naruto than a sports title, is releasing a pretty sweet baseball game in Japan this July. It's called Major DS and, aside from just being a baseball title (enough for this sports fan), it has great appeal in its unique control scheme. As you can witness in the video above, pitching and batting is handled by utilizing the stylus on the touch-screen. It looks like MLB Power Pros is getting a run for its money soon ...Any sports fans think Tomy is on to something here with Major DS? We're wondering how import-friendly it is, ourselves.
Are you a bad enough dude to replace your DS Lite's screen?
Having problems with the touchscreen on your DS Lite? Are you also a crazy person? If so, you may want to attempt to replace the touchscreen yourself using an aftermarket screen. To help future DS repairers (or perhaps just to document a successful replacement), selectbutton forum member Sushi K has created an illustrated guide to the process.Since we have some experience replacing screen covers on handhelds, we'll offer one warning. Unless you live in one of the clean rooms used to manufacture computer chips (and you don't, because it wouldn't be clean with people living in there!) you are going to get dust under your screen. This is a certainty unless you are profoundly lucky. Still, if you can't get Nintendo to fix your DS, a speck or two of dust is a small price to pay for a working touchscreen, although there's always the potential cost of completely wrecking your system.
DS Fanboy Review: Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword
Click for more screens from Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword As you can imagine, many were worried when Itagaki showed off the DS entry in his beloved Ninja Gaiden series. Would the groundbreaking new control scheme set the bar for action games on the system or would it be an unresponsive and unrefined mess, causing you to contemplate throwing your DS against the wall? Well, I'm happy to report that none of these fears ever pan out in Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword, which is a pretty great game overall.It turns out, the game is pretty much everything we hoped it would be: a benchmark for how to do an action game on the DS and how other developers can create a great DS entry in their own respective franchises.%Gallery-4937%
Hands-on with Samsung's Instinct
Samsung and Sprint were keeping their cards close all day today but we finally had a chance to check out Samsung's Instinct up close and personal. The handset's look and feel is really top notch, materials, finish, and the oh-so-glossy -- but hard to shoot -- screen is sweet. Haptics for touch feedback are here as well, and aside from some strange behavior while scrolling, was a pretty useful feature for letting you know you'd actually done something -- it was most noticeable, and most useful when typing. Not a bad effort, look for this to hit Sprint in June. Follow the link to the gallery.%Gallery-19643%
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T300 gets reviewed
We briefly got our hands on Sony's DSC-T300 digital camera (along with a bevy of other Cyber-shots) back at PMA earlier this year, but the folks at Digital Photography Review have now come through with a thorough review of the camera which, among other things, is particularly notable for its use of touchscreen controls. On that important point, they found the controls "generally pleasant to use," aided in no small part by the "largest possible screen for a camera of its size" (3.5 inches). They were also particularly impressed with the Cyber-shot's "small, smart design" and its impressive 5x optical zoom. It's not all good news, however, with the camera also boasting what Digital Photography Review describes as "terrible battery life," as well as "over-enthusiastic reds," and a noise-reduction feature that not only eliminates noise but reduces image quality no matter what the setting. Some pretty big trade offs, to be sure, but apparently not enough to keep it from getting an above average rating.
DS Daily: Franchise reboot
We were looking over the reviews that have come in so far for Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword and we were thinking about how that franchise rebooted itself on the DS. Now, it didn't really need a reboot, nor is it 100% a reboot in the normal way we think of reboots, but it did take an established franchise and retool it for another platform. Now, whether it was a good retooling or a bad retooling remains to be seen.But, we were wondering what other established franchises could use a reboot in this manner? What about a Crazy Taxi game on the DS that has you controlling an interactive steering wheel on the touch-screen or only turning with the shoulder buttons? What about a Sims game that allows you to control them only by barking commands through the microphone? How about a Space Channel 5 game redone with Ouendan controls? What can you come up with?
Eee PC with 9-inch touchscreen in the works?
Details of future generation Eee PCs from ASUS have been trickling out even before the first generation shipped. Now that sewing circle of Taiwanese component makers have whispered a few secrets in the direction of DigiTimes. We already heard directly from ASUS at CES that 7-, 8-, and 8.9-inch models are in the works. Now DigiTimes claims a "9-inch" (we'll assume that's just the 8.9-incher rounded up) and new 10-inch version is also on the way. Notably, the 9-inch versions will feature "four-wire resistive" touch-panels. Great, right? Sure, at first blush what's not to like about an Eee with a touchscreen. However, a good chunk of the Eee's appeal is its low cost even though it never quite delivered on that early $200 promise. Adding bigger displays and now, a touch-screen, is just going to drive the price higher until there's no difference between an Eee and a Wal-mart Inspiron. Still, adding touch-panel functionality is expected to add just $15 to the manufacturing cost of the device. We only hope that ASUS can refrain from milking the Eee's success dry... RAZR anyone?[Via jkkmobile]
And the Emmy goes to ... well, Nintendo, of course
Cue the bright lights, red carpet, shrimp cocktail platters and Reggie in a little black dress. Okay, so maybe it didn't actually go down that way, but Nintendo still won an Emmy yesterday for "excellence in engineering creativity" at the Technological & Engineering Emmy Awards. The award was given to Nintendo because of the innovation seen in the company's latest systems, the DS and the Wii. In the case of the DS, it was the handheld's dual-screen display and touch-screen controls that won the hearts of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.While the Academy might have been a little late to recognize this innovation (the DS has been around for three years, after all), it's better late than never. We suppose it could have been worse, considering that Nintendo only won an award for creating the D-pad last year. At any rate, well done Nintendo, and keep that innovation coming.
Man loves DS so much, tries to turn a Game Boy Color into one
We can understand. The DS is the best invention since antiseptics, in our eyes, completely revolutionizing our life and bringing peace to the world. It's a device that could probably travel back in time, get into the ring with the great Muhammad Ali and knock him out in two rounds (the DS would spend the first round dancing circles around Ali, humiliating him before going in for the kill in the second round). The DS is our own personal super hero.So, we can appreciate this mod that puts a touch-screen into a Game Boy Color. But, you may wonder how the controls actually work. See, different areas of the touch-screen are mapped to corresponding buttons, with a majority of the screen being assigned to the d-pad. It's not as exact to the DS, but it's close enough for us.[Thanks, deadpixels!]
Apple files patent for multitasking gaming touchscreen
Apple's always had less-than-enthusiastic stance towards gaming, so the company's latest patent filing seems a bit out of character, seeing as it details a multitasking touchscreen that would allow games to be played while still controlling other applications like media players. The system works be categorizing touch inputs and routing the data to the appropriate application -- a simple tap might go to the game, while a longer press might be sent to the media player. According to Apple, "the invention allows various applications to be integrated and used on devices that are not readily suitable for supporting multiple applications at the same time." Of course, there's no word on when we might see this make its way into an actual product, but if this means we might see games on the iPod touch and iPhone, bring it on.[Thanks, Mark]
Nokia's patent application looks at things from a different angle
Nokia's back with another USPTO filing. This time, they're vying for rights to this dual-display flip -- aka, a "foldable electronic apparatus." Open at say, 160-degrees and the bottom panel is readied for touch-screen input. Open fully and the display extends across both panels. This filing, like the new S60 interface, shows that Nokia's done a 180 themselves. Remember, it was only 5 months ago that they were questioning the value of touch-screens for consumers.[Via Unwired View, thanks Pdexter]
Nokia shows off Haptikos tactile touch screen technology
Apple's already shown its interest in tactile touch screens, but it looks like Nokia is a bit further along in its own touchy feely endeavor, with it now showing off a prototype of its so-called "Haptikos" system. According to Red Ferret, Nokia's system is also a good deal more advanced than some similar ones already on the market, with it actually allowing for a 0.1 mm movement in the screen itself. That, combined with a pair of sensor pads under the screen, supposedly allows it to "mimic exactly the sensation of pressing a real key," complete with a "clunky click and tactile snap." What's more, it seems that the technology isn't all that far off, with Nokia's upcoming S60 handset apparently first in line to get it.
