touch technology

When Sam Hurst, a professor at the University of Kentucky, developed touchscreen technology nearly four decades ago, he probably had no idea his innovation would be the basis for a popular consumer interface and change the way humans and machines interact.

We have come a long way since Hurst's touch technology, which is now used in several products, including smartphones.

When Sam Hurst, a professor at the University of Kentucky, developed touchscreen technology nearly four decades ago, he probably had no idea his innovation would be the basis for a popular consumer interface and change the way humans and machines interact.

We have come a long way since Hurst's touch technology, which is now used in several products, including smartphones.

Nokia has taken the wraps off a new smartphone powered by the latest version of the company's Symbian S60 operating system for mobile devices. By adding the benefits of touchscreen technology to the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, the company is taking the familiar and giving it a human touch, according to Nokia Senior Vice President Jo Harlow.

According to Gartner, smartphone unit sales in the second quarter of 2008 rose 15.7 percent in comparison with the year-earlier period. However, the research firm noted that the subcategory's share of the cellular handset market remained flat at 11 percent.

Typhoon Touch Technologies added Apple, Toshiba, Palm, and several other companies to a lawsuit on Monday that alleges the companies are infringing on touch screen technology patents it owns. The case was originally filed in December 2007 against Dell and could, according to Typhoon, extend to "millions of devices" already on the market.