[Chris Gohlke]

http://gizmodo.com/5066691/microsof...s-have-it-wrong

"Many of us are pretty happy with touchscreen implementation in products like the iPhone or HTC Touch. But Microsoft (teaming with HTC hardware, at least in this photograph) has developed a new sort of touchscreen that doesn't involve touching the screen at all. Instead, IR beams shoot out from the sides of the phone and track your gestures on any surface. The beams are arranged in two rows and spaced 10 millimeters apart, aimed horizontally preventing overhead light sources from interfering. Users can then operate the device using both hands without even touching the phone, scrolling with vertical or horizontal movements, rotating an object on the screen by twisting or even scrolling on one side wile writing with a stylus on the other."

This seems like an absolutely brilliant idea.  I've never been a fan of touchscreens, especially on small devices since your fingers end up blocking the view and you get fingerprints all over the place.  The only downside I see is that it would not be overly practical to use while holding the device.  Otherwise, nice to see an outside the box idea for user input.

 

[Chris Gohlke]

http://gizmodo.com/5066691/microsof...s-have-it-wrong

"Many of us are pretty happy with touchscreen implementation in products like the iPhone or HTC Touch. But Microsoft (teaming with HTC hardware, at least in this photograph) has developed a new sort of touchscreen that doesn't involve touching the screen at all. Instead, IR beams shoot out from the sides of the phone and track your gestures on any surface. The beams are arranged in two rows and spaced 10 millimeters apart, aimed horizontally preventing overhead light sources from interfering. Users can then operate the device using both hands without even touching the phone, scrolling with vertical or horizontal movements, rotating an object on the screen by twisting or even scrolling on one side wile writing with a stylus on the other."

This seems like an absolutely brilliant idea.  I've never been a fan of touchscreens, especially on small devices since your fingers end up blocking the view and you get fingerprints all over the place.  The only downside I see is that it would not be overly practical to use while holding the device.  Otherwise, nice to see an outside the box idea for user input.

 

[David Tucker]

Thought controlled input is the real future!

[Janak Parekh]

Originally Posted by Chris Gohlke

The only downside I see is that it would not be overly practical to use while holding the device.

There is another significant downside: UI interaction is not really practical. I guess you could add a pointer, but then the whole UI becomes complex again. It's certainly a clever research idea, but it doesn't strike me as practical.

Quite frankly, having owned several touch-oriented devices to this point, I find the fingerprints to be a very small issue. When viewing light screens, the backlight makes them disappear. When I put the phone in my pocket, the pocket rubs off the fingerprints.

--janak

[burnabytom]

So you would have to put it down to navigate? this would make more sense for a laptop, where the center mounted touch screen for navigation is always messed up by my thumbs brushing it when I type.
not a great idea IMO, for a phone, but an interesting idea for a laptop

[tuxplorer]

IMHO, touch has always been overrated. Fingerprints aren't that big an issue on small screens but on touchscreen monitors and desktop/laptop or even Eee-form factor PCs, fingerprints are big nuisance. Eventally, touch will evolve into touchless. Still, the speed, accuracy and productivity of the pointing device+keyboard combo is unbeatable.

I was excited when they announced and demoed Windows 7 touch features, but I certainly won't be buying touchscreen hardware for my 7-ready PC.