Synaptics, the designer of many of the touchpads used in notebooks and other devices, has used the Computex show in Taiwan to launch ClickPad, a technology that allows the touchpad to also serve as a button that can be clicked.
The idea, according to the company, is that by eliminating the additional buttons, OEMs can create more compact devices, such as ultraportables or netbooks. The standard range of gestures, including three-finger gestures, can be used on the ClickPads.
Synaptics also said that its DualMode TouchPad is now available to support “under plastic” designs , allowing OEMs to build in a plastic overlay. The DualMode allows users to tap to switch the touchpad over to a “multimedia controller,” and the plastic overlay allows those OEMs to highlight multimedia features which can be accessed via the touchpad itself.
The final bit of news? That the company’s entire SGS 9.1-enabled TouchPad family is Microsoft Windows 7 ready. Phew!
Synaptics has shipped 350 million touchpads since 1995.
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