The Evolution of Touchscreen Gaming

The Evolution of Touchscreen Gaming

The Evolution of Touchscreen Gaming

Touchscreen gaming has never been bigger. The next 12 months could quite possibly see an unprecedented trio of new touch-sensitive portables hitting stores: the Nintendo 3DS, the Sony NGP, and (fingers crossed) a new iPad will all be vying to get their hands on your gaming fingers in the months to come. But while most gamers’ first exposure to playing games with their fingertips is likely to have been around 2004 with the all-conquering Nintendo DS, it was by no means the first touchscreen-equipped gaming device to hit the market.

VECTREX

VECTREX -- The short-lived Vectrex home game console was a curious beast. Boasting vector-based graphics, a huge game library and several cool tech features -- including a light-pen peripheral that players could use to manipulate objects on screen in certain art and music games -- it was somewhat ahead of its time. Sadly, that time was just before the great video game crash of 1983, which made quick work of the quirky system.

APPLE NEWTON

APPLE NEWTON -- Before there was the iPad, there was the Newton. Long, long before. About 17 years, actually, which amounts to several lifetimes in the tech world. One of the first touchscreen-equipped portables to be capable of playing simple games, it wasn’t much of a commercial success, but still retains a tiny-yet-committed fanbase.

GAME.COM

GAME.COM -- Released in 1997, dedicated gaming portable Game.com had an impressive feature-set: a stylus, a touch-screen, twin cartridge slots, and an available modem that let it browse the web and send email. Less impressive was its twenty-strong catalog of games -- and less impressive still were its sales, thought to be under 300,000.

TAPWAVE ZODIAC

TAPWAVE ZODIAC -- Think 300,000 is paltry? The Zodiac did even worse. And in a lot of ways, it was a shame. Running the same operating system as Palm’s series of PDAs, the slick, curvy portable had ready access to a vast catalog of apps and games. Tech writers loved it, but nobody else did. After 18 months on the market, it was discontinued.

TABLET PC

TABLET PC -- Essentially just a regular laptop that swapped a keyboard for a stylus-based touchscreen, Microsoft sank vast sums of money into pushing the tablet PC in the early part of the last decade. Perfect for strategy games, board games, and casual hits like Diner Dash, they were nevertheless too expensive and business-focused for gamers to take them seriously.

NINTENDO DS

NINTENDO DS -- Although it was far from the first touchscreen gaming platform to hit stores, it was the DS that really caught the imagination of gamers and developers. Selling over 140 million units since its 2004 launch and still going strong, it’s second only to the Playstation 2 as the most successful game system of all time. A series of hardware refreshes have kept the platform current; the latest, due this March, will take the marque into the brave new world of stereoscopic 3D.

IPHONE

IPHONE -- Before the iPhone, gaming was an afterthought for many cellphone users. But once the App Store came along in 2008, throwing open the doors for small-time and big-league alike to make their fortunes selling 99-cent games to millions of eager consumers, the mobile gaming market exploded. Three years later, the iPhone is birthing its own mega-franchises: witness the cross-platform success of sales giant Angry Birds.

IPAD

IPAD -- After the disappointment of Newton, Apple could have been forgiven for swearing off the tablet forever. Fortunately for its legion of fans, the success of the iPhone apparently convinced them to take another crack at it. The result: 15 million iPads sold last year, with gaming as a major focus. And with rumors of an upcoming iPad 2 announcement reaching feverish heights, that impressive total could be just the start.

SONY NGP

SONY NGP -- Touchscreens on the front of your gaming portable? That’s so 1993. Sony’s next pocket-sized system, currently codenamed “Next Generation Portable” or NGP, puts a touch-sensitive pad on the machine’s reverse as well, and kits it out with just about every hot portable tech you can imagine. Latest word is to expect the machine in the U.S. this holiday season, priced around $300 depending on hardware options.

MICROSOFT SURFACE

MICROSOFT SURFACE -- Welcome to the future. Perhaps. Microsoft’s “Surface” technology promises table-sized touchscreens that can recognize objects placed on them, respond to gestures as well as simple taps, and can be used by multiple people simultaneously. In short, they’ll play one heck of a game -- in the event they ever get beyond the tech-demo stage. Outside a few custom corporate apps (and a starring role in MSNBC’s 2008 election coverage), they’re still a pipe-dream for home users.
Read More:Yahoo

LiquidKeyboard - Keyboard, Which Itself Adapts to the User

Early versions of LiquidKeyboard, developed using HTML and javascript, much like the virtual keyboard from Microsoft, the main distinguishing feature of which was the division of blocks "buttons for left and right hands. 
Later Christian Sax and Hannes Lau began working on a system for iOS, but they claim that their software can be adapted for other platforms - products Apple has been chosen because of iPad tablet with its multi-functional. According to the creators LiquidKeyboard, the most significant advantage of the hardware keyboard is the fact that the user feels and, later, remembers the layout of buttons. Because of the lack of tactile contact, on-screen keyboard can not provide this effect, it should go the other way, namely to make the characters adapt to the position of the fingers. The keyboard, proposed by Sachs and Lau, all letters and symbols are divided into small groups for each finger. With this software can track the location of the fingers, and adjust its position blocks of keys. In addition, LiquidKeyboard adapts to the individual physical parameters of each user, such as brush size and characteristics of the location of the fingers. Currently working on a new keyboard is continuing, but the authors of the idea hope that soon they will be able to bring the technology to mind.

Review of Phone Just 5 CP10

 

Last year we wrote about the phone Just5 CP09, which the public dubbed "babushkofonom. At this time, would like to introduce you to update your phone model CP10. By and large there is little technical difference - increased size of the display and the vibrating alert option added, which are lacking in the previous version. But the design has undergone significant changes. And the variety of colors rife. The basic ideology of the phone lies in its simplicity and usability of the elderly and people with impaired vision / hearing. Or as a second phone.

Keyboard

The keyboard is not just big, it's awesome. Click on the buttons conveniently absolutely anything with your finger - do not miss. Illuminated keyboard, as well as the display - an orange.

 Options:
- Telephone
- Battery
- Charger
- wired headset

 At the top end are the LED flashlight, charger connector and an input for headset / headphones. LED flashlight, not bright, but the light should be enough to freely pass through the dark entrance and find the door hole. .

Radio
Radio, as well as on the last model uses a built-in antenna. Hands-free does not improve the quality of reception. It seemed to me, the radio in this phone - a very weak side. During testing the phone, I was in the Moscow area, and being in the building of the phone could not catch a single radio frequency, while the other phone using the headset as an antenna - perfectly caught the radio.  

Appearance
If we take as a basis for CP09 and all comparisons to build on this, the new cool phone has changed. It's no longer the stump of glossy plastic, which is very unpleasant to handle. Phone is made of high quality and pleasant to the touch materials - rubberized plastic (soft-touch coating). The entire perimeter of the front bezel is made of metal.

 NSleva a button on / off the radio and rocker for volume control.

 On the back side of lonely is the button SOS. I honestly do not understand why the company decided to make it JUST5 switch, which is very easy to turn, pulling the phone out of his pocket, or even during a call, because Hold the phone in my hand, my finger rested exactly in the button. And when you consider all that noise and panic, the phone begins to direct activation button SOS, then, to put it mildly, it is unlikely anyone will like it. In the last version of the phone it was made much easier, and eliminates accidental pressing. For those who do not know what button SOS: When you activate the SOS button is sending text messages to pre-programmed phone numbers, and then the phone starts nazvanivat on those numbers, and it all happens under the creepy, nasty and very loud roar.

 Screen

Monochrome screen with CP10 «grown and now has 3 lines of text + a line of official information on the status of the battery level, reception, etc. Illumination is the same - orange, even. Afternoon in the sun, it is invisible, but the screen is perfectly readable.

 At the bottom of the phone is a microphone and an ear for the strap.

 Menu
Control of the phone is very convenient and easy, but just in case proizvodiel staffed phone a colorful statement with a large font. Everything is intuitive. Of all the options available only to set the date and time, choose one of the two languages (Russian / English) and an alarm clock. The latter can be configured for a single call, either on weekdays. Can be set as ringtones one of 10 polyphonic melodies, written in memory of the phone. Unfortunately, his melodies can not be installed, and available quickly bored. Of the nice additions to the manufacturer includes a simple calculator.

Messages
Phone can send and receive only the most ordinary SMS messages. MMS and EMS is not supported. Sending is carried out as a single recipient, and en masse, with the choice of names from the phone book.

 Right - Switch flashlight, and turn it can be even when the phone is turned off, and switch the phone lock. Blocking was done somehow not logical. Will lock the phone unless you are in the main menu. In radio mode, by browsing the phone book or writing SMS lock the phone will not work.

Hours
Battery in the phone - it's forte. The battery capacity is 1000 mAh. The manufacturer claims that this is enough for 8 hours of talk time and 200 hours of standby time. Since the phone is devoid of any external features that are inherent in smart phones, then spend the battery is really not that besides the direct appointment of the phone. In my case - I found the battery manufacturer's charge and not charging the phone immediately began to use it. When talking about total of 70 minutes and 10 sent SMS phone worked 7 days to complete exhaustion. An excellent result.

Specifications Just 5 CP10:Standard GSM, 900, 1800Case type monoblockThe map colors monochrome screenFM-radio isVoice Features speakerphoneAdditionally, an alarm clock, kulkulyator, flashlight, emergency SOS buttonBattery, 1000 mAh, Li-Ion, time of talk time 8 hours / Standby 200 hoursDimensions mm 107,6 x50, 8x17, 2Weight, g 98


Less:- Radio- Price
Pros:- Assembly- Battery- The size of the buttons and screen



Conclusion
If we evaluate this device as a phone for children or young people, it is rather suitable for the role of a second phone. Unlike the clumsy design models CP09, CP10 is a hint at the design and manufacturer of this suggests, logos showing off all sorts of awards and nominations, which won this phone. The assembly is just excellent, the phone does not creak and not play. Case material is pleasant to the touch. He did not soiled and leaves no trace on the touch. He is excellent in hand. And after touching begin to think about buying it, even though their phones are already so many that even though the museum opens. The only thing that may scare young people - a polyphonic ringtones. This is clearly not what people expect in 2011. So for the money, which asks a manufacturer, could equip the phone downloadable MP3 tunes, or at least pre-grade musical tunes.
As for older persons ", then all is good, but the factor of price. Competitors in the market is not small, for example: Texet, Voxtel, Fly. Moreover, our competitors bolsheknopochnyh phone prices are much lower. Interestingly, when all the while Just5 sell more and better. CP10 is clearly more intended for a younger generation that will buy the phone as a gift loved ones. Estimated cost of the phone is 3900 rubles. By calling itself the claims in this case, no, he's clean and simple, reliable and convenient. When using the phone is unlikely to cause problems with dial or inconvenience huge display. Speaker volume that would be enough even to talk on the subway. Offers even more options for body colors.
I really liked the phone CP10, but his relatives, I had already bought the previous model - CP09, which is almost a year has established itself as a very reliable phone, which never caused any problems.