Why Did Touch Take 4 Decades to Catch On?

Posted by timothy on Saturday May 17, 2008 @08:54AM from the perhaps-no-one-knew-of-the-happy-ending dept.

theodp writes "You probably saw media coverage of Bill Gates showing off touch-screen technology to his CEO play group last week. With the introduction of the iPhone and iPod Touch, touch (and multi-touch) technology — which folks like Ray Ozzie enjoyed as undergrads way back in the early '70s — has finally gone mainstream. The only question is: Why did it take four decades for its overnight success? Some suggest the expiration of significant patents filed during '70s and '80s may have had something to do with it — anything else?"

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Re:two-handed operation by HairyCanary · 2008-05-17 09:51 · Score: 0, Offtopic

I hold my iphone all the time with one hand and type with the thumb on that hand. The trick is applying something to the phone to give it more grip (a silicone case, or as I did, BestSkinsEver). A bare iphone is too slippery to safely hold and type with in one hand, giving it some traction makes worlds of difference.