Touchy Feely: How Touchscreen Technology Is Recasting Consumer Electronics
With more than 17 million units sold, the iPhone (AAPL) has become a cultural phenomenon. Sure, all those apps have something to do with its success, but the device's touch-sensitive display can't be overstated.
Now, competitors are readying touchscreen products of their own. It’s a remarkable resurgence for a technology that was originally panned when it was first introduced by Apple’s biggest rival almost 10 years ago.
Back then, when Microsoft (MSFT) introduced its tablet PC, featuring a rotating touch-sensitive display, Bill Gates hailed it as the future of personal computing. He was right, but the world wasn't ready. Now the iPhone's insane popularity makes for an interesting epilogue to the tablet story.
Since Time magazine named the iPhone the invention of the year in 2007, countless companies have integrated a touchscreen into their designs, starting with Blackberry (RIMM) . And the past few weeks alone have seen touchscreen handheld announcements from Samsung, Sony (SNE) and Motorola (MOT). Meanwhile, Magic Wall, the massive touchscreen display designed by Perceptive Pixel, was at the forefront of Fox News and CNN's election coverage, and has since become a part of ESPN’s broadcasts.
But the technology could still be evolving. In January, Apple was awarded a patent for a touchscreen device capable of “detecting one or more finger contacts [and] applying one or more heuristics to the one or more finger contacts to determine a command for the device.”
Meanwhile, Microsoft has been working on a new version of its surface tabletop touchscreen computer, which has become increasingly popular since being installed by Harrah’s Entertainment (HET) in its Rio iBar in Las Vegas. Naturally, manufacturers are scrambling to keep up with demand.
The touchscreen market once belonged to manufacturer Synaptics (SYNA), but a number of companies have aggressively jumped in, including Cypress Seminconductor (CY) and Atmel (ATML). Last week, NextWindow announced a 600% increase in revenue in fiscal 2009, thanks entirely to the growth of the touchscreen.
As for Gates, since resigning from Microsoft, he has continued to publicly stump for the company's investment in “natural user interfaces,” including voice recognition, digital ink - and, of course, the power of touch.
