The Google Phone / T-mobile G1 is a bit reminiscent of the Transformers slogan ‘more than meets the eye’. With few details about the touchscreen making their way into mainstream news reports, it is surprising to find out Synaptics Inc. is behind the touch sensors. While Apple has never confirmed whether they hired Synaptics for their touch screen sensors in the iPhone, two decades of developing finger navigation tools for computers and multi-touch track pads might have been enough incentive.
On the official side, the Google Phone will join 4 other devices that have launched over the past six-months with Synaptics’ touch screen sensors. With a history of developing the sensors behind laptop touch pads, digital media players and high-end remote controls, Synaptics has helped bring touchscreens to the mainstream. During the past three years the Google Phone was being developed, HTC’s search for an edge in the touchscreen market ended with a Synaptics contract. If you think that the touchscreen experience on the G1 will be matched by loading Android on the Touch Pro, you might be in for a shock.
Synaptics currently offers multi-touch trackpads for laptops so the potential of the G1’s touch screen might far surpass what we saw at the T-mobile Press Release. The most notable devices that feature Synaptics Inc. touch screen technology are the Sharp SH906i, the multimedia controls for the LG Musiq and LG Chocolate, the Pantech IM-U160, and the full touchscreen LG Prada. Whether the G1 will offer iPhone-quality multi-touch capabilities is still a bit of a mystery since the functionality was not available at the Press Event, but let’s be clear it is still a possibility.
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