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Hitachi Demos a Stylus-Friendly Capacitive Touchscreen

Posted by timothy on from the fine-point-you-make-there dept.

dk3nn3dy writes "Hitachi Displays have developed a capacitive touchscreen which converts input from a non-conductive object into electrostatic capacitance. This enables it to be used in a diverse range of ways, such as multi-touch using several fingers, with a plastic pen for finer input, and in cold places while wearing gloves. The display is currently under development for release in the second half of 2011."

13 of 47 comments (clear)

  1. Finally by WrongSizeGlass · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Finally, the Korean Sausage people can eat their sausages and still use their phones in cold weather.

  2. Re:Wowzers! by hedwards · · Score: 2, Insightful

    One of my complaints about some of the designs that are currently in use is that they don't tolerate large fingers very well. The Nexus One does a pretty good job, but it's a challenge to use it very quickly. At least it shows you what the letter is that you've pushed.

  3. Capacitive stylus input with... by alteveer · · Score: 3, Insightful

    ...pressure sensitivity? Because that would be something to write home about.

  4. Re:Wowzers! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Can you not see why being able to use any old stylus and pen is not better than having to use specific ones?

  5. Re:Wowzers! by rrossman2 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    and for $15 for one it appears.. where with this screen I can get a pack of 3 to 5 DS "plastic pens" for a few bucks

  6. multitouch... by gandhi_2 · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...with chopsticks?

    --
    THL phish sticks
  7. Um... by Aerorae · · Score: 2, Informative

    I'm skeptical this will make it to phones. Dunno if anyone noticed that they are PROJECTION-type capacitive displays. This maketh me think small devices no worky with this.

  8. Fail. by girlintraining · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I live in Minnesota. Pity me. That said... You can't use your phone with the gloves we wear up here. You can't even smoke a cigarette in proper winter gloves. The rest of the time take the gloves off! Maybe if they build a phone with a 17" touch screen then I'll consider using it with gloves... but by that point, it won't fit in my pocket, my purse, etc. These people need to think about the human interface a little bit more. Capacitance screens that require finger contact is a good thing... it keeps butt-dialing from happening. Well, as much, anyway...

    --
    #fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
    1. Re:Fail. by MichaelSmith · · Score: 2, Interesting

      How about gloves with little stylus bumps in the ends of the fingers? It just has to be enough to provide a reliable contact patch.

      --
      http://michaelsmith.id.au
    2. Re:Fail. by girlintraining · · Score: 4, Funny

      It just has to be enough to provide a reliable contact patch.

      Okay, you're not from around here so let me explain Minnesota winter to you:

      Imagine drinking battery acid. That is what every breath feels like in January. Now add to that about 6 layers of clothing, so thick that if separated from your person could fill roughly the same space as you. You look like the Stay Puft Marshmellow Man from Ghostbusters. And you know what? It still feels like someone is pouring crushed ice down your back. If you have a dick, it is shriveled up and clinging to the inside of your pants leg and looks like a stack of dimes. Tits, if you have them, are so painfully sharpened they could cut glass.

      Now, do you really thing a reliable contact patch is what an all-weather phone needs? Please! In January, my car's happy little voice that greets me in the morning sounds like it got fed the wrong way through a tape player. The GPS speaks in tongues for the first 20 minutes of the trip.

      Touch-sensitive phones have limits. Specifically, anywhere north of southern Illinois.

      --
      #fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
  9. Great for disabled people who use mouth sticks too by mykos · · Score: 2, Interesting

    This is going to be great for people who need mouth sticks. I have a friend with cerebral palsy. She plays Nintendo DS games just fine with the resistive touch screen, but using a phone or any other capacitive screen device is nearly impossible.

  10. Pogo is a waste of money by t2t10 · · Score: 2, Informative

    I've tried them, and those pen accessories for the iPad/iPhone absolutely suck. You get more precision using a sausage. Don't waste your money.

    Hopefully some manufacturer will come out with a decent screen that does both pen input and capacitive touch screen input. The current capacitive touch screen only devices are useless for drawing, sketching, or writing.

  11. Does it work... by PhilHibbs · · Score: 2, Funny

    when it's covered in blood?