touch-screen

Touch screens you don't need to touch

Another week, another cool touch screen video that everyone's e-mailing around the office.

The latest most-forwarded is the CeBIT demo video below, which is a collaborative effort between TouchKo, White Electronics Designs, and Groupe 3D. A cross between a monitor and a Wii controller (without the actual controller), the "touchless touch screen" responds to hand movements directly in front of it; you don't even have to come into contact with the screen.

Looks pretty neat, but also kind of exhausting. Although we haven't seen one available in stores yet, the concept of a "touchless … Read more

A mouse that can write in Chinese

When we hear complaints about the lack of meaningful desktop innovation, the first thing we think of is the mouse. A lot of R&D seems to be wasted on this basic device, which doesn't really need fixing, as far as we can tell.

But a Chinese company called Hanwang is the exception. Its mouse doesn't just fold up or point lasers like so many others we've seen; instead, it has a built-in touch screen that can be used to write Chinese characters with a stylus stored inside. Then, according to Everything USB, the characters can … Read more

Light rock!

Toshio Iwai, the designer of beloved Nintendo DS music game Electroplankton, has been showing a prototype of his jaw-dropping Tenori-On instrument since 2005. Last week, Yamaha announced plans to turn this Star Trek-worthy digital sound toy into an actual shipping product, retailing with an estimated price tag of around $1,000. For most consumers, that is an insane price for a beautiful sound toy, but electronic musicians and artists are falling all over themselves for this thing. The Tenori-On is a touch screen grid of white LEDs that allows you to compose music by activating little squares that trigger built-in … Read more

iPod fitness machines: one less excuse

We almost couldn't bear to write this item because we're so sick of the image in the photo. We've spent more time staring down at the control panel of cardio machines like this than we can remember.

But Life Fitness, whose products we've become intimately familiar with, is taking a step that might lessen the agony at least slightly: It's adding touch screens that let you control your iPod without handling the device itself, according to I4U News. This may not sound like much but, if you're a regular at the gym, it could … Read more

Touch and go - Motorola A1200

My general interest in the ever growing area of touch screen technology along with my odd obsession with cell phones recently led me to the Motorola A1200. While touch screens are the norm for smart phones, the Motorola A1200 stands out in two respects. First is that it is one of a very few phones to run on the open source platform Linux, and second is that it weighs an infinitesimal 3.3 ounces.

Dual-screen laptop sees double

Earlier this month we mentioned a prototype dual touch-screen laptop but didn't think we'd be seeing anything like it off the drawing boards anytime soon. Shows you how much we know.

Pennsylvania-based Estari started out as a software company but somehow ended up developing a patented dual-screen computer originally for the U.S. military and is now selling its wares to the public. The specs of its "2-VU" model aren't all that noteworthy--a 1.83GHx Intel Dual Core processor, 1GB of memory, a 60GB hard drive and no conventional keyboard or mouse, according to I4U … Read more

The Cowon D2 begs to be touched

Cowon may be a bit of an underdog in the U.S. market in terms of sales, but boy, this company sure does know how to make a quality MP3 player. I have in my hand the Cowon D2, a solid device dominated by a 2.5-inch screen. I had seen a picture of the player before CES, but it didn't do the D2 justice--the player has such a nice feel to it. The sleek, black body is wrapped in a brushed-metal border, where you can find some tactile controls: a power/hold slider, volume buttons, and a menu … Read more

CD player would make Dr. Evil proud

If CD players like this had been designed earlier, the pending extinction of the disc might have been put off for years.

The "Square CD" player from Yanko Design is as much a work of art as it is a piece of technology, similar to the "Cuboglass" TV. (Both are designed in Italy, of course.) In each case, the appliance is meant to be displayed as part of the decor even when turned off.

Unlike most products created with this concept in mind, however, the Square CD looks even better turned on. That's because the … Read more

Are LG's keys fading away?

As the mobile phone continues to evolve, traditional keys may eventually become the handset equivalent of prehensile toes. That, at least, appears to be the case with LG's latest designs.

According to Slashphone, the "LG KE850" has no keypad and instead relies solely on a touch screen to control its functions. Little else is known about the phone, other than it apparently won an award from the International Forum Design in Germany (which is probably why photos of it are being circulated today).

The handset does bear some resemblances to its famous cousin the Chocolate, though there'… Read more