Nokia Unveils Touch S60 Interface
A touch screen cell phone is certainly nothing new. Symbian UIQ devices have been touch based for some time and the iPhone seemingly redefined the technology over the last few months. Now it looks like Nokia’s Series 60 devices will be next in line.
Nokia demonstrated their new touch screen interface for S60 devices at the Symbian Smartphone Show in London today. All About Symbian has reported that the new OS will be designed to support both stylus and finger based input. And, in addition to standard touch screen sensors, the new interface will include proximity and light sensors as well, giving Nokia’s development community plenty of new toys to work with for future apps.
It seems the two key takeaways here are that current S60 apps will not need to be modified for the touch screen devices and the touch sensor will be equipped to provide tactile feedback, negating a common complaint for those new to the touch screen world. In Nokia’s words from their press release:
S60 touch user interface comes with support for tactile feedback, which means that there is a physical pulse and feedback when the user taps on the screen. This provides better awareness of the device's response improving the user experience.
Hard to tell when these devices will hit the market; all Nokia has said thus far is that they will be available in 2008.
We have some folks at the Smartphone Show this week and I’m sure they’ve taken a close look at the new interface. Hopefully I’ll be able to post some updated info and first impressions when they get back!