Staying Connected

control unit reads the movement’s distance from the different lights on the bar, and then that motion is calculated through triangulation. Industry experts say it is the accelerometer that contributes most to the Wii’s $250 price tag, which while costly is not as expensive as other gaming systems.

Likewise, even in an unstable economy, another high-priced gadget that caught consumers’ interests and landed on their wish

motion of his fingers, moving over delegate territory with a wave of his hand, making the colored map come to life. CNN might have called it “The Magic Wall” when it debuted in January during the Iowa caucuses, but readers of this magazine know it as multi-touch, which is credited to Jeff Han and a handful of companies for its development and evolution.

The influence of innovative
interfaces on the wireless industry

of the video gesture technology. “People see it once, and they get it.” Fowler says that since wireless operators are drooling at opportunities to keep customers connected more, downloading more bits, the lure of fusing gaming components and smooth interfaces with mobility is enticing.

With its technology inside, Gesture Tek sees the phone of the near future being shaken or rolled slightly, like a gaming console, so users can quickly bring up infor-

SUCH INNOVATIVE INTERFACES, LIKE THE WII’S MOTION-SENSITIVE CONTROLLER,

HELP TO BREAK DOWN THE BARRIERS BETWEEN MAN AND MACHINE, SAY ANALYSTS,

AND HELP TO FIRE UP APPLICATION DEVELOPERS.

lists this past holiday season was Apple’s i Touch. The mobile device’s multi-touch technology had consumers buzzing and willing to spend nearly $500 before a price cut was announced.

These two devices are just two examples of renewed enthusiasm being pumped back into the consumer tech sector. Why? It’s in the interface.

GAMES PEOPLE PLAY Even venerable cable news channel CNN is not immune to the charms of an innovative interface. Watching “The Situation Room” during election coverage you’d think star reporter John King was as enamored of the multi-touch presentation screen as my family has been of the Wii. King could be seen narrowing in on a graphic with a pinching

has been increasing for a while. Consider Gesture Tek, for instance. The Sunnyvale, CA-based company has taken its video gesture recognition patents and partnerships with gaming— Microsoft and Sony licensed their technology for Xbox and PlaySta-tion respectively—and applied the technology to mobile devices and applications. The bridge between gaming and mobile devices comes because Gesture Tek’s technology works with cameras, and most mobile devices have cameras installed. Deals with NTT DoCoMo and Verizon have helped to put Gesture Tek on the mobile map two years ago, even though they’ve been around for 20 years.

“It’s disruptive technology,”
says Ed Fowler, director of busi-
ness development at Gesture Tek,

mation needed. There are also commercial applications that make sense, like navigation. But the ease of use of this type of interface could have social uses as well, says Fowler. An elderly person living alone, for instance, could shake their mobile phone once to dial 911, or could do physical therapy for their arms using their mobile device, Fowler says. The technology is also enabling digital signage, or interactive billboards.

CAN’T TOUCH THIS Apple’s aggressive acceptance of multi-touch shows no signs of waning. In fact, recent reports say a next generation of the iPhone, bigger in size but still smaller than a laptop, will come out next year with even more multi-touch functionality. Fowler