[real-eyes] LG Unveils 2nd Generation of Touch-Screen Phones
- From: "Terrie Arnold" <tanderson3@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <BlindPeopleExperiences@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, <missouri-l-owner@xxxxxxxxxxx>, <acb-l@xxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2007 05:36:50 -0500
> Korea Times, South Korea
> Thursday, October 04, 2007
>
> LG Unveils 2nd Generation of Touch-Screen Phones
>
> By Cho Jin-seo, Staff Reporter
>
> Touch-sensitive screens come in handy when using ATMs or self-service
> ticket kiosks at cinemas. But when used in more delicate devices such as
> mobile phones, PDAs or laptop PCs, they tend to befuddle users. The smooth
> screen does not provide any physical sensation like that of pushing a
> button, thus making it hard to know that the right key is being pressed.
>
> Recognizing this discomfort, phone makers are beginning to market devices
> that are more intuitive to use. The second generation of touch-screen
> phones is often combined with traditional technologies, such as a
> push-button keyboard or a vibration motor.
>
> LG Electronics on Thursday unveiled its latest touch-screen phone named
> Voyager, setting sights on the U.S. market for the coming holiday season.
> It has a 2.8-inch touch-screen on the front, but also has a hidden QWERTY
> keypad underneath.
>
> Another impressive feature of the Voyager is its vibration feedback. It
> gently vibrates when the screen is touched. Named Vibe Touch, the
> technology was also used in the Prada phone sold in South Korea.
>
> ``When you press the button, the screen gently quivers to let you know
> that you did press the button,'' LG spokesperson Song Geun-young said.
>
> Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are leaders in the touch screen
> field along with several other makers such as Apple. LG has especially
> focused on the ``haptic'' engineering, the study of the interface between
> human and device via the sense of touch, since last year.
>
> The Vibe Touch is only the first step of LG's haptic technologies, and
> more advanced techniques are to be introduced later. According to media
> reports, the firm has already developed a smart vibration feature. For
> example, when one scrolls down the screen, the device flickers with tick
> sounds in accordance with the speed of the finger movement.
>
> A touch screen is not a cutting-edge technology. Various types of
> touch-sensitive screens were developed in the 1960s and 1970s. But to
> implement it into more useful and intuitive forms for consumer electronics
> was the real challenge for engineers and marketers.
>
> This year, Apple has rediscovered the potential of touch-screen technology
> in mobile phones such as the iPhone. The iPhone was the first to recognize
> multiple touches, which means it can handle more than one finger at the
> same time. By pinching or expanding two fingers on the display, for
> instance, users can zoom in or zoom out of the pictures shown on the
> screen.
>
> No other companies have succeeded in introducing gadgets with the
> multi-touch feature yet due to the difficulties in developing software
> applications. But market watchers believe that the iPhone will act as a
> catalyst for touch-screen technology to flourish. According to market
> research firm iSuppli, touch-screen products are to jump from fewer than
> 200,000 units in 2006 to more than 21 million by 2012.
>
> Like LG, Samsung also introduced a touch-screen phone with a sliding
> QWERTY keypad. Again, the essence of the product is the software. Samsung
> has developed a unique user-interface system called ``Croix,'' where the
> functions are lined up in the shape of a cross (croix in French) for
> easier navigation.
>
> indizio@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
>
> http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2007/10/133_11316.html
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