Last month I discussed how future display technologies will help
overcome one of the major limitations of today’s mobile devices –
small, cramped screens. This month I’m going to focus on one of the
other barriers that we face when using our devices – the difficulty of
inputting data, and controlling the device.
The input
technologies used on today’s devices are hampered by the physical size
of the device. Most mobile phones still use a numeric keypad (or a
miniature QWERTY keyboard) and a limited number of additional buttons
for both entering text and navigating around the phone’s menus. The
problem is, we’re increasingly doing more with our devices than just
dialing numbers and hitting “go”. As well as text messaging, we’re
playing games, taking photos and writing e-mails – often, all using the
same set of basic (tiny) keys. This makes using our devices more
complicated than it should be, and is where a range of emerging
technologies will help us to get more out of our mobile devices in
future.
One approach is to try and work around the problem of
having limited space available for input devices. For example, the
interface could be projected onto a nearby surface, allowing it to be
far larger than the actual device. Products are already available that
perform this function – such as i.Tech’s range of virtual keyboards
. These may be suitable for some scenarios where the user has plenty of
space, but don’t provide any physical feedback when pressing a key
which can make typing difficult.
Another approach is to use
movement as an additional input mechanism. Anyone who has used a
Nintendo Wii controller will be familiar with this approach – an
accelerometer is built into the device, which allows it to detect the
user’s movements. These can then be translated into instructions for
the device. Accelerometers are increasingly commonplace in mobile
devices (for instance, in Apple’s iPhone and Nokia’s N95). If you have
an N95, try downloading the free trial of the Marble Maze game which
allows you to guide a marble around the screen just by tilting the
phone. Movement-based input won’t be suitable for all applications or
situations, but may well prove itself as a useful way of navigating
menus and controlling games. ABI Research have predicted that 30-40% of mobile phones will contain an accelerometer by 2012 .
The
input technology which is expected to dominate over the next few years
is the touchscreen – following the success of the iPhone, all of the
major mobile phone manufacturers are lining up their own touch-based
devices. Devices with an all-touchscreen interface have been a popular
goal for some time, but it is only now that technology is catching up.
The availability of projected capacitive screens, which enable multiple
areas of the screen to be pressed simultaneously (“multi-touch”), is
also driving the trend. The advantage of touch-screens is obvious – the
interface can adapt automatically to the current task the user is
trying to perform. However, there is one major problem: many users
still prefer the tactile feedback of a physical keypad. This limitation
may be resolved in the next few years, as companies such as Immersion
look to use force feedback technology to simulate the sensation. Nokia
have developed a touchscreen which actually moves 0.1mm to provide a
“clicking” sensation.
None of the emerging input technologies
are perfect, but combined with advancing display technologies, they
will make it easier for us to be more productive when we’re on the move.
