CES: Smartphone touch-screen analysis tests finger fidelity

[deftdrummer]

Kind of sad, but I guess it's something we all knew deep down anyways.

Smartphone touch-screen analysis tests finger fidelity | CES 2010 - CNET

 

[Fabolous]

Yeah, I saw the demo video on Engadget earlier today. It's a shame we can't draw straight lines slowly on our phones. Still, I haven't had any issues with accuracy with my touchscreen, so I don't know in what situations this would present a problem.

I think it has something to do with high res capacitive screens, as the iPhone3GS and Droid Eris did fine, but the N1 and Droid got the squigglies.

The big question would be, is this software or hardware? Either way, it displeases me, but isn't a deal breaker, or even much of an issue at all.

EDIT: Guess I should attach a link for what I'm referring to:

http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/09/moto-gives-straight-advice-on-smartphone-touchscreen-quality/

 

[deftdrummer]

Yeah I agree, its a shame and most of the time it doesn't really matter, but where you can really tell are things like contact scrolling and clicking smaller links. Sometimes the screen will glitch out and jump around which is indicitive of a slightly less sensitive touch screen giving false readings. I suppose it could be a firmware issue but I think this is one of those unfortunate instances where the technology isn't quite equal with the competition. This combined with the shoddy physical Kb can only mean MOTO Droid 2 will be that much better.

Oh, I also found it intersting that they used third party drawing apps for this analysis. I would imagine the algorhythms within the apps themselves would vary wildly, and would thus have more to do with this issue than anything else.

 

[Mainiac]

I'm not so sure about their results, I installed: Simply Draw (multi-touch) v1.0.4 Application for Android | Demo

I found that if I draw lines very slowly I get some wavering in them, if I draw them at a normal speed they are pretty straight.

So results are very subjective.

 

[Hegemony]

Oh, I also found it intersting that they used third party drawing apps for this analysis. I would imagine the algorhythms within the apps themselves would vary wildly, and would thus have more to do with this issue than anything else.

I found this questionable as well. I just tried this and it wasn't nearly as bad as the one in the video. I don't know what app they used though. I feel like the Droid's screen is very accurate in general. I can tap links easily without zooming in, for instance. I just don't know what sort of real world significance this test could have.

 

[MajesticFlame]

Yeah, the results seem to vary on the software. Go try a few different drawing programs. Some keep lines pretty straight (similar to the iphone images) while others are wavy. Though none ever got as bad as what they show.

 

[Fabolous]

I found that if I draw lines very slowly I get some wavering in them, if I draw them at a normal speed they are pretty straight.

So results are very subjective.

That's the point though. If you draw them fast, there are fewer points of contact, so the software just fits a line through those points, resulting in straighter lines.

It's only when you do it really slow that you can see the "inaccuracies" in the screen.

Anyways, I have experienced the same results as others have said, which is there is wavering, but definitely not to the extent of the video.

I used 'Ethereal Dialpad' and chose the skin that draws the line.

 

[spazma7ik]

To be honest, this doesn't surprise me. On my iPod Touch, I would be AMAZED at how accurate clicking a small link crowded around a bunch of others was. Not the same story on the Droid. At times it would be surprisingly accurate, and other times it would be disappointingly horrible, as in clicking a link stacked on another with a lot of space surrounding and zoomed in enough to know what I was clicking, and it would totally select something in the proximity. Oh well though, can't have a perfect phone.

 

[rjoudrey]

It probably has something to do with interpolation and sampling rate. Most likely software driven. I don't think the Droid was just slapped together with an inferior touchscreen.

 

[dmodert66]

To be honest, this doesn't surprise me. On my iPod Touch, I would be AMAZED at how accurate clicking a small link crowded around a bunch of others was. Not the same story on the Droid. At times it would be surprisingly accurate, and other times it would be disappointingly horrible, as in clicking a link stacked on another with a lot of space surrounding and zoomed in enough to know what I was clicking, and it would totally select something in the proximity. Oh well though, can't have a perfect phone.

I disagree a bit. On my phone, not zoomed in (fit to page I think), the numbers for a thread at the bottom of forum posts are VERY small. I almost always hit the correct page number I want to go to. Those numbers are VERY close together...

I can see the line thing though, but I'm not much worried about it...

 

[Mr. Yuck]

I'm not so sure about their results, I installed: Simply Draw (multi-touch) v1.0.4 Application for Android | Demo

I found that if I draw lines very slowly I get some wavering in them, if I draw them at a normal speed they are pretty straight.

So results are very subjective.

I would have to agree. I downloaded the same app as you. I then tried moving slowly. Some wavering occurred, but not to the extent in the link provided. I then tried it again at my normal scroll rate. The lines were very straight. I repeated this 5-6 times with the same results every time.

 

[AZDroid]

I think that for normal everyday use this does not effect the user's experience but for things like photo editing programs or some games then fine differences in accuracy can have a negative impact. I did this test with my Droid and my iPod Touch using a couple different drawing programs on each and did get more noticeably wavy lines on the Droid when using slow even swipes.