It seems anywhere one looks these days companies are touting their new touch screen technologies. Nintendo kick-started this touch revolution in 2004 with its Nintendo DS, a handheld portable game system that utilizes a touch screen as a means to control and interact with its games. It has proved to be vastly more popular than Sony’s PSP, which uses only a traditional keypad instead of a touch screen.
As if that weren’t enough, Apple decided to jump on the boat this year with its iPhone and iPod Touch. The iPhone was easily the most hyped-up electronic device for 2007. Launching in June for $599, it has since sold over a million devices and the price has recently been cut to $399 to spur along sales. Along with the iPhone price cut, Apple also announced a new iPod, the iPod Touch.
The iPod Touch has almost every use the iPhone has besides the ability to make phone calls. It uses the same touch screen technology with a stripped down version of OS X, as well as having the ability to play videos, pictures, and connect to the Internet via wi-fi. Oh, and it’s still a music player.
The underlying features that these devices have in common and part of the reason they are proving to be so popular is the touch screen. A consumer is no longer content to buy a device and let it serve a single function with little user interface. Instead, devices have transformed into multifunctional minicomputers that have the ability to react to what a consumer tells it to do. For example, while browsing through e-mail contacts on the iPhone, one can make them scroll down by flicking your finger down across the screen. The harder you flick your finger, the faster they scroll by.
There are a few downsides to using a touch screen. Consumers have complained about screens getting dirty and scratched easily, as well as smudging it with their own fingerprints. The iPhone also does not come with a standard “qwerty” keyboard; it uses a touch keyboard to type out messages. The lack of tactile response from the touch screen can make typing frustrating and less precise. With the Nintendo DS, children have been prone to pressing too hard on the touch screen and even breaking it after continuous use. However, these problems are few and far between and can be avoided by using protective cases and being gentle with the screen.
Even with these downsides, touch screen technology will not be leaving the market anytime soon. Many new smart phones are coming out with touch screens in light of Apple’s iPhone success, such as the LG Prada. It would not be unexpected if a touch screen soon appeared on the next phone or computer that you bought, or perhaps yours even has one now.