1. Fr3lncr's Avatar
    There was an article on Engadget today about a company called Senseg who (somehow) created a tech that gives you tactile feedback on a touchscreen device (more than just haptic feedback).

    Article here: Rumor mill: Will the new iPad have a tactile display? -- Engadget.

    I've never been a fan of touchscreen keyboards, Blackberry or Android (had a Torch and have a Galaxy S2), and in reality the only one I have ever found that works for me is cough-Apple-cough (for whatever reason, I rarely mistype on my iPod the few times I actually use it).

    When the Storm came out, I appreciated what RIM was trying to do with surepress... an attempt at what it thought was a better user experience. I never used the Storm but thought it was a good idea because it gave you a nice tactile feedback having to 'push' like you did on a keyboard. Anyhow, it didn't work (or at least didn't work for the majority).

    While I think touchscreens are great for lots of things, especially browsing the web, whenever it comes to typing an email or making a call, I !@#$! hate them. This is the one real thing I miss about not having a BB phone anymore.

    Sure, touchscreens can have hapctic feedback (which does help) or you can have cool keyboards like Swype which take advantage of the touchscreen, but both still don't hold a candle (at least for me) to what a real keyboard can deliver.

    So, when I saw the article on Engadget and watched the video on CNet, I thought what if RIM could use something like that on its touchscreen phones to give you a keyboard experience and still giving you all the benefits of a touchscreen (which at least for me would be the real estate).

    I was big fan of Torch slider idea before it came out but after using both the 9800 and 9810, it just didn't work for me. And while I loved the 9900 for its keyboard, I also love the size of the screen on the S2.

    RIM's strength has always been it keyboards but the market seems to be moving away from that (something I disagree with even though I love the big screen sizes) so maybe this could be a killer selling feature marrying the best of both worlds.

    Engadget was guessing Apple would be using this tech in the new iPad but so far it's just another incremental update in hardware (resolution and speed bump). So, unless Apple buys the company out for use in another future incremental update (sorry... couldn't resist), maybe RIM can license the tech... or buy them out (depending on how big they are).

    I don't know... maybe it's just me but I can see a real advantage to have such a feature if it could reproduce a feeling of a real keyboard on a touchscreen... if the tech is possible at doing that.

    Just a thought...
    03-07-12 01:38 PM
  2. Rootbrian's Avatar
    There is an app that makes the touch screen keyboard vibrate, heptic type. It's called Advanced OS and LED. I strongly suggest you try it and enable the vibration. Telling you, it rocks. If it works on my 9900's hardware keys, it should work on the touchscreen blackberries right?

    I would love to see this as a feature. PS. OP, I suggest maybe quoting sections of the articles so people don't click them.
    03-07-12 01:42 PM
  3. DaedalusIcarusHelios's Avatar
    I think haptic feedback would be a great feature for BB10 phones (and future tablets), as long as it is implemented perfectly. I bet there's already a forthcoming Android device with this tech about to be announced, but I really hope RIM can be a trail blazer in something that captures the public imagination.
    CairnsRock likes this.
    03-07-12 02:20 PM
  4. CairnsRock's Avatar
    If it is solid technology. Great. RIM should go for it. Tactile feel in typing is huge and RIM owns that space. Humans need to feel "feed back" that the switch has been closed. It was in the iPod rumour mill, so will probably be there in the future. Would be a nice first for RIM with BB10.
    03-07-12 10:01 PM
  5. JNM's Avatar
    The way they did it on the Storm 2 was actually pretty good. I liked it. Unfortunately, they were using a terribly low resolution screen in that device. They could have done so much more with that device in later versions.
    03-07-12 10:18 PM
  6. Sultan Al Sooz's Avatar
    There is an app that makes the touch screen keyboard vibrate, heptic type. It's called Advanced OS and LED. I strongly suggest you try it and enable the vibration. Telling you, it rocks. If it works on my 9900's hardware keys, it should work on the touchscreen blackberries right?

    I would love to see this as a feature. PS. OP, I suggest maybe quoting sections of the articles so people don't click them.
    yes, it does work on 9800/10 virtual keyboard and dialpad, and all other bb phone models hardware keypad, however for some unknown strange reasons, RIM decided not to include this API in Storm OS (including 9850/60) and pearl. Its a shame, since its a must for storm OSs.
    03-08-12 01:28 PM
  7. mithrazor's Avatar
    That would be awesome if RIM used this on their upcoming BB10 flagship phone.

    But I doubt it, they said it could take up to 24 months. So end of 2013 is when you should expect it.
    03-08-12 05:27 PM
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