Apple didn't invent the all-touch interface, but they certainly shook up the market with a stylish, intuitive design that was not only highly functional, but artistic and fun as well. But Apple has been facing down stiff competition recently. Many of these are surprisingly Windows Mobile-based, where a manufacturer will create an overlying interface atop the Windows Mobile 6.1 platform. Here are 5 touch interface designs we've seen on cell phones that we think deserve a closer look.
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1. Apple iPhone 2.0 on the Apple iPhone 3G
The reigning king of the all-touch world earned the crown with the most responsive touchscreen on the market. While touch sensitivity before Apple was mostly touch-and-go (pun intended), leaving the user unsure if a tap or swipe would actually register on the phone, Apple's strong suit is the Apple iPhone 3G's responsiveness. Your fingers can tap and dance across the screen to your heart's content, and Apple's phone has no trouble keeping up. Plus, the best-in-class media player and desktop-grade Web browsing experience didn't hurt the phone in the slightest. Apple's phone is still the only device to use multi-touch, where two finger gestures zoom and rotate onscreen objects, but Google's Android platform has these capabilities hidden beneath the surface, so its only a matter of time before another manufacturer catches up.
2. Google Android on the T-Mobile G1
If Apple's iPhone software is the drama student in this touchscreen class, the Google Android OS is the guy who builds the elaborate sets for the school play; the guy who knows how to use duct tape. It isn't as pretty as Apple's interface, but it's even more functional, with plenty of cool shortcuts that make finding features and options easy and intuitive. The first Google Android phone is already out in the HTC-designed T-Mobile G1, and while we had some trouble with that phone's radio hardware, we were delighted by the software design and some of the mindblowing new apps that developers have already released for this phone, making great use of the GPS, accelerometer and even a built-in compass. Best of all, the Google Android OS offers the most access to developers to customize this phone, leaving us with the feeling that we ain't seen nothing yet.
3. TouchFLO 3D on the HTC Touch Diamond (Sprint)
Never has Windows Mobile looked so slick, and never have we been able to completely ignore the ugly, dated Windows Mobile interface so completely, as on the HTC Touch Diamond on Sprint. HTC puts plenty of useful features, including e-mail previews and a very slick little weather app, at the top level on this interface. Plus, the phone boasts the highest resolution screen, 640 by 480 VGA resolution, on the U.S. market, which gives the dark, stylish interface plenty of pop. The screen was plenty responsive; it moved quickly and registered our every tap. With every generation of the TouchFLO interface, HTC has created a prettier and prettier-looking design, and managed to bury Windows Mobile deeper and deeper in the phone. We've already seen some truly High-Definition prototypes from HTC's dream labs, so we can't wait to see what they have in store.
4. Touch Wiz on the Samsung Omnia i900
Samsung has had a rough start with touchscreen phones, but they are clearly learning from their mistakes. Among the first to release an all-touch phone after the launch of the Apple iPhone, Samsung's phones, including this Samsung Omnia i900, have all suffered from responsiveness issues, where the interface just can't keep up with fast-moving fingers. Still, building a clever, useful touch interface with loads of widgets and accelerometer support on top of Windows Mobile is probably a step in the right direction for Samsung, and the company has shown they aren't giving up on the all-touch idea, not by a long shot. Hopefully carriers won't cripple this phone when it comes to the U.S. market, and we'd even like to see Samsung getting some help optimizing their system, as HTC's system seemed to improve when they brought the HTC Touch Diamond to Sprint.
5. Panels on the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1
Panels are a strange thing. Either you get the concept (widget / homescreen combos), or you don't. Either way, when the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 comes out later this year, it will surely shake up the Windows Mobile market. Panels can be utilitarian, a collection of favorite applications arranged in a grid, or delightfully functional, a goldfish that glows different colors depending on battery life, incoming messages, etc. Sony Ericsson, like HTC and Samsung, has buried the Windows Mobile interface, but unlike those other manufacturers, Sony Ericsson has also opened up their own Panels SDK to allow developers to create new ideas to overlay on top of the WinMo experience. With some solid hardware specs backing up the system, we think Sony Ericsson's Xperia X1 has a lot of potential to grab the business market's attention.
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