Touch screen question

[WanderingOak]

It's been a few years since I have used touch screens or trackpads, but I know it used to be that they wouldn't work properly if your hands were not scrupulously clean and dry. If there was the slightest hint of grease or moisture on your hands, they would either fail to work, or malfunction in odd ways with each drop of moisture and greasy fingerprint registering as a continuous 'contact point' on the pad/screen. Does anybody know if the latest generation touch screens still have this problem? I'm just curious to know if this will be a headache for users of Apple's iPhone, which doesn't have a keypad, but instead has everything driven by a touch-screen. I can see some kid trying to use his phone after eating fried chicken or hot wings, or a mechanic trying to make a call while covered in engine grease. If Apple is on the ball, this should not be an issue with the iPhone, but if they aren't this could be a serious embarrassment.

[Baltar]

I wouldn't worry about it. Apple filed a lot of patents for their touch screen technology, which means they took the time to develop their own system instead of using something conventional.

[icesar]

That being said, I still expect the first version of the iPhone to be the first version of the iPhone. Within a year I'm guessing they'll come out with a second version that fixes v1's bugs and major nuissances.

Remember the first version of the iPod? Cool as it was, we've come leaps and bounds since then

[Thomas Jensen]

I'm glad you brought this up.

Actually I contribute reviews to a newly launched gadget website that is aimed at becoming a serious rival to the gizmodos and engadgets of the world. I think we really have a chance; and the main reason for this will be our desire to really get to the bottom of the subject at hand, and indeed the passion of the writers for their subject. And it's a complex subject, all right, where nothing is as it first appears.

My honest opinion, first of all, is that Steve Jobs is a marketing guru. You have to hand it to the guy. He believes so much in what he does. And with the iPhone he has helped to raise the bar higher. Other handset makers may have sensed that he had something like the iPhone up his sleeve, and this knowledge pushed them harder towards the goal of producing a rival technology that would keep them in the game. His passion helps to drive along the industry, directly or indirectly.

However, the end result is that Samsung has just launched a smart phone - their intended 'iPhone killer' - which really has better functionality. The iPhone comes without 3G, which I am personally quite surprised by. Samsung's phone, by contrast, will be equipped to provide users with HSDPA or super 3G for checking emails on the move. Something people are finding increasingly useful.

Many critics believe that the iPhone is more of a fashion accessory. It will be remembered, that's for sure, as a landmark event in mobile communications. It's a kind of catalyst for the industry. But for a businessman on the move, there are alternatives out there which I would highly recommend looking into.

Feel free to check out the website in my signature if you want to see our review of the iPhone...