Dell has just put up its new multi-touch screen at the online store. Not the first for Dell, as they’ve had a few others out, but this appears to us as a more tablet like design. Using a folding rear kickstand, the ST2220 is able to to sit nicely in your lap or in a variety of positions on a table top. → Read More
When the Nexus One was announced, many folks were questioning Google’s game plan and why it would release such an amazing device shortly after the Motorola DROID’s release. If that wasn’t enough to make some DROID owners envious, the Nexus One received a multitouch update last week which allowed pinch-to-zoom gestures within Google Maps, the Android browser and photo gallery. What could possibly quell all this Nexus One envy? → Read More
Everyone with eyes in their head can see the bright future of multi-touch displays, but the huge variety of technologies out there makes it hard to place a bet. Will capacitive film rule? Or will it be the IR overlay? Or will Microsoft’s foresight in nurturing the Surface project pay off once they reveal their new, flatter display? Well, there’s one more competitor joining the already-crowded field, and they’re coming in heavy with $18 million in funding. → Read More
Patience is a virtue, but as tech fanatics who lap up the latest in hardware and software, we’ve not enirely familiar with that concept. So when we heard that it could take up to a few days for the Nexus One Android OTA update, it was a little disheartening. We want it now! And thanks to some clever folks over at Android Forums, we can get it right this moment. It just takes some simple tinkering and you should be good to go. → Read More
Last year’s CES found us at the booth of the iTable, which was an overlay for LCDs and TVs of any size that turned them into a multi-touch surface. We thought it was awesome, and the possibilities were many and various. Now we find that someone has one-upped the iTable, creating a multi-touch surface that’s thinner than a sheet of paper and can just be rolled onto any surface. How cool is that?! → Read More
Google has just started to deploy an update to the Nexus One that brings a long-desired feature to Android: Multi-touch. In a blog post announcing the news, Google says that the new update will bring “Pinch-to-zoom functionality” to the Nexus One, which will allow users to pinch-to-zoom in the Android browser, Gallery, and Maps applications.
So does this mean that Multi-touch will be coming to all Android phones? Not quite yet. A Google spokesperson says that multitouch support is part of the Android 2.0 framework and that its integrated support on the Browser, gallery, and Maps applications will be part of the next Android update. However, it will be up to carriers and device manufactures to roll the updated software to these devices. → Read More
Cyanogen is at it again; the creator of the popular replacement interface for Android phones has come up with another hack, this time for the Nexus phone. The hack allows you to use multitouch functionality in the browser only for now, but the plan is to add this (much wanted) option to application in the future. [via Gadget Lab] → Read More
Here’s a fascinating hack for a rainy day. Programmer randomtruth has figured out a way to enable multi-touch under Linux and is working on a way to add multi-touch to older MacBooks. He has created a driver with:
-Pinch Gesture
-4 finger gestures
-3 finger gestures
Hey there, multi-touch! With this, the SmartTrack Neo [JP], you can add multi-touch capability to your PC. A hot $50 for this life saver. → Read More
This impressive hack by IDEO labs makes a 67-inch rear-projection TV into a multi-touch display. They’ve mounted IR cameras into the TV and added laser projectors to the corners of the display, which are interrupted by your fingers and detected by the cameras. It’s a lot like the Surface approach, but more compact. A lot more money and testing has gone into the Surface, so it almost certainly works better, but the hardware is limited and this solution can be conceivably installed into any rear-projection TV.
But they’re not the first, or the easiest off-the-shelf mod, despite what they say. → Read More
Do you have balls of steel? If you answered “YES!” or “SORT OF!” then you might have what it takes to flash the firmware on your T-Mobile G1 in order to get this multi-touch hack up and running, courtesy of developer Luke Hutchison. → Read More
No, Microsoft is not getting into the car-wash business. But it is releasing “Touchless,” multitouch software from Microsoft Office Labs that uses a regular Web camera and everyday objects as input. You can think of this as a low-end version of its Touchwall technology, which uses more precise lasers to detect movement and objects. The software developer kit is available now under an open-source Microsoft Public License. The SDK only works on Windows (what did you expect?).
Like Microsoft Surface and Touchwall, the Touchless software makes it possible to create applications that turn hand gestures and physical objects into an input device like a mouse. Touchless detects both the size and location of “color markers” (which can be fingers, toys, pens, M&Ms) as they move through space. Microsoft engineer Mike Wasserman s Ian Sands and Chris Pratley have created four demos to showcase the technology: → Read More
There’s a quick little piece on multitouch technology on Wired right now, and it questions the conventional wisdom that says multitouch technology will do to laptops what it’s done to cellphones. (That is, multitouch, as seen on the iPhone, is the hot, new input mechanism that everyone wants to date.) “Questions”? Yes, not everyone is so sure that multitouch will make any sort of meaningful impact on the way we use conventional laptops. Just ask Fujitsu. Though the company is scheduled to release 12-inch laptops with multitouch next year, it’s not exactly betting that we’ll be multitouching all over the place. One reason is that a laptop’s keyboard is good enough—why try to cram in a new technology when the existing one works well as it is? Why not try to incorporate multitouch into netbooks and other too-small-for-their-own-good devices? There’s also the small problem of proper operating system support.Microsoft doesn’t intend to support multitouch until Windows 7—we all know how these operating system promises can turn out. So if you’re not exactly a fan of multitouch technology, not to worry. There’s still plenty of time to cling to your keyboards while manufacturers figure out exactly what they want to do. → Read More
MultiTouch, a company specializing in, you guessed it, multi-touch technology, today launched the world’s first modular multi-touch LCD screen, which will allow owners to create screen tables and walls to their desired size.
Dubbed The MultiTouch Cell, each LCD screen unit is available in both 32- and 46-inch sizes and offers Full HD capability. The Cells can be positioned in portrait or landscape modes and can be turned into huge multi-touch screens or a multi-touch coffee table for those who don’t need something so grandiose.
The MultiTouch Cell is the company’s response to Microsoft’s Touchwall, which we wrote about earlier this year. Touchwall uses three infrared lasers that scan a surface, and a camera, which feeds information back to Microsoft’s Plex software after something breaks through the laser line. In contrast, the MultiTouch Cell uses an LCD display and according to the company, bests current projector-based systems by improving durability — MultiTouch claims users will get 50,000 hours of use compared to 3,000 hours for projector-based offerings — as well as improved image resolution, contrast, and color quality. → Read More
Here are Hans and Roy from Dell to tell you about the new multitouch firmware upgrade for the Latitude XT tablet PC. Hey relax, Roy, you’re doing fine, buddy. Just slow down a bit and watch those erratic hand motions there. Picture the entire internet naked or something. Hans, you’re doing a great job, pal. You can get the update on Dell’s site here – it’s about 15MB or so. Once installed, multitouch functionality will work with most of your everyday programs. Latitude XT Software Update is Here [Dell Support Site] → Read More
There’s a rumor currently making the rounds suggesting that Apple could release a multitouch keyboard for Apple TV. The Bluetooth keyboard, as the above mock-up shows, looks a lot like the company’s standard issue aluminum keyboard, but with an expanded area on the right side—the multitouch surface. The multitouch pad would be totally programmable, and would be able to function as anything from a simple number pad to an iPod-like click wheel to a whatever-else-you-have-in-mind. That’s the rumor, at least. The real surprise here is that people care enough about Apple TV to create sophisticated mock-ups. → Read More
http://progressive.playstream.com/playstream/progressive/flashplayers/FLVPlayer.swf If you’re like me, you’re awaiting to potential sting that will come with the new MacBooks tomorrow, as they’re supposed to feature the same multitouch trackpad that the MacBook Air has. You’ll be jealous, see, because your MacBook that you just bought won’t have that neat technology. Or will it? → Read More
Big surprise here. The wonderful “multitouch” interface used by the iPhone, iPod touch, and new MacBook Air is; A) not Apple’s invention, B) famous because of Apple, and C) will begin appearing in more and more devices. → Read More
http://progressive.playstream.com/playstream/progressive/flashplayers/FLVPlayer.swf So just how well does the multitouch on the new MacBook Air work? Very. Take a look at me, a novice, whipping my way through several images on Preview. Now imagine if this was all of your downloaded porn. Now you want one, don’t you. → Read More
We know that Apple’s working on multitouch MacBooks, but it might be Dell that first brings the technology to the market. Buried in a story about Dell’s efforts to go greener is word the the forthcoming Latitude XT tablet PC, which would be Dell’s first, will feature multitouch. We’d heard it was to launch earlier in the month, but so far no go. This is interesting because now we know the technology is going beyond iPhones, which, granted, we knew it would. But it’s not Apple doing it, it’s Dell. Steve! Hey, Mr. Jobs! Wake up! This new tablet might just revolutionize the waning tablet PC market. Of course, we’ve heard rumors that Apple is working on a tablet-style MacBook, but will it beat Dell’s, which is confirmed, to the market? Let the multitouch tablet race begin. OpenWorld: Dell will help corporations go green [Computerworld] → Read More
