What does a touch device mean to you?

[joescrivens]

So yesterday I had my eyes opened to what others deem as a touch device. For me a device that has touch means you can operate it with your finger. A touchscreen means one you can press and interact with.

Electronic devices that contain touch I feel convey the message "You can operate me with your finger"

However, the modbook is classed as a touchscreen even though it uses a pen :shrug:

Others seemed to think it was fine to call it that since you touch the screen with a pen. I work for a company that make touch based interactive whiteboards, most of the competition use pens, they never refer to themselves as touch products even though by definition they follow the same methodology as the modbooks "touchscreen". They call themselves pen operated products.

Wacom also use the term penabled, if they ever put the word touch in their product it means you can use your finger. I wonder if the nature of my employment has lead me to this definition so I'd be interested in hearing what others think.

If you here the term touch related to an electronic device do you assume it means finger touch or are you expecting it to be either finger or stylus?

 

[EdinburghGary]

Means I can operate it via touch, simples.

 

[EdinburghGary]

Oh, I would never consider my wacom a touch device. It's a pen device.

 

[whitey]

Means I can operate it via touch, simples.

+1

 

[joescrivens]

Means I can operate it via touch, simples.

aye, but does touch mean touching with your finger, or can it mean touching with your finger or a pen?

 

[whitey]

fingers

 

[EdinburghGary]

aye, but does touch mean touching with your finger, or can it mean touching with your finger or a pen?

Fingers baby, yeah

 

[gingerweasel]

A device operated by touch sensors (not including buttons). I would include pen enabled devices in this category provided the pen or stylus had no embedded technology (ie is only used as a replacement for a finger)because it's still functioning based on touch.






..

 

[menthel]

Finger. But finger and non-tech stylus would be even better. sometimes fingers aren't accurate enough.

 

[neil_g]

by touching with finger or pen.. with either "peripheral" youre still touching.

 

[joescrivens]

A device operated by touch sensors (not including buttons). I would include pen enabled devices in this category provided the pen or stylus had no embedded technology (ie is only used as a replacement for a finger)because it's still functioning based on touch.

..

ok, now here I can see the grey area. As long as the device can be operated by a pen that is just a piece of plastic and is doing the same thing as your finger then I can still see it as a touch device.

but if you HAVE to have a pen, and when using your finger it did nothing, to me that isn't a touchscreen - so how does the modbook work, does the pen have technology in it?

 

[joescrivens]

by touching with finger or pen.. with either "peripheral" youre still touching.

so is a wacom tablet that uses a pen and doesn't respond to touch from a finger a touch device to you?

 

[testbloke]

I would definately agree means direct touch from finger. If you have big chunky fingers and then want to use a stylus thats personal choice but you should be able to interect with just skin.

 

[testbloke]

so is a wacom tablet that uses a pen and doesn't respond to touch from a finger a touch device to you?

No, my old psion palm thingy was never touch, it was stylus

 

[neil_g]

so is a wacom tablet that uses a pen and doesn't respond to touch from a finger a touch device to you?

yup, youre still influencing the (normally touch sensitive, e.g. pressure etc) device by touching it by one method or another.

 

[joescrivens]

yup, youre still influencing the (normally touch sensitive, e.g. pressure etc) device by touching it by one method or another.

ok, interesting definition. A mouse is a touch device also then by this definition, since you are touching it with your hand to operate something on screen. Would you agree?

 

[neil_g]

ok, interesting definition. A mouse is a touch device also then by this definition, since you are touching it with your hand to operate something on screen. Would you agree?

no, a mouse is not touch (i.e. pressure) sensitive more so that you move it around and press buttons.

whats the way i define it anyway..

 

[joescrivens]

no, a mouse is not touch (i.e. pressure) sensitive more so that you move it around and press buttons.

whats the way i define it anyway..

Hmm, so the surface HAS to be pressure sensitive to be touch?

That can't work. My company make a multi touch table that has nothing to do with pressure. Infra red beams track the touch points, also the iphone doesn't respond to pressure either.

 

[markrichardson]

My view on this is that a screen which is operated by something touching it (whether that be a finger, digitiser pen, lump of plastic) is a 'touch screen'.

I would not consider a Wacom tablet to be a touch device, I would however consider the Cintiq to be a touch device, as you are operating the screen by touching on it with a pen (or other tool). (The Modbook falls into this category as well.)

[slightly tangential, but I'd prefer it if the Modbook had both finger touch and digitizer but I don't think the quality of the combined technology there is up to the job yet]

Frankly though, I think the question is just an exercise in semantic debate without any particular substance - the English language has always been flexible.

 

[Joe T]

Given the previous thread was closed due to arguments over pedantics, this one is going the same way.

It really doesnt matter.