N-Trig bringing multi-touch technology to PCs

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Monday, 12 January 2009 11:30

Opinion and Analysis

N-Trig notes the “rapid uptake of touch on mobile phones”, and says that the “consumer market is ready for this same type of interaction with computers” which enabled a “more efficient and naturally intuitive mode of communication between people and computers.”

David Daoud, Research Manager at IDC said: “Accounting for more than 70% of PC sales in 3Q08 in the US consumer market, notebook computers remain attractive devices for consumers in North America and around the world.

“Improved functionality and new features help drive demand, and with the inclusion of multi-touch functionality, we can expect increased interest with a new class of notebook systems entering the market.

”N-trig’s DuoSense technology is the first pen, touch and multi-touch input innovation since the initial creation of the mouse and keyboard and are easily scalable to different LCD screens. DuoSense digitizers enable consumers to interface with their computers allowing them to open files, manipulate pictures, access different applications, surf the web – all through their fingertips.”

Amichai Ben-David, CEO of N-trig said: “N-trig’s DuoSense technology connects consumers and their computers in a world where people do more digitally, but have been hampered by outdated interfaces.

“The availability of hands-on computing in the consumer market will significantly increase computer innovation and expand software development to bring us closer to our computers in ways we never dreamed.”

N-trig says many more computers will be multi-touch enabled in 2009, something that bodes very well for Windows 7 which will be massively promoting touch as part of its capabilities.

The opportunity for different Linux distros to also offer multi-touch capabilities is also obvious, given the hardware will be widely available this year and clearly into the future.

Although keyboards and mice aren’t going to go away anytime soon, and voice input is only going to increase in popularity, it’s clear the next few years of computer interface technology will be very touching indeed.

The message is pretty clear: if you’re going to buy a new computer later this year, why not buy one that offers multi-touch technology as one of its standard features - whichever operating system you intend using?