Capacitive
A capacitive touchscreen panel is a sensor typically made of glass coated with a transparent conductor such as
indium tin oxide (ITO).
[2][3] This type of sensor is basically a
capacitor in which the plates are the overlapping areas between the horizontal and vertical axes in a grid pattern. Since the human body also conducts electricity, a touch on the surface of the sensor will affect the electric field and create a measurable change in the
capacitance of the device. These sensors work on proximity, and do not have to be directly touched to be triggered. It is a durable technology that is used in a wide range of applications including point-of-sale systems, industrial controls, and public information kiosks. It has a higher clarity than Resistive technology, but it only responds to finger contact and will not work with a gloved hand or pen stylus unless the stylus is conductive. Capacitive touchscreens can also support
Multitouch. Examples include
Apple Inc.'s
iPhone and
iPod Touch,
HTC's
G1 &
HTC Magic,
Palm Inc.'s
Palm Pre and
Palm Eos and more recently the
LG KM900 Arena,
Microsoft's
Zune HD,
Sony Walkman X series and
Sony Ericsson's Aino.