Hasta La Gadget!

Along with the restoration of the hardware screen-orientation lock, the new iOS 4.3 beta for iPad adds new multitouch gestures to quickly switch between apps. Using four or five fingers, you can now swipe up to show the multitasking bar, and swipe left or right to switch between apps.

But it is a third gesture which is fueling speculation. If you pinch with your whole hand, you return to the home screen, no home-button press required. This, along with rumors supplied to the Boy Genius Report, has people wondering if the home button will be removed from iPad 2 and iPhone 5:

[We] are told that Apple, at some point in time, will remove the home button from the iPad’s design. Instead of button taps, you will use new multitouch gestures to navigate to the home screen and also to launch the app switcher.

Think about that for a second. With the current iPad (or iPhone), you can hand it to Aunt Flora and she’ll work out how to use the thing in a few moments. The single button does one thing* – returns you to the home screen, providing a notional reset for the user. At the very worst, if Aunt Flora gets stuck you can call across the room “Press the button. The only button.”

Compare this to a buttonless design. How will Aunt Flora work out how to get back to the home screen? Who would ever think to try a five-fingered pinch? And how would you even do that one-handed on an iPhone? I’ll bet that even you, tech-savvy reader that you are, has never tried a five-finger pinch on your iPad.

My guess is that the button will stay, despite Apple’s obvious hatred for buttons in general. I can’t wait to try those gestures, though.

*Sure, the home button also pulls up the multitasking bar, and helps with screenshots, but Aunt Flora will probably never use those, either.

Video of New Multi-Touch Gestures on iPad iOS 4.3 [MacRumors]

Apple will remove home button on next iPad and iPhone [Boy Genius Report]

MultiTouch Ltd has been at this IR-based multitouch thing since 2007 and it’s hit CES in force this week. Sure, the current 46-inch model requires 12 inches of depth — in order to provide sufficient space for the infrared cameras embedded in its back to capture the whole, ahem, surface — but having unlimited touch inputs is always a wildly impressive sight. We put one of the displays to the test by exploiting a nearby crowd and slapping down a good 40+ fingers on it, all of which were recognized. To be perfectly fair, the IR cameras don’t seem to have a very flat recognition area and many of our inputs were picked up from over an inch from the screen. The 46-incher under hand is already available for a totally affordable $17,000, provides full HD resolution, and hooks up to a PC for processing of input. See our thoroughly intensive test on video after the break.

Continue reading MultiTouch Ltd’s 46-inch panel accepts unlimited touch inputs, we put it to the test (video hands-on)

MultiTouch Ltd’s 46-inch panel accepts unlimited touch inputs, we put it to the test (video hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 Jan 2011 20:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Whoa, Nelly! We just made a beeline to Razer’s booth here on the CES show floor, and were presented with a fairly technical talk surrounding the newly launched Switchblade. While officially deemed a concept, we came away with a serious impression that Razer’s not investing loads of time and money on this just for kicks. In other words, we’d cautiously expect to see this thing on sale at some point next year — but let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. We spent a good half-hour toying with this Windows 7-based mini netbook, and we came away seriously impressed by what’s happening here. Head on past the break for more of our impressions.

Continue reading Razer Switchblade preview: 3G, Intel Oak Trail, almost definitely going on sale

Razer Switchblade preview: 3G, Intel Oak Trail, almost definitely going on sale originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 15:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Netbook Navigator has made tablet pcs in the past — one of which we reviewed — so it should come as no surprise that they’ve got several more brewing. In fact, we are now hearing that the company’s got three (yes, three) Windows-based tablets to show off when the floor opens and the stampede begins. Among the offerings will be the NAV7 tablet, what the company is describing as the “first ever multitouch Windows 7-inch” tablet, plus the NAV10i and a slightly revamped NAV9. While we don’t have full specs for any of these tablets, we do know that all will be Atom CPU-based devices with SSDs, 2GB of RAM, ‘several’ USB ports, WiFi, Bluetooth, and webcams, plus optional 3G. Other details about the NAV10i — it’ll be a 10-incher (capacitive LCD), while the NAV9 will be a rugged 8.9-incher. We’ll let you know as soon as we get our hands on these bad boys, but until then: the full press release is after the break.

Continue reading Netbook Navigator announces it’ll announce three new Windows-based tablets at CES

Netbook Navigator announces it’ll announce three new Windows-based tablets at CES originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 10:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Touch Revolution doesn’t think capacitive screens are big enough. Not big enough at all. So what is the company doing about it? Why, it’s introducing a line of projected capacitive displays alternately spanning 15-, 19-, 21.5- and 32-inch diagonals. The biggest model is set for production later in the year, but its smaller siblings are available now. The target market for Touch Revolution are businesses who may integrate these panels — which also come in an “open frame” option where the OEM can slap on its own external stylings — into their commercial offerings. Demos of all these models, replete with innovative uses of multitouch on a large-scale display, will be available at CES this week. We’ll let you know just how innovative the whole shebang is when we get our fingers on the Tru Multitouch hardware. Full press release after the break.

Continue reading Touch Revolution rolling out Tru Multitouch capacitive screens sized between 15 and 32 inches

Touch Revolution rolling out Tru Multitouch capacitive screens sized between 15 and 32 inches originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Jan 2011 00:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments