[OT] iPhone anyone?

[Scott Rossi]

Recently, Joe Lewis Wilkins wrote:

> Guess Apple needs to implement voice input someway.

Perhaps not.  There's a vibrational technology that sounds very promising
for this and other cell phones.  It uses the built-in vibration mode of the
phone combined with a split second timing algorithm that is triggered when
pressing on-screen controls.  The result is simulated tactile feedback --
you "feel" the response in your fingertips, even though the entire phone is
vibrates when pressing a control.  IIRC, the article I read claims a
Japanese(?) company spent 12 years developing the algorithm.  Another
company, Immersion, holds several (all?) patents on force feedback stuff.
Personally, I'm hoping something like this is adopted for cell phones and
portable devices.  Otherwise, there's not a lot of good substitutes for real
tactile feedback.

Apologies for continuing the off-topic thread.

Regards,

Scott Rossi
Creative Director
Tactile Media, Multimedia & Design