PC magazine ha a report on the coming mainstreaming of touch computing.
As a UX designer who has working on both touch and mouse driven UI for the past twelve years, I agree it’s about time for touch to come to laptops and desktops. However, with the current state of the art, touch can still only be part of the total UI. (I’m talking general use computers, of course touch is the only UI for some kiosks, PDAs and other things.) The keyboard and mouse aren’t going away soon. But touch can and should be added to the mix.
The most significant development that is helping propel touch to the mainsteam is, of course, multi-touch.
In 2009, touch computing will go mainstream.Since the idea first arose, in the eighties, several products over the years have attempted touch control. For example, Dell released the convertible Latitude XT notebook in early 2008, to a mixed response: It was often easier just to use a stylus. Philips has experimented with touch in devices like the Pronto, for controlling your home-theater system with just a finger push. Marketing kiosks, home security systems, airport check-in terminals—many devices support touch in some way. Read more…
