19 January 2007
The next generation of
mobile interface technology
 Since the iPhone became finally public with it's "revolutionary" input method/user interface and all growing controversy 'n' doubts that it causes, the input interface technologies on the mobile phones becomes the pretty actual and in focus nowadays. It seams that new no-buttons handset signals that mobiles as we know them may soon be a thing of the past?
With the 12-key numeric keypad appearing on 95% of all handsets shipped, it is easy to take input interface technologies on the mobile phone for granted.
However, in a recently published report titled "Handset Input Interface Methods and Technologies: 2007 to 2011", ARCchart identifies a range of mechanisms set to disrupt the handset input paradigm over the coming years. Interfaces, such as motion sensing, haptics, fingerprint sensors, advanced voice recognition capabilities and evolutions to predictive text functionality are set to boost data entry efficiencies and introduce a level of multimodality never before experienced on a mobile phone. The biggest shockwaves will be produced by control surfaces as these will increasingly substitute for traditional keypad, keyboard, scroll-wheels and 5-way navigation interfaces.
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the Nokia Aeon conceptfeatures a “full surface touchscreen” display that replaces the traditional keypad. |
It is the handset’s physical input interfaces through which users accomplish their fundamental data entry and Command & Control tasks such as entering characters to construct text messages or navigating through the device’s menu system and launching applications.
Keypads, keyboards, touch-screens, joypads, joysticks and jog dials are the main interfaces delivering this capability today. But as the handset feature-set continues to expand, and the number and variety of applications on a phone grows, the mechanisms for interacting and controlling them are put under ever-greater strain: the need for application-specific controls and shortcuts is increased, while the user demand for ease of use has never been greater.
For mobile operators, there are immediate revenue benefits gained from improved interface technologies: any feature which eases data entry will encourage their subscribers to send more SMS, email or IM messages; and features which augment navigation and speed access to personal information and applications will encourage subscribers to initiate more voice calls and consume more content services. For handset manufacturers, input interfaces allow them to differentiate on the two metrics which rank highly on consumers’ handset purchase decision: cosmetics and usability.
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Finger Touching Wearable Mobile Device; turns fingers into keyboard
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A full-size fully functional virtual keyboard that can be projected and touched on any surface. |
The Blackberry’s success is partly a result of the suitability of its main input interface (the mini-keyboard) for the corporate demographic. The popularity of LG’s Chocolate is purely a result of its stylishly smooth form factor, made possible through the use of the innovative input interfaces based on capacitance detection technology.
In the coming years, interfaces such as motion sensing, haptics, fingerprint sensors, advanced voice recognition capabilities and evolutions to predictive text functionality are set to boost data entry efficiencies and introduce a level of multimodality never before experienced on a mobile phone. However, the biggest shockwaves will be produced by control surfaces.
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Alloy Total Product Design’s “The Polygon” boasts two displays: a standard high-resolution display for viewing data and a touchscreen for accessing menus, etc. |
According to ARCchart, a ‘control surface’ is any surface that allows the presence, or position, of a finger or pointing device (e.g. stylus) to be detected. The scroll-wheel on the iPod and the touchpad found on most laptops are both examples of control surfaces (although many people don’t realise that the iPod’s scroll-wheel is not mechanical).
On mobile phones, the touch-screens (based on resistive technology) widely deployed on PDA phones are the most common type of control surface. However, ARCchart expects control surfaces, based on capacitance detection technology, to be increasingly applied to other parts of the handset, not just the screen. These surfaces will substitute physical interfaces like buttons and scroll-wheels, reducing the number of mechanical components required for assembly and allowing handset designers to produce more stylish and innovative form factors: LG’s hugely popular Chocolate which exploits control surface buttons to achieve its stylishly smooth finish, and the HTC Excalibur (aka the O2 XDA Cosmo and the T-Mobile Dash) which uses a side-mounted control surface instead of a mechanical scroll-wheel, are the first example of this.
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Still in prototype stage, this Philips’s device is ideal for watching movies on your mobile. When it's not in use, it can be rolled around your phone for added convenience |
Eventually, control surfaces will give rise to soft interfaces, where buttons, keypads, keyboards and various navigation elements are rendered graphically on a touch-sensitive screen to provide interfaces which can change dynamically depending on context and the application.
Such an idea is observed in the Polygon concept handset developed by industrial design firm, The Alloy.
The clamshell device eschews all physical interfaces in exchange for two screens, one of which doubles as a control surface, rendering different controls depending on the mode the user is in.
Less than 1% of handset models sport non-screen control surfaces today, but there are a significant number currently under development and set to launch over the next 2-3 years. By 2011, ARCchart estimates that 38% of all handset models will have some type of control surface interface.
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Clamshells and candy bars be gone.
Tomorrow's cell phones may bear little resemblance to the snap-open handsets or even the sleek, flat rectangular phones we sport today.
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