Is Touchscreen That Good ??

It looks good. Doesn't mean it is

How many of you reading this have a touch screen device? I would say a majority. For those who don't, they for sure would want one. Why shouldn't they, everybody is using one, touchscreens seem futuristic, and hell!! this blog is 'iBlogged' the letter 'i' pioneers touch devices, it all started with iPods and the rest is history :).

But have you considered the impact it is having on the way we view the internet, or the way we perceive entertainment. OK, let me try to explain.


When we connect to internet through our computers, or laptops with actual keyboards what do we do? Visit websites, blogs, read what others have to say, give our opinions, discuss topics with other people on the internet, view graphics, more often than not create graphics and share with others. It is a give and take environment. It's a source of information and form of entertainment where there is a mutual contribution. We become the audience of the content as well as creator of the content. It become a form of entertainment which also enhances our imagination & at times our social skills.

Idiot box for dummies.

Now, when we connect to the internet through our touchscreen phone or tablet PCs which is what a wide majority of people do nowadays, we visit websites, read content, view graphics. Typing more than a few sentences on the virtual keyboard of an iPad or other tablet is a pain in the neck, and creating graphic elements is very seldom done or not at all. So, we become the audience, the consumer. This is a source of information and form of entertainment where we are dummies waiting for others to create and share content for us. 
 
Is it not the same reason that Television is called the idiot box, also why parents restrict the amount of time their kids should spend watching TV?

It is difficult to actively type on a touch device.

Now many a iPad/Pod fans would say it just takes a bit of time and practice to get used to typing on the touch interface. But when it comes to content creation, I would like to quote a sales manager at an Apple Store Genius Bar "Today most iPad users who buy productivity software also reach for Apple's optional external keyboard, and about 40% of those who come into that store for iPad training at the Genius Bar bring in or walk out with external keyboards, though, the touch screen may just be good enough."

Explain that!! :)

Don't get me wrong. I am not against the Touchscreens as a technology, it is the future. But the way the technology has been implemented in the devices, and the way people are solely relying on those devices to view (not communicate) the content on the world wide web is a concern.

It is concern, because our imagination, our ability to have and share opinions with others has made us what we are today.

It prevents active content creation.

Solution?? Well, there are many.

I personally prefer keyboards, but that is because I started computing when there were no touchscreens, and when they came I could never feel comfortable with them. But for people who were introduced to computing with touchscreens, i.e. the first cellphone owned was touchscreen or people who got accustomed to (read 'learned to live with') touchscreens, keyboards sound very old school.Other solutions are either in the development stage or too expensive to be as popular as the mainstream touchscreen devices. A lot more work is required in that direction.

I don't belong here.

What is it that makes keyboards differently suited (read better) for content creation? The tactile feel. It is because you get a feedback when u press a key. This can be implemented using touchscreen in several ways. Sound and visual effect for a touch keyboard are already in use but they don't seem to help much.

One good solution that is being researched upon is implementation of Deformable Surfaces. Touch screen on surface that can change shape. So that when we touch it, we feel the movement, replicating the tactile feel to some extent. Read more about it here and other such technologies here.




On PCs used for intensive content creation, the physical keyboard is unlikely to go away entirely, although an integrated virtual keyboard is likely to become a complementary component for touchscreen fans. On the same note Jennifer Colegrove, an analyst with display market research firm DisplaySearch, says,
 

I Love my IBM mechanical Keyboard.

"Both hardware and software need to improve to reach that point(seamless use of touchscreen), and price reductions are needed for adoption,virtual keyboards will be good enough to be used in mainstream in 10 years."

Touchscreens are the future, but the future is a bit far away. I find touch fascinating too but every technology needs time to mature. And Touchscreen seems to be quite a teenager. :)


So for now I would prefer the usual electromechanical keyboards. My favorite is the old, very old IBM Model M keyboard, which I recently started using. It makes a bit of sound, a bit more than usual keyboards do, but so does Harley Davidson bikes.  May be ten years from now, I will be writing my blog with a touch-board. :P

 
Now time for fun, a sneak peek to what Apple is upto. :P

This is what he replied when asked about the origin of Apple Inc. and the logo :)

When they met!!

 

After iPad, Ipod, iMac, and iBlogged (hey!! wait a minute, iBlogged is ours.) comes iRaq and iRan

So what do you think about touchscreens? You like them? or you prefer things the old school way? What do you think about Steve Jobs? About Apple? (the fruit.). Do reply with a comment. :)