SEATTLE, September 22, 2008 - Simple touch experience on a well designed device opens up a world of possibilities. Touch is so much more human and direct. After experiencing touch, going back to cumbersome keypads is like painting with oven mitts.
When product designers from Seattle-based design consultancy Artefact set out to support HTC with the design of its new TouchFLO™ 3D user experience for mobile devices, they weren't sure where that path may lead.
Now, after the recent U. S. launch of HTC's Touch Diamond™ mobile phone, Artefact has come away not only with a keen understanding of current touch-screen design, but with a vision for the future of touch-enabled devices and the challenges that must be overcome.
"Our work on the HTC Touch Diamond™ gave us the opportunity to dive in and explore how the growing demand for touch screens is impacting the way users experience wireless technology," said Martijn Van Tilburg, a senior design director at Artefact, a design consultancy that works with a variety of high tech consumer electronics, communications and computer software clients to research user needs and design breakthrough software and technology products.
Touch screen design burst into the public consciousness in 2007 with the launch of Apple's iPhone. And while a strong marketing campaign by Apple resulted in most consumers associating touch experience with the iPhone, in reality, this is a significant and market-wide trend. The market for touch-screen mobile devices is expected to grow at a dramatic rate -- recent research shows the touch screen business will reach $5 billion in 2009, according to ABI Research.
"Artefact and HTC worked together to develop the TouchFLO™ 3D user experience, an innovative user interface that could set HTC's newest wireless device apart from others on the market, including the iPhone," Van Tilburg said.
"With the introduction of the HTC Touch Diamond™, two experiences are united," Van Tilburg continued. "Specifically, HTC offers a great media-centric touch experience, while preserving all the features of the Window Mobile 6 software."
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Katie McFadzean